CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — Over the last few months, I’ve talked to neighbors about dining and dashing, breaking and entering, and even witnessed my photographer get assaulted while covering these issues on Corpus Christi’s Northside.
I’ve spoken with city officials and reported on the city’s grants and programs designed to help, but businesses on the Northside say it’s just not enough right now.
A few weeks ago, I interviewed Lucy Salinas about her dress shop on the Northside. This time, she tells me her car has been broken into, but her last straw came when thieves stole the flower pots she planted outside her shop.
Ring video captured people stealing the planters from her business.
“It makes me angry. They’re just flowers,” Salinas said.
She says she’s called police multiple times over the years but still feels helpless.
“I don’t know what the solution would be. I really don’t,” Salinas said.
This time, I took those concerns directly to District 1 Councilman Everett Roy, whose district has the most abandoned homes in the entire city.
“Yes, it’s an issue. It’s an issue on Leopard,” Roy said.
Roy says addressing homelessness is complex, with multiple factors at play.
“Mental health and homelessness are tied together,” Roy said.
When complaints come in, police are sometimes the first response.
“You have to police them you have to give them a citation for trespassing and then they have to go through our municipal system,” Roy said.
But when many are released just days later, Roy says the cycle can continue.
He points to long-term solutions including affordable housing projects and nonprofit programs that the city hopes will reduce the number of people living on the streets.
When it comes to relief for Northside businesses, Roy says there is no quick fix. He calls the situation complicated, saying it requires law enforcement, social services and long-term housing solutions all working together.
Roy acknowledges the issue while emphasizing that homeless individuals still need to be treated with dignity because they are still people. He calls it a slippery slope but says the city is continuing to work toward solutions.
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