Augustus Bailey and his dog Macy saw Mayor Gerard Hudspeth in his dark cowboy hat, black trench coat and snakeskin boots and approached him on the Square to talk with him about being homeless in Denton on Monday.
Bailey, 26, said he had been homeless for a year. Despite the disability checks he said he receives, he hasn’t been able to find a place to live due to all the additional requirements that landlords demand, such as earning three times the rent, a stable job history and decent credit rating.
Hudspeth, who spoke with Bailey for several minutes, was walking around the Square late Monday morning for the city’s kickoff of a new two-year pilot program to bring ambassadors to downtown Denton.
“I just feel like he was just trying to rush me off,” Bailey said after his conversation with the mayor. “The homeless is a civil population, and I feel like we are ignored, looked over. I guess we don’t count. I vote and everything, but I guess our opinions don’t count sometimes.”
Provided by Block by Block, a Louisville company with roots in private security, the Downtown Ambassadors Program will offer a uniformed safety and hospitality team dressed in red shirts to provide cleaning and hospitality services, community assistance and engagement with people experiencing homelessness and referrals.
They won’t be writing tickets to people like Bailey or enforcing laws since they are not police officers, but they will be in contact with police if there is an issue.
The team will be downtown from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week.
“It’s really a great addition to our city and a great presentation of our city. I’m really excited about this,” Hudspeth said on Monday to a small crowd of business and city leaders, a few council members and a group of reporters from CBS, Fox and NBC5.
The program will cost about $708,302 each year from the general fund and cover an area from Congress Street to Eagle Drive and Carroll Boulevard to Railroad Avenue, according to a July 19, 2023, report by the Denton Record-Chronicle.
“The City is excited to see this collaboration advance forward,” City Manager Sara Hensley said about the program in a press release. “Our city staff works relentlessly to build a clean, safe, and vibrant community, and in partnership with our new ambassadors, we will help support the business and lifestyle experiences that make our downtown area unique.”
At the late Monday morning event, those in attendance gathered at the corner of Hickory and Locust streets in front of Free Play to meet the ambassadors. They followed them around the Square as they entered shops and restaurants to introduce themselves to business owners and employees, discussing briefly the new pilot program and the services that they will be providing.
Several business owners and employees were happy to learn about the new program.
Derek Villarreal from More Fun Comics and Games said that he has been working downtown for a long time and noticed a large homeless population. Villarreal pointed out that many of them “aren’t that bad once you get to talk to them. They are just people who are down on their luck.”
“I feel like that [the ambassador program] might be a little bit better,” Villarreal said. “Whenever we do have issues with the homeless people, I’m hesitant to call the cops because I’m afraid they’re going to escalate it too far, especially when it may be one of them having a bad day with mental issues or something.”
As someone who has been homeless downtown, Bailey understands Villarreal’s reluctance to call police. Bailey said while the downtown business owners haven’t given him issues, Denton police officers are another matter.
“But by me knowing my rights, knowing the law, I had to let them know that I’m covered by the constitution. My constitutional right protects me,” Bailey said. “I told them as long as I’m sitting out of the walkway, and I’m not being aggressive toward anyone. I’m not committing any violations.
“They tried to tell me it is against city ordinance. And I have to tell them that a city ordinance can’t overturn a Supreme Court ruling.”
The Supreme Court ruled panhandling is protected speech in 2015, and the city of Denton removed the word from its solicitation policies in 2023.
Brooke Zangerl from First People’s Jewelers spoke with the mayor and the ambassadors outside of the locally owned store at the corner of Oak and Elm streets.
Zangerl mentioned that the business has been downtown for 50 years.
“We’re really excited for you guys to come and help us make the Square a better place to be,” Zangerl said.
As for Bailey, the new ambassadors did notice him sitting on the side of the curb late Monday morning, not far from Jupiter House. They made contact before Bailey approached the mayor and mentioned the Denton Community Shelter on Loop 288 and the wraparound services that are offered there.
Hudspeth also mentioned it when Bailey approached him.
Bailey called it “mission impossible” to get to the shelter, located off of Loop 288, and leave the next morning to go around the city. It’s why he said he sleeps along the train line and bus routes.
A city staff member chatted with Bailey after Hudspeth left to catch up with the rest of the group. Bailey said that he was told about the hotel program that the city operates and eligible nonprofits can refer clients to.
Just then, a downtown visitor approached and gave Bailey about $5 and told him, “I said I would.”
Bailey was appreciative and watched her walk away.
“The city needs more resources,” Bailey said. “Like I told them, I feel like more money is being spent to collect data than it is actually to house us.”