After pushback, city of Austin rolls out new termination policy for homeless shelters

AUSTIN (KXAN) — After feedback from people interacting with Austin’s homelessness response system, the city rolled out a new policy this month that lays out universal rules for when people will be removed from the city’s homeless shelters.

That new policy is mandatory at the city’s Marshalling Yard, Northbridge, Southbridge, ARCH and Eighth Street shelters. The city’s Homeless Strategy Office (HSO) also asked other non-city-run shelters within city limits to voluntarily comply.

“This is data that will help us better track why people are being terminated and exited from shelters, the rate at which people are being exited from shelters,” David Gray, Austin’s Homeless Strategy Officer, said.

The new policy includes the following “termination categories:”

• Multiple documented violations of program requirements , such as having drugs or alcohol, refusing mandatory searches and communicating in a verbally abusive manner
• Threat to health and safety , such as setting fires at the shelter, harming other clients or staff and sexual violence
• Bed abandonment : Shelter staff will call hospitals, jails, etc., but if a person is not located within 72 hours, their bed may be given to someone else

The policy also requires more formal documentation of a termination from a shelter and gives clients the ability to file a grievance directly with HSO.

Barry Jones was kicked out of the Marshalling Yard in November last year after he said his medications were stolen and he got into an altercation.

“After about a month I was getting pretty sick, I was feeling pretty bad and on Thanksgiving Day I got into an argument with someone over dinner and I was thrown out,” Jones said.

He thinks the changes to policy are a step in the right direction — specifically pointing to the documentation element.

“I think it will definitely help. Documentation is always good. It’s too easy for a low-level worker to just make a statement about something and people to be kicked out on that basis. Documentation is a big deal,” Jones said.

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