Hundreds of homeless encampments in Dallas city parks, more resources needed

Dallas Park and Recreation officials say they need more resources to address homeless encampments in the city’s parks. But elected officials wondered where that money would come from.

And one said park officials cast the city’s unhoused population in a light “that we should all fear.”

Parks officials said there were 350 encampments in city parks between October 2022 and September 2023. They also said that from October 2023 until just a month ago during Monday’s Parks, Trails and the Environment Committee, there were more than 1,000 visits to Dallas parks.

“Our entire operation is pretty much affected by the unsheltered, the encampments and what we have to do as it relates to making sure our parks are clean and well maintained,” M. Renee Johnson, assistant director of the parks department, said. during the meeting.

Johnson said this also means park amenities are stolen or damaged — which also means the city is responsible for replacing those items — cleaning up vandalism and litter.

The department’s Facility Services Division is also removing or securing electrical outlets “to prevent unsheltered people from gathering at pavilions,” according to a briefing presented at Monday’s meeting.

“These are locations where unsheltered people will try to stay pretty much all night to charge gear and things like that, so we’re trying to make sure those areas are safe,” Johnson said.

‘Everyone follows the rules’

Throughout the explanation of how the city is working to keep unprotected individuals out of its parks, Johnson paused in the middle of her presentation to emphasize this:

“Everyone is welcome in our park system… it is a very inclusive environment,” Johnson said. “All we ask is that everyone adheres to the rules.”

Johnson said the department does not intend to criminalize the city’s unsheltered population, but officials wanted to “ensure that everyone enjoys the park and that it is a safe environment for all families.”

She also added that the rules everyone must follow include no sleeping in city parks – and no setting up shelters.

Dallas Park Rangers and City Marshals monitor camps on “hotspot” lists and report any “re-entry” to campsites within 24 hours, the briefing said. The city’s forestry team is working to clear overgrown plants and vegetation to create sight lines to other parts of the park.

Johnson said that even though this was not in the briefing, she wanted to note that “the more involvement we have in our parks, the more unsheltered camps we have or things happening that are really naughty.”

District 9 Councilmember Paula Blackmon got straight to the point in her series of questions to park officials.

“How much are you asking?” Blackmon asked. “Since I have to keep a library open…why can’t you look at your budget and find the money you need?”

The City Council approved a budget of more than $5 billion in September. That included money to keep Skillman Southwest’s library branch from closing.

Johnson said the department is looking at what equipment they have for another team, but four additional staff members are also needed. John Jenkins, director of the department, told elected officials that money was urgently needed to clear overgrown vegetation.

And ultimately, Blackmon wanted to know how paying for additional team members – and the landscape – would get to the real root cause of why camps were popping up in the first place.

“This city cannot continue to spend money on cleanups,” Blackmon said. “We will have to address the root cause and house people who can be housed.”

‘Really worthless of our city’

Although Johnson — and later Jenkins at the meeting — reiterated that “all are welcome” in Dallas parks, one council member was not convinced that was the case.

“I think there’s a tone to it that I really don’t appreciate,” said Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Adam Bazaldua. “Much of what has been put forward has led to the conclusion that our exposed areas are ultimately a nuisance.”

Bazaldua, who represents District 7 on the council, said that was not the truth — and that the briefing “confused causality and correlation.” He also said park officials have not provided information about other criminal activity — beyond visits to homeless encampments — in other parks.

“I could go to one of the parks in my district and show you where rule violations, like alcohol and smoking, occur regularly in our park system,” Bazladua said. “To pretend that the presence of unprotected individuals makes our parks unsafe or less safe is a nice thing to say, dishonest, but I think it’s really shitty of our city.”

Jenkins said his department is up against many people who think differently.

“…And we have to tell them, no, they have every right to be in the park, just like you,” Jenkins said. “All we ask is that everyone follows the rules.”

Jenkins added that his team was not asked to brief the committee on “all the issues that are causing problems and crime in our parks.” Even then, he said the main problem wasn’t the homeless.

Bazaldua said Dallas has specific policies that criminalize homelessness — such as a ban on sleeping in the city’s parks.

“If we have enforcement mechanisms that are intended to be discriminatory, I think that’s outrageous,” Bazaldua said.

District 10 Councilwoman Kathy Stewart, who chairs the committee, requested the briefing.

“That has taken a turn where we may be pointing to our exposed areas as if they are participating in criminal behavior, that was not the intention,” Stewart said. “I think it’s a shame that we ended up in that area.”

Staff from the city Office of Housing and Homelessness Solutions were not present at Monday’s commission meeting.

Do you have a tip? Email Nathan Collins at [email protected]. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.

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