City reports encampment cleanup surge: teams visited 669 sites, connected 181 people to shelter and warn HUD rule changes could put ~$4M of local PSH funding at

Austin Homeless Strategies and Operations Director David Gray told the Public Health Committee on Dec. 3 that the city’s recent three‑week Encampment Cleanup Initiative was intended to connect people to shelter and services ahead of severe weather and to restore public spaces. Gray said the initiative used repeated outreach, 72‑hour posted notices, voluntary shelter offers and coordinated cleanup and environmental restoration by multiple city departments.

“We visited 669 sites,” Gray said, and the city “engaged 1,200 individuals” during the operation; he said those engagement counts may include duplicates because teams sometimes revisited people at different locations. Gray reported the city connected 181 unique people to shelters and an additional 87 unique people to services. He said Austin Resource Recovery removed 435 tons of debris, Transportation and Public Works removed 191 tons and Watershed crews removed 103 tons during the period.

Gray said APD issued 71 citations and made 22 arrests during the operation, adding that most arrests were for outstanding warrants. On cost,…