Paid Protesters Armed with No Solutions on Homelessness

Media Inquiries

Stefani Buhajla
Director of Communications
Cicero Institute
[email protected]

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Issue Areas

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Austin, TX — Today, a group of activists set up a staged protest on the lawn at the Cicero Institute office. The protest took aim at policies that help people escape the dangers of life on the street and require accountability and transparency from government-funded service providers.

The Cicero Institute recommends an array of policies that address significant shortcomings in cities’ and states’ responses to homelessness. The failures of the protestors’ preferred approach to homelessness have resulted in a humanitarian crisis in which many of our leaders have abandoned the immediate needs of the most vulnerable people living on our streets—those struggling with mental illness and substance abuse disorders.

“Protests such as this one demonstrate the immense passion among concerned citizens to address one of the greatest social problems of our time. But the policy positions being espoused at this protest and others like it across the country are grossly misguided and have failed to improve the lives of those living on our streets,” added Cicero Public Safety Policy Director Devon Kurtz.

Proponents of “Housing First,” such as the protestors, seek to maintain the status quo of federal and local policy over the last several decades. Policies that were once idealized by both Republicans and Democrats in Congress as “the end of street homelessness” have proved to be anything but. Our cities are suffering as a result, and without new ideas and approaches, they will continue to decline.

The Cicero Institute stands for bringing humanity, dignity, and accountability to our country’s approach to homelessness. The policies we fight for prioritize mental health and substance abuse treatment over permitting sprawling street encampments and squalid living conditions for the homeless and residents alike.

We fight to hold service providers accountable for demonstrably and measurably helping their homeless clients. And we fight against those who try to reduce a complex and multifaceted issue like homelessness to the single dimension of housing.

We welcome the debate posed by those who protest the Cicero Institute’s focus on helping individuals in crisis get back on their feet and flourish. And we will not be deterred in our efforts to help those who need it most.

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About the Cicero Institute:

The Cicero Institute is a nonpartisan public policy organization developing and fighting for bold policies at the state level to restore liberty, accountability, and transparency in American governance.