Dallas Faces Rising Homeless Encampment Complaints Amid Criticism of City Response
DALLAS – Complaints about homeless encampments in Dallas have surged by 45% in recent years, prompting city officials to outline a process for addressing the issue. However, residents and businesses alike claim that the city’s actions fall short.
Kevin Oden, director of the newly established Department of Emergency Management and Crisis Response, reported to the city council that calls to the 311 service line regarding homeless encampments jumped from 8,000 in 2021 to 11,000 in 2024. While Oden asserted that 90% of high-priority complaints are addressed within 24 hours, Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn countered that residents in her district are not seeing these promised responses. "They’re fed up of hearing homelessness is decreasing when they see it every day," she said.
Concerns extend beyond frustration, as businesses are affected too. A lawn service company in Northwest Dallas reported a fire originating from an encampment behind their building. Owner Tony Watson and office manager Kristin Mompho expressed their desperation for effective city intervention, saying the city’s response was inadequate and often fingered them for the problem. "There was an officer that contacted us… they would do a one-time courtesy cleanup, but it was our responsibility to keep everybody off," Watson recounted.
Although the city did eventually clean the encampment, only half was cleared, and residents returned quickly, raising questions about ongoing management. Mompho criticized the lack of follow-up and monitoring by the city, declaring the city’s commitment to resolving the matter as insufficient.
A city spokesperson confirmed that additional services were scheduled for the encampment, yet community members remain unconvinced and eager for more effective solutions to this growing issue.
Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image of the presented article.
