Twenty individuals were moved from a north Austin homeless encampment to a transitional housing shelter this week, the city announced last week.
A Jan. 11 report by KXAN states individuals were moved from the encampment on St. Johns and North I-35 Service Road to the Southbridge shelter, near Interstate 35 and Oltorf Street in south Austin, previously home to a Rodeway Inn.
The relocation effort comes as a part of the city’s Housing-Focused Encampment Assistance Link (HEAL) initiative approved last year. With this, the city works to humanely clear out unsafe homeless encampments assessed based on more than 40 factors, KXAN reports.
HEAL has relocated more than 170 homeless individuals since June 2021, according to the report.
The Southbridge shelter is not the only transitional shelter used by the city, KXAN states. The Northbridge shelter, located at 7400 N. I-35, has also been used to house individuals previously living in homeless encampments.
This comes as the State of Texas has criminalized camping in a public place as of September 2021. According to a report by KVUE, those found to be out of compliance may be subject to a Class C misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of up to $500.
