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Late at night on April 23, under the cover of darkness, John and Marilee Eitel drove around Rollingwood on their golf cart, planting signs in their neighbors' yards.
They featured song lyrics from Willie Nelson ("I just can't wait to get back on the road again"), The Little Mermaid ("I want to be where the people are"), Talking Heads ("Home is where I want I want to be") and Bob Marley ("Everything's going to be alright"). One version included advice from Minister of Culture Matthew McConaughey ("Just keep livin'").
"The next morning it was super fun to wake up and see the Instagram posts and Facebook messages and NextDoor messages with people saying, 'Have you seen the really cool signs?'" John said. "It started to get even more interesting because people are like, 'Look, there's more of them.' 'I found them over here.' It became kind of an Easter egg hunt, and no one knew who did it."
John got the idea to make the signs a few weeks into the coronavirus quarantine, during which he got into the habit of walking along a four-mile loop in Rollingwood. "My wife and I started to see that as our outlet to the outside world and our chance to socialize and see neighbors," he said.
One night, on a whim, John broached the idea of making signs. He works for Canva, a company that makes graphic design software, and—after drumming up about a dozen different sign ideas—reached out to a coworker, who printed 50 and shipped them to the Eitels.
Since the signs made their debut, John has revealed his identity—and is now fielding requests from neighbors near and far. John placed a second order for 50 signs and then a third for 100 more. "It's been neat to see them popping up in lots of new neighborhoods," he said, citing appearances in Clarksville, Tarrytown and even on someone's boat dock.
A Google form used to corral orders revealed crowd favorites, such as the Beatles' lyric, "All you need is love." John said he's enjoying the crowdsourcing nature of the project and making connections with Austin residents he might not have met otherwise, especially at a moment when our worlds feel smaller than usual.
On Wednesday, John is expecting his fourth shipment, which will bring the total number of signs to 400. When they arrive, he and his family will help prep the deliveries, with Marilee delineating orders with Post-It Notes and their children driving them to their new homes.
"I hope that my kids come away from this with a really positive memory," John said. "How we were able to make a small impact on people's lives and bring some positivity into our lives."
(John and Marilee Eitel)
Popular
Homeless residents gather an at a camp under an overpass in South Austin. (Jordan Vonderhaar)
Editor's note: These submissions are the unedited views of their authors. Claims made have not been fact-checked to give the proponent and opponent a chance to speak their minds freely.
Pro: Voting yes on Prop B sends a message to council that voters' voices and real solutions are paramount
In June 2019, the Austin City Council rescinded regulations on camping in public spaces. They did so without any serious public discussion and in fact appeared to actively avoid serious scrutiny. The resulting chaos is clear for all to see. Parks and playgrounds impacted by illicit behavior, lewd activities in public, trash strewn in waterways and public spaces, and most critically, assaults on the public and on other homeless individuals.
It is obvious that the homeless are not helped by this misadventure. Vulnerable women and youth in these camps are abused, mentally ill individuals are not served and there is no incentive for substance abusers to seek help.
Proponents of this mess have put forward no credible plan for any short term housing that restores safety—instead they talk about abstract housing concepts that even they acknowledge will take years to develop. This is the mark of narrowly focused activism, not what citizens should expect from elected leaders who promise to serve their communities. At every turn, the proponents of this chaos have demonstrated that they are not capable of fully considering the needs of diverse communities and proposing workable solutions. Instead they simply double down on trying to tell Austin that anything other than their chaos is heartless and inhumane. This is intellectually lazy, and Austin should demand better.
The chaos created by the City Council has resulted in a public outcry culminating in the citizens demanding to be heard by direct ballot. This demand is across the political and economic spectrum. As a co-founder of the Save Austin Now PAC and a lifelong Democrat, I have seen the diversity of people raising their voices in concern for our city.
It's time we turn this situation around and vote yes on Prop B. It sends a clear message to the council that the citizens of Austin must be heard as we work toward real solutions. There are successful models to learn from and some in our own state. But it all starts with voting yes on Prop B starting April 19.
Con: Prop B blames homeless individuals rather than providing solutions to societal problems
Austin's homeless population needs help, but Prop B doesn't do anything to solve our city's problems. It simply tells people who are experiencing homelessness that they cannot exist, visibly, in public space. I, too, am worried about the encampments. They are evidence that our strategies to help people return to housing aren't sufficient. But telling people "You can't stay here" without giving them alternatives isn't a solution.
The reason so many people are experiencing homelessness is that it takes a long time to get into housing, even when you do everything right. Shelters are at capacity, we lack deeply affordable housing, landlords can refuse housing vouchers, and housing programs are full.
As a case study, I want to tell you about "Bill," whom I met two years ago. Bill was a veteran, father, former truck driver and person of faith. He was also homeless and unsheltered. Bill had recently suffered a series of strokes and was desperate for both disability income and housing.
Bill and I worked together every single week for 17 months. He eventually was awarded disability and moved into his own apartment.
Bill's situation is typical of hundreds of people who are stymied by our complicated processes and lack of housing. Prop B would not add resources for people like Bill. Read the ballot language. Because Prop B bans "camping," people would have to move around constantly to avoid being cited. All that moving around takes time and energy. People like Bill would have a harder time keeping their appointments with case managers. Unpaid fines from citations build a criminal record—and landlords can choose not to rent to someone with a record. So punishing people for not having housing makes it even harder to get housing. Prop B hurts, not helps.
In this election, Austinites have a choice to criminalize people like Bill or to work toward solutions. Prop B places the blame on individuals rather than recognizing homelessness as a failure of society.
Prop B is an inhumane and wrong response. Oppose Prop B, and let's focus on solutions. Learn more here.- Austin Mayor Steve Adler says camping ban 'is not working' - austonia ›
- Calls, counts and camps: Homelessness in Austin by the numbers ... ›
- Austonia's guide to the May 1 local election - austonia ›
