Shocking videos show Austin park littered with liquor bottles, needles and junk ‘as far as the eye can see’ as illegal homeless encampment grows

Shocking footage shows the scene in an Austin park filled with liquor bottles, needles, Narcan and junk “as far as the eye can see” as a homeless encampment continues to grow.

The videos from the West Bouldin Creek Greenbelt were posted Monday by activist Jamie Hammonds, who reports from the Texas capital on the X page @DocumentingATX.

“Another Greenbelt destroyed here in Austin…nothing but trash and junk as far as you can see…this is absolutely horrible,” Hammonds said, adding that the encampment was at least the size of a football field, and that was also possible. smell it ‘before you even enter the green belt.’

He continued, “This is another beautiful Austin Greenbelt that will never be the same. This is infuriating… It’s just been destroyed. It will be interesting to see if the city can actually clean this up.”

A cleanup of the park is reportedly underway, but could take months.

“Another Greenbelt destroyed here in Austin…nothing but trash and junk as far as you can see,” said activist Jamie Hammonds

In April, police found stolen powerful military weapons and ammunition in the encampment. A few days ago, a fire broke out in a nearby encampment.

It comes after more than 70 encampment residents were moved to the Southbridge shelter by the city last month as part of the Housing-Focused Encampment Assistance Link (HEAL) Initiative, as reported by Fox News.

The city has said it is closing homeless encampments that “pose the greatest risks to public health and safety.”

Hammonds claimed he saw a squirrel eating plastic near the Greenbelt, noting that the area looked “just as bad, if not worse” than the Violet Crown Trail, which has also been overtaken by a homeless encampment.

He previously pointed the blame at Austin’s Democratic leaders, arguing that the policy has driven people from city streets to recreational areas.

Hammonds said areas like the Violet Crown Trail made city residents feel like they were living in a vibrant city. The route is a 30-mile walking and cycling area that was created in 2006.

In April, Austin resident Isabella Ricks said she was attacked in broad daylight while jogging on the trail. She escaped unharmed, but said she would not return to the trail.

In April, police found stolen powerful military weapons and ammunition in the encampment. The area is pictured above

Hammonds placed the blame on Austin’s Democratic leaders, arguing that the policy has driven people from city streets into recreational areas.

There are approximately 4,600 people experiencing homelessness in Austin. Activists say about 1,000 of them live in shelters while they roam freely. So far, the city’s efforts to combat homelessness have resulted in anti-camping on the streets laws and an increase in spending on public education programs.

The city’s City Council consists of ten Democrats and only one Republican, and is overseen by Democratic Mayor Kirk Watson. Hammonds said in a March 2023 interview: “We cannot continue on this path. Voters are needed to push council members to make different decisions.”

Austin city officials say they have issued nearly 60 camping recommendations since summer 2022.

A May 2023 survey found that about 13 percent of homeless people lived in green areas. That number has more than doubled compared to five percent in 2020.

Homeless encampments have caused chaos in liberal-run cities across the country, including Portland, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco, with frustrated residents and local business owners describing scenes of rising violence, daylight drug use and no response from police officers due to budget cuts.

Crime in Austin is down slightly across the board in 2022 compared to 2021, but assaults and car thefts are up nine and 16 percent, respectively, according to statistics from the Austin Police Department.

Hundreds of residents and businesses are fleeing Democratic-run cities across America en masse after their livelihoods are threatened by the growing number of homeless encampments and rising crime rates

Purse stealing has also more than doubled, and pickpocketing has increased by 30 percent.

In January, a crazed man from an Austin homeless camp terrified workers at a hair salon when he approached the building brandishing a piece of wood.

According to one of the employees, Laura North, such incidents outside Headspace Salon, which she started with friend Erin Mutschler four years ago, have occurred about twice a week for the past six months and usually took police almost an hour to respond. comment.

In a video recorded from the salon, women can be heard screaming as the man approaches the store menacingly, waving the piece of wood, which was still attached to a piece of concrete.

“It feels like the city dropped a bunch of kids and women with no training into the middle of a war zone and they’re just hoping for no casualties,” North told local newspaper KXAN.

“We have had to deal with these types of men repeatedly in recent weeks,” she added. “We really thought someone was going to die.”