Some Austin-owned Marshalling Yard residents concerned about living conditions in shelter

Some residents staying at a city-owned South Austin homeless shelter say the living conditions are unsanitary and crowded.

The Marshalling Yard, a warehouse in South Austin that was stood up as a homeless shelter last year, is currently operated by the nonprofit Family Endeavors. The City Council approved a $9.1 million contract with the nonprofit to run the daily operations of the shelter for a year.

Several residents and community activists on Wednesday described the living conditions in the shelter and voiced concerns to members of the Austin City Council on the Public Health Committee and to city staff at a public meeting.

The city's homeless strategy officer, David Gray said that while they take these concerns seriously, he disputes claims of uncleanliness and lack of sanitation.

Concerns raised about the shelter and how the city responded

Cate Graziani, who was with a group called VOCALTexas at City Hall on Wednesday, told the American-Statesman the group had previously taken several of their concerns — including food, bathrooms, accessibility, case management, the discharge process, the handling of grievances and medications — to the city and "gave them the opportunity to try to make improvements."

"Why we're out here today is because we don't believe that better than nothing is good enough," Graziani told the Statesman. "It is not a safe or sanitary place for people to be staying."

Gray, following the public testimony Wednesday, thanked residents and community members for coming to the meeting. He later told the Statesman, "We take every concern seriously and as you heard in the public forum some people gave us credit for the work that we've done in collaboration with these organizations."

"The feedback is always helpful," Gray said. "We're constantly looking for opportunities to do better with all of our systems."

Les Antilly with VOCALTexas claimed to have contracted a bacterial infection after using showers at the Marshalling Yard.

Another resident, Victoria Marshall, said "I've been affected by unsanitary conditions making me sickly over and over."

Regarding the concerns raised about the unsanitary conditions of the facility, Gray told the Statesman he wanted to "debunk some of the misstatements around the cleanliness of the facilities because we do take a lot of pride in providing a clean and a safe environment for our clients."

His office provided photos he says were taken by staff Wednesday morning of the Marshalling Yard bathrooms.

Another concern voiced on Wednesday was that clients were primarily being offered fast food, and that food was being served cold.

One resident said she previously met with Gray and that some concerns about food were addressed — that they now have some fresh fruit options and snacks, and that microwaves were installed in the facility.

Gray said during his presentation Wednesday they are getting close to finalizing an agreement with a nonprofit to take over food operations at the shelter.

Graziani told the Statesman that people have said they were retaliated against by staff at the shelter when they raised concerns.

"It seems like within the program, if you're saying, 'Hey, I'm not okay with this treatment,' you get punished and potentially kicked out," Graziani said.

Gray told the Statesman they are only discharging people "in cases of criminal activity or violence, or if there is a repetitive pattern of noncompliance with the shelter rules."

"Oftentimes what we'll do is give somebody a 24 hour cooling off period or maybe a 72 hour cooling off period, oftentimes the cooling off period is a lot less — it's just go take a walk come back when you've calmed down," Gray said during his presentation. He said 5% of clients had been exited for criminal activity or violence toward shelter staff.

When asked for a comment on the concerns raised, Endeavors Chief Communications Officer Kimberly Harle Solis​​​​ said in an email the city asked all media request be deferred to them.

The shelter has served a total of 577 clients since it has been open according to data presented by Gray at Wednesday’s meeting. He said the shelter has been at capacity for the past couple of months.

Data collected from the opening of the shelter to Jan. 15 shows that of those who exited the shelter, 57 individuals returned to homelessness, 27 moved successfully into a permanent housing destination, 190 went to an unknown destination and and five clients who exited to other institutions, Gray said.

Staff writer Serena Lin contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Residents at Austin-owned Marshalling Yard shelter voice concerns