HOUSTON — Just one day after Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced the city has a plan to address homelessness, local business leaders took to the streets to draw attention to some of the city's most vulnerable.
The business leaders ditched the comfort of their own beds to sleep out in the cold on the street to bring awareness to youth experiencing homelessness as a part of a campaign with Covenant House Houston.
The mayor's $70 million plan aims to provide resources to some local nonprofit groups to help get folks off the streets. The first year of funding will be gathered by about $25 million committed by the city, $20 million from the county, $15 million from philanthropy and corporations and about $10 million from other government entities.
"This condition affects every Houstonian" Whitmire said. "We’re expanding the George Brown Convention Center. You come out of George Brown today and you deal with people living on the street. It’s not safe for them it’s not safe for our guests, so we’re reaching out to every department, every institution in the med center. It's a great asset but to protect it we need to deal with the street homeless."
The plan involves assistance from law enforcement and will also be pushing for changes at the state level.
Next week, Whitmire intends to unveil a new ordinance, which would make it illegal to sleep on city streets after 9 p.m.