Sunrise is located near a nearby elementary school, and residents have reported public urination, defecation and violent behavior, the release states. The center provides humanitarian services such as food and shelter to people experiencing homelessness in South Austin.
Sunrise learned through the media that Paxton had filed a lawsuit against the center and issued the following statement in response:
“While it is unfortunate that Attorney General Paxton has chosen this path, especially during Thanksgiving week, Sunrise is committed to serving those in need in our community. We will continue to provide our services.” “We are committed to being good neighbors. We will continue to work every day to support Joslin Elementary School, our neighborhood, and our entire community.”
Through an OAG investigation, residents learned that people who frequent the center threaten passersby with machetes, masturbate while assaulting female pedestrians, and break into local homes and businesses. He testified that he witnessed it, the statement said. Because the center is located next to Xulin Elementary School, students and staff said they saw homeless people “walking around naked, committing lewd acts, relieving themselves in public, and openly engaging in drug use,” according to the filing. ” was also witnessed.
“The drug activity and criminal activity promoted by this organization has taken over the entire neighborhood,” Paxton said. “This organization threatens the health and safety of students and disproportionately worsens the daily lives of individual neighborhood residents by operating taxpayer-funded free distributions of drug paraphernalia next to elementary schools. We will shut down this illegal nuisance.”
The release states that the school has been forced into a “lockdown” in recent years due to the actions of some individuals at Sunrise. Paxton asked the court for a temporary restraining order that could prevent Sunrise from operating in the future, the release said.
Since 2015, Sunrise has been Travis County’s largest provider of homeless services and “has helped more than 4,275 people move into safe and supportive housing,” a release from the center said. Hilberink said that because Sunrise is a faith-based ministry through Sunrise Community Church, it is “complimented by the First Amendment, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalization Act, and the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. It’s protected.”
