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Residents urge Irving to invest local caseworkers, not send funds to Dallas
Summary
At the Irving City Council work session, two residents urged the council to expand local social-worker capacity and rethink contracting with outside agencies to address homelessness.
Laura Anderson, a volunteer who described herself as having a doctorate in homelessness and 14 years’ experience as a municipal judge, told the Irving City Council she has been working directly with people experiencing homelessness and called on the city to redirect local funds to Irving-based providers.
Anderson said the city already budgeted money for caseworkers but that the contract passed those dollars to an organization she said is based in Dallas. "I would ask you stop sending money to Dallas to solve our challenges," Anderson said, adding that Irving should hire social workers who can work locally.
Anderson described volunteer work she has done with clients — helping with Social Security applications, resolving citations and arranging behavioral-health assessments — and urged a return to a local homeless-diversion task force. "We are only as good as our weakest link," she told the council.
Resident Phillip Crawford also spoke during the citizen-comments period, describing a recent incident in which he said a manager at a local business called the police while he was helping another person with belongings. "I was helping her out," Crawford said.
Why it matters: Councilmembers heard from residents urging locally based outreach and casework rather than routing funds to an outside agency. The speakers’ comments focused on operational choices — staffing and contract awards — that could affect how Irving provides street outreach, care coordination and diversion services.
What council heard: Anderson named Housing Forward as the contracted provider that received a $162,000 allocation for caseworkers, and said Housing Forward is soliciting local agencies to provide the work rather than directly contracting with an Irving provider. She urged the council to reconsider that arrangement so money and services remain local.
No formal action: The remarks were part of the public-comment period; the transcript records no formal council vote or motion tied to Anderson’s or Crawford’s remarks.
