The teams made 2,347 visits to those sites, with an average cost of about $964 per visit, which city officials say represents a 39% decrease from the program's first month. Outreach workers contacted 493 individuals, connecting 45% of them with shelter or services, according to the report from Homeless Strategies and Operations. The city also added 100 beds at Esperanza Community and 160 permanent supportive housing units, and Austin Community Court is working on a one-time $500,000 allocation to expand storage options for people experiencing homelessness.

About 5,000 people are experiencing homelessness in Travis County on any given night, according to the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition.

The sweeps have drawn sharp criticism from advocates and from some of the people directly affected. August Lozano, who lived with friends in a wooded area off Slaughter Lane for nearly five years, told the committee that city crews have swept her camp four times since May, and that she has lost her belongings and her sense of security. She now sleeps alone, often near 24-hour convenience stores.

"Three times since then, I've woken to strangers just crawling on top of me, doing what they like, publicly, in front of people walking by on the sidewalk," Lozano said at the meeting.

Lozano disputed the city's account that outreach precedes enforcement. "No, they don't give us time to get our things – some of them might, when they feel like it. … They're going in there and destroying our possessions," she said.

David Gray, the city's Homeless Strategies and Operations director, defended the process. "We follow the process as explained to the public. That's the truth," he told the Chronicle. An HSO spokesperson provided a photo of a camp closure notice posted near an encampment, as well as the original file the notices are printed from. Gray added that he has not heard of issues with the process directly from the homeless community, aside from individuals affiliated with the local nonprofit VOCAL-TX, like Lozano.

VOCAL-TX organizer Eli Cortez said the city is not doing enough to meet demand. Many people refuse available beds because of "jail-like" conditions at shelters like Marshalling Yard, he said. The statewide camping ban effectively criminalizes homelessness, Cortez argued, so people who are unable or unwilling to go to a shelter are arrested during sweeps.

"All we're doing is pushing people around town and subjecting them to encounters with police to the point where people … will actually end up in jail because of the way that our system is set up," Cortez said.

He pointed to the low percentage of sites that remained clear as evidence the initiative has not been effective. "I think at the end of the day, despite this encampment management strategy being largely a failure, there seems to be little interest in improving it," he said.

Gray countered that the metric does not capture the full picture. "It's one thing to just advocate for things; I think it's another thing to actually provide services," he said. "VOCAL-Texas does not provide services, but our staff does." He explained that a site could be cleared of dozens of people but still be labeled as having repeat activity if a single person is present when the city checks back in.

"Having one in four sites remaining clear of any activity is a good thing," Gray said. "Now, the key word in the metric is 'any activity.'"

According to the report, 50 people were issued citations and five were arrested by Austin Police Department officers embedded with the teams. Gray said law enforcement must be present to enforce the statewide camping ban. "People experiencing homelessness have pulled guns and weapons on our city staff," he said. "Also, residents have been very antagonistic towards people in encampments."

Gray said officers working with the teams have not been involved in any use-of-force incidents connected to the initiative, but APD told the Chronicle that it "does not notify Austin Homeless Strategies and Operations of every use-of-force incident. Notification is provided when an incident results in a significant injury. While there have been use-of-force incidents since the initiative began in May 2026, none of them have met the criteria for notification to Austin Homeless Strategies and Operations."

Cortez said he does not blame city workers, HSO, or Gray. Instead, he faulted city leaders like City Manager T.C. Broadnax for what he described as selling out Austin's homeless population to avoid intervention from Texas' conservative leaders. Broadnax, in a statement, said the plan is about more than complying with state law. "It is about City departments collaborating together to simultaneously address issues of homelessness, mental health, physical health, public safety, environmental safety, housing and more," he wrote. "The City is connecting this vulnerable population with essential services and adapting the plan as we continue to receive more data and personal feedback from City staff and the community."

The political landscape could shift following last week's midterm elections. Cortez said he is "pretty optimistic and hopeful" after Gina Hinojosa's gubernatorial victory and the Democratic wave that swept Texas. Since the election, City Council members Mike Siegel and Vanessa Fuentes have called to limit APD's cooperation with ICE, and Cortez hopes a similar push could reshape the city's homeless strategy. "I'm hoping that the same rhetoric can be applied to our encampment management program," he said.