Passage would be detrimental to twenty-two non-profits in the Houston area alone. If the bill passes, likely outcomes would be layoffs of experienced staff, closing of programs, services for homeless becoming unavailable. Impact would be on both housed and homeless clients.
Iâm urging my state legislators to vote against it.
Texas State Representatives are working on HB4726 and SB2623. This legislation affects agencies providing ânavigation servicesâ to the homeless. This includes food, rental assistance, employment services and more. It affects all agencies, not just those with public funding. It would affect 22 agencies in Houston alone!
A respected coalition is recommending a âNoâ vote on each of these bills.
I created a Resistbot letter that would go to your state senator and representatives.
Text Sign PELIQA to 50409 in your messaging app. You can read the information about the bill and agree to send or donât send it. If youâve never used Resistbot before, it will ask for your address so they can figure out who your reps are.
Please, especially consider sending a Resistbot if one the above legislators is yours!!
In short, this bill would require agencies who are within 1500 feet of a school to stop all homeless services. This is a huge blow to established agencies. In addition, these agencies have strict guidelines about entry and access and exit. There are guardrails in place.
I used to work for such an agency and there had never been an incident that I heard of. And theyâd been around 40 years or so!
In addition, I work with homeless people through a church ministry and I think the fear of homeless people is most often unwarranted.
This bill, if passed, would likely lead to increased homelessness as employment, education, food and other services were stopped.
Please let me know if this message doesnât make sense or the Resistbot letter doesnât sound right to you. I can edit it.
Iâm just learning about a Texas House and Senate bill that, if passed, would cut funding for homelessness services to children. An agency (former employer and dear to my heart), Wesley Community Center, would lose millions and the ability to help children who attend school.
I was wondering if this Texas Substack could get the word out. Note, Iâve taken plenty of actions that other people set up, but never set one up myself.
The bills are
Texas Senate Bill SB2623 -Schools Safety Zone
Texas House Bill HB5726 - School Safety Zone
Passage would be detrimental to twenty-two non-profits in the Houston area alone. If the bill passes, likely outcomes would be layoffs of experienced staff, closing of programs, services for homeless becoming unavailable. Impact would be on both housed and homeless clients.
Iâm urging my state legislators to vote against it.
Texas State Representatives are working on HB4726 and SB2623. This legislation affects agencies providing ânavigation servicesâ to the homeless. This includes food, rental assistance, employment services and more. It affects all agencies, not just those with public funding. It would affect 22 agencies in Houston alone!
LegiScan (legiscan.com)
SB2623 and HB4726
These are the Reps working on this:
HB4726 School Safety Zone:
Rep Ana Hernandez
Rep Senfronia Thompson
Rep Lacey Hall
Rep Ryan Guillen
SB2623 School Safety Zone:
Rep Diego Bernal
Rep Jeff Leach
Rep James Talarico
Rep Alma Allen
Rep Brad Buckley
A respected coalition is recommending a âNoâ vote on each of these bills.
I created a Resistbot letter that would go to your state senator and representatives.
Text Sign PELIQA to 50409 in your messaging app. You can read the information about the bill and agree to send or donât send it. If youâve never used Resistbot before, it will ask for your address so they can figure out who your reps are.
Please, especially consider sending a Resistbot if one the above legislators is yours!!
In short, this bill would require agencies who are within 1500 feet of a school to stop all homeless services. This is a huge blow to established agencies. In addition, these agencies have strict guidelines about entry and access and exit. There are guardrails in place.
I used to work for such an agency and there had never been an incident that I heard of. And theyâd been around 40 years or so!
In addition, I work with homeless people through a church ministry and I think the fear of homeless people is most often unwarranted.
This bill, if passed, would likely lead to increased homelessness as employment, education, food and other services were stopped.
Please let me know if this message doesnât make sense or the Resistbot letter doesnât sound right to you. I can edit it.
Leah
Hi! I hope Jessica and/or Andrea see this.
Iâm just learning about a Texas House and Senate bill that, if passed, would cut funding for homelessness services to children. An agency (former employer and dear to my heart), Wesley Community Center, would lose millions and the ability to help children who attend school.
I was wondering if this Texas Substack could get the word out. Note, Iâve taken plenty of actions that other people set up, but never set one up myself.