Homeless in West Campus

Yesterday after work I pulled into my driveway to find this in my driveway, tucked up against the wall under the kitchen window of my home:

Someone had dumped two backpacks containing snacks, prescription medicines and a phone.

Spilling out of two backpacks there were snacks, a flashlight and psychotropic prescription medications. It had the looks of being someone’s only possessions, stashed or dropped in a hurry.

We all live here.

Living in Austin, it’s common to see people experiencing homelessness, usually holding signs at intersections or walking around downtown. Residing in West Campus, these folks are a typical part of the neighborhood. Along Guadalupe, there is a constant stream of people contributing change to their cups.

West Campus seems to attract a younger demographic of homeless people than the rest of Austin, and they often blend into the student population. On the plus side, the churches and student groups here offer many outreach services targeted at 18-24 year olds, such as the Micah 6 Youth Drop-In Center.

On the down side, everyone in the neighborhood knows where there are buildings awaiting redevelopment. One morning last week, on my way home from driving middle school carpool, I saw an addled looking young woman crawling out from one of the boarded-up houses on San Pedro. A few weeks ago, a friend of my wife’s was out jogging when she stopped to help a young person experiencing a K2 overdose. When the ambulance arrived, the driver said, “Oh, I know you.” It can be really heartbreaking.

But back to the items in my driveway…

I called the items into the police, concerned more for the person separated from their medications than the bags dumped on my property. Because there were prescription medications, the police were willing to take a report and the items. Otherwise, they it would have been left for me to dispose of.

When the police officer entered the name on the prescription bottles into his report, it popped up as someone without warrants but listed in their system as a “transient.” The officer catalogued the items in the bag and photographed them: clean clothes, convenience store snacks, a bottle of wine and an iPhone newer and nicer than mine. The officer said that wasn’t unusual. I can only assume it was given by a well-meaning family member trying everything to stay in contact.

Keeping an eye out…

My family has been watching see if anyone has come back looking for the backpacks. I’m guessing we’ll never know who put them there or why, but likely we’ll see him or her passing by our home. Without the medication, they might be another of the many people we see having a conversation with themselves, flailing at unseen opponents or dancing to music no one else hears.