By Catherine Cuellar, KERA 90.1 Reporter
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Dallas voters consider bond to aid the homeless
Dallas, TX –
Catherine Cuellar, 90.1 reporter: Supporters and critics of proposition 14 agree Dallas needs to do something about homelessness. They disagree about how and where to do it. The task force to end chronic homelessness has recommended construction of a homeless assistance center in downtown. That's why developer Larry Hamilton of the Heart of Dallas Partnership opposes the bond measure. He feels it's the only way to keep the homeless away from his office and residence in the Davis Building.
Larry Hamilton, Heart of Dallas Partnership: We have the same amount of compassion we think everyone else has. Our instinct is to help those that are in need, give them a hand up . But one of the biggest problems we have to having a downtown, a livable environment here, is the presence of lots of vagrant people who are loitering and there's just some problems associated with it.
Cuellar: Mike Rawlings, who served on the mayor's task force to end chronic homelessness under Tom Dunning before he became the homelessness czar this year, says the problem will only increase if the bond doesn't pass now.
Mike Rawlings, Dallas Homelessness Czar: With Katrina and the situation there the service providers are telling me that the case workers are getting more, the numbers are starting to inch up, and they predict this problem is not going to go away.
Cuellar: The urgency of the issue has led the Dallas Citizen's Council, the Greater Dallas Chamber, the Central Dallas Association, The Dallas Morning News, Central Dallas Ministries, and the Urban League to endorse the passage of Prop. 14. Opponents say a Homeless Assistance Center downtown devalues the city's greatest potential source of revenue – real estate that Hamilton and others are trying to develop.
Hamilton: The downtown area is the biggest concentration of tax base in the metropolitan area. Anything you do to undermine that tax base not only hurts the downtown occupants, but it has a detrimental impact on the taxpayers in every neighborhood in Dallas.
Cuellar: Rawlings disagrees, saying all neighborhoods will benefit if Prop. 14 passes because of the services it will provide.
Rawlings: It's going to work not just for the homeless but more importantly to drive that tax base up. We can't bring tourists and convention business to this town if we've got the homeless walking in the streets. We've got to have a center that we bring them in and take care of their needs. So this is important in every aspect of this city to solve this problem.
Cuellar: Hamilton and the Heart of Dallas partners feel that input from the homeless and homeless service providers have outweighed the concerns of downtown businesspeople.
Hamilton: It should've taken into account not only the needs of the homeless, which is very important, but needs for the economic revitalization of Dallas and the importance of having a vibrant core.
Cuellar: But Rawlings says his task force wants to work with interested parties downtown and across the city to address homelessness.
Rawlings: We've got to get the bond election passed first. Doing nothing is just wrong for the city of Dallas and we've got to take action. Let's get behind our leaders for once. Let's solve this problem as opposed to being nitpicky about not in my neighborhood.
Cuellar: Early voting ends Friday. Election Day is next Tuesday. For KERA 90.1, I'm Catherine Cuellar.
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