Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that his office is suing to shut down the Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center (SHNC) in South Austin, alleging it is facilitating drug use and criminal activity while operating just feet away from an elementary school.
According to a press release from Paxton’s office, the center is a “magnet” for criminal activity, including drug use, public urination, defecation, and violence. Nearby residents reportedly testified to incidents involving individuals frequenting the center, such as threatening passersby with machetes, indecent exposure, and break-ins at local homes and businesses.
“Drug activity and criminal behavior facilitated by this organization have hijacked an entire neighborhood,” said Attorney General Paxton. “By operating a taxpayer-funded drug paraphernalia giveaway next to an elementary school, this organization is threatening students’ health and safety and unjustly worsening daily life for every single resident of the neighborhood. We will shut this unlawful nuisance behavior down.”
According to a report by The Daily Caller, the city of Austin approved a grant of over one million dollars last August for the SHNC for 14 months, with the option of four 1 year extensions that would total the grant to over four million dollars. The intended goal of the grant was for SHNC to provide digital information to homeless individuals through a phone hotline and website. The outlet also noted that SHNC gained public attention in 2022 for being the first shelter in Texas to have a Narcan vending machine to help treat opioid overdoses.
The lawsuit from Paxton further alleges that Texas Harm Reduction Alliance, an organization hosted by SHNC, has been providing syringes at the shelter. The organization has been accused of handing out syringes to the homeless from a mobile van across from Joslin Elementary School during school hours. Reports have also indicated that syringes have been found near the school.
The lawsuit further claimed that nearby residents have said the homeless are creating meth labs in unoccupied residents.
Paxton has asked the court for a temporary injunction to prevent SHNC from continuing to operate.
