AUSTIN, TX —Like cities all across the U.S., housing in Austin, Texas is becoming unaffordable for more people than ever before. Low-income people are organizing to fight for their rights, including the right to shelter.
One such organization is VOCAL (Voices of Community Activists and Leaders) which represents people affected by AIDS, the opioid epidemic, mass incarceration and homelessness. Originally started in New York City over 20 years ago as (VOCAL-NY), there are now two newer branches, VOCAL-KY in Kentucky and VOCAL-TX based in Austin, Texas.
VOCAL-TX along with the Austin Justice Coalition, held a “Fight Back Against Billionaires” forum recently to criticize legislation that bans camping and criminalizes homeless people.
Targeted was a local billionaire, Joe Lonsdale, founder of the Cicero Institute, noted for pushing legislation that criminalizes public camping. That legislation passed in some cities and states. Lonsdale contributed $40,000 to the Save Austin Now Super PAC, which put Proposition B on the ballot in 2021 which reinstated an Austin camping ban. He also worked on a statewide camping ban signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott that included penalties for cities that don’t enforce the ban.
The passage of Cicero-backed legislation in Grants Pass, Oregon that was challenged in the lower courts was then referred to the Supreme Court, resulting in the decision known as Grants Pass, which ruled that cities can punish unhoused people for sleeping in public, even if they have nowhere else to go. Since then, we have seen the ever-increasing cruel policies that sweep up people’s life possessions when ‘illegal’ tent encampments are found, turning people without shelter into “criminals.”
The homeless organization Invisible People says that the Cicero Institute’s sample legislation is adopted by politicians under the radar of many voters who don’t realize the harm it pushes for. “Voters who would be appropriately horrified don’t realize how bad it is because the language seems benign at first glance.” The Cicero Institute has the funds to develop very sophisticated PR to mislead voters into supporting legislation that prioritizes drug and mental health treatment for homeless people instead of spending money to build housing for low-income and homeless people. However, ‘Housing First’, a successful program supported by homeless leaders, has been shown to be a program that works. It gets people into stable shelter first, so addiction and mental health can then be addressed.
The day after the “Fight Back Against Billionaires” forum, VOCAL-TX organized a protest at the state Capitol and invited representatives from VOCAL-NY, VOCAL-KY, Open Table Nashville in Tennessee, and Grants Pass, Oregon. All were united in their support of programs that address issues faced by homeless people from the perspective of the people directly affected. They want lawmakers to approve more resources for people struggling with addiction and for fentanyl testing strips to be legalized, and more money spent on housing for those in need. Tony Carter with VOCAL -TX said, “I know what it feels like not to have a roof over your head.”
After the rally, protesters were bused to the Cicero Institute headquarters where the ‘Victims or Cicero’ presented their statement, which said in part, “Joe Lonsdale you make your profit off the pain of poor people by pushing policies that keep us homeless. We see through your lies! We refuse to be treated like criminals because the cost of housing and living is so high. And we refuse to let the billionaire agenda win!”
Lonsdale stands to profit from these criminalization of homeless policies, as a major investor in the private prison industry. The billionaire class must be stopped in their drive to impose their power over our lives.
Karel Riley works with the People’s Tribune, and its bilingual sister publication, Tribuno del Pueblo, as a writer and contributor on human rights and women’s issues. “I’ve been a feminist since early adulthood. As a clerical worker, I joined a union drive with AFSCME seeking comparable wages to men for female-dominated jobs, and we were partially successful. In the mid-80’s our union participated in the historic Hormel strike in Minnesota. Later, I joined others in support of a local welfare rights organization,” she says.
