Shelter Space Calculator: Does Your City Have Enough Beds?
The new Texas laws criminalize sleeping outside in cities over 50,000 people. This calculator shows whether your city has enough shelter beds to serve the homeless population based on 2025 data.
Note: State law requires cities to have shelter space before enforcing sleeping bans, but many cities fall far short of this requirement.
Results
With homeless people and shelter beds:
The shelter space ratio is %
In 2025, Texas has passed a series of new laws that directly affect how homeless people live, sleep, and move through public spaces. These aren’t just policy tweaks-they’ve changed the daily reality for thousands of people without homes. If you’ve walked past a tent under a bridge in Austin, seen someone sleeping on a bench in Houston, or heard about city sweeps in Dallas, you’ve seen the real impact of these laws. They don’t offer more housing. They don’t increase funding for shelters. Instead, they make it harder to survive on the streets without breaking the law.
It’s Illegal to Sleep Outside-Even When There’s No Shelter Space
The most controversial change came with Senate Bill 14, signed in May 2025. It bans sleeping, camping, or lying down in public spaces in any city with a population over 50,000. That includes parks, sidewalks, bus stops, and even under overpasses. The law says it’s a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to $500. But here’s the catch: cities aren’t required to prove they have enough shelter beds available before enforcing it. In Houston, there are roughly 4,200 shelter beds for an estimated 7,800 homeless people. In Austin, the gap is even wider. That means someone sleeping outside isn’t just being irresponsible-they’re being criminalized for having nowhere else to go.
Shelters Are Now Required to Turn People Away If They’re ‘Under the Influence’
House Bill 218, passed alongside SB 14, gives shelters the legal right to refuse entry to anyone who appears to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. That sounds reasonable until you realize most shelters don’t have detox programs. A person struggling with addiction can’t just wait until they’re sober-they need a place to rest while they’re in withdrawal. Without that space, they’re pushed back onto the street. In San Antonio, one shelter reported turning away 187 people in the first month after the law took effect. Many of them were homeless veterans or people who had lost jobs after an injury. They weren’t choosing to use substances. They were self-medicating to cope with trauma, chronic pain, or mental illness.
Public Property Sweeps Are Now Faster and More Frequent
Before 2025, cities had to give 72 hours’ notice before sweeping encampments. Now, under new local ordinances adopted in 20 cities, that notice has been cut to 24 hours-or eliminated entirely if the city claims the area is a "public safety hazard." In El Paso, crews began clearing encampments within hours of a complaint. Personal belongings-sleeping bags, medications, photos, work documents-were thrown into dumpsters. Some people lost everything they owned in a single morning. There’s no legal requirement for cities to store or return those items. The state law says only that items must be "discarded in a reasonable manner." That phrase has become a loophole for ignoring human dignity.
Homeless People Can’t Ask for Money-Even If They’re Not Blocking Traffic
Another law, House Bill 392, bans soliciting money or food in public places in any city with more than 100,000 residents. This includes holding up a sign saying "Homeless Veteran, Any Help Is Appreciated" or asking for spare change at a stoplight. Even if you’re standing still and not blocking anyone, it’s now illegal. Police in Fort Worth have issued over 1,200 citations under this law since July. The city claims it’s about reducing "harassment," but no data shows that panhandling increased before the law. What did increase? Arrests of people who had no other way to get food or bus fare.
What About the Shelters? Are They Better Now?
The state did allocate $250 million for homeless services in the 2025 budget. But most of it went to building new shelters-not expanding services. Many of these new facilities are located far from public transit, in industrial zones with no grocery stores or clinics nearby. One shelter in Lubbock opened with 150 beds but no showers, no laundry, and no mental health counselors. People who walked in expecting help found themselves in a cold, crowded room with no privacy and no support. The state calls these "transitional housing units." The people living there call them "temporary prisons."
There’s also a new rule that limits stays in state-funded shelters to 30 days unless you’re enrolled in a job training program. But those programs are oversubscribed. In Dallas, the waitlist for a single job readiness class is six months long. So people cycle in and out of shelters, then back onto the street. The system isn’t designed to help. It’s designed to manage.
Who’s Really Being Harmed?
These laws don’t target people who choose to be homeless. They target the most vulnerable: veterans with PTSD, survivors of domestic violence, teens kicked out of homes, people with untreated schizophrenia, and low-wage workers who lost their apartments after one missed paycheck. A 2025 study by the University of Texas at Austin found that 68% of people arrested under these new laws had been diagnosed with a mental illness. Only 12% had been convicted of a violent crime. Most were arrested for sleeping, sitting, or asking for food.
What’s the Alternative? What Works?
Other states have tried a different approach. Utah, for example, spent years housing people first-then offering services. They cut chronic homelessness by 91% between 2005 and 2015. Oregon passed a law in 2023 that requires cities to provide shelter before enforcing camping bans. Florida’s courts struck down similar laws after ruling they violated the Eighth Amendment. Texas hasn’t followed any of those paths. Instead, it’s chosen punishment over solutions.
Where Can People Turn?
Legal aid groups like the Texas Homeless Network and the American Civil Liberties Union are challenging these laws in court. Some churches and grassroots groups are offering food, clothing, and temporary safe spaces outside the system. But they’re stretched thin. Volunteers can’t replace housing. Can’t replace therapy. Can’t replace income.
If you’re homeless in Texas right now, you’re caught in a system that treats survival as a crime. There’s no easy fix. But understanding these laws is the first step. Whether you’re affected, know someone who is, or just want to see how policy shapes lives-this isn’t just about Texas. It’s about what kind of society we’re building when we decide that sleeping on the sidewalk is worse than being homeless.
Are homeless people being arrested for sleeping outside in Texas?
Yes. Under Senate Bill 14, sleeping or camping in public spaces is a Class C misdemeanor in cities with over 50,000 people. Police have issued thousands of citations since the law took effect in July 2025, even in areas where shelters are full or unavailable.
Can homeless people be turned away from shelters if they’re drunk or high?
Yes. House Bill 218 allows shelters to deny entry to anyone who appears to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. This applies even if the person has nowhere else to go, and many shelters don’t have detox services or medical staff to help them safely withdraw.
Do Texas shelters have enough space for everyone who needs them?
No. In major cities like Houston and Austin, there are only about half as many shelter beds as there are homeless people. Many shelters also have strict rules-like time limits or sobriety requirements-that further reduce available space.
Is it illegal to ask for money on the street in Texas?
Yes. House Bill 392 bans soliciting money or food in public places in cities with over 100,000 residents. This includes holding signs or asking for change-even if you’re not blocking sidewalks or harassing people.
What happens to belongings when encampments are cleared?
Cities are not required to store or return belongings after sweeps. Items like clothing, medications, documents, and photos are often thrown away. Some cities claim they "discard in a reasonable manner," but there’s no oversight or accountability for what happens to those items.
Are there any legal challenges to these laws?
Yes. The ACLU and Texas Homeless Network are filing lawsuits arguing these laws violate the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Courts in other states have ruled similar bans unconstitutional when no shelter space is available.
What Comes Next?
These laws won’t disappear overnight. But awareness is growing. More Texans are asking: Why are we punishing people for being poor? Why are we spending millions on arrests instead of housing? The answer isn’t in more police. It’s in more housing. More mental health care. More dignity.
If you’re reading this and wondering what you can do-don’t wait for the government to fix it. Support local shelters. Volunteer. Donate blankets, socks, or hygiene kits. But also, speak up. Call your city council. Ask why your tax dollars are funding sweeps instead of solutions. Because the next time you see someone sleeping on the sidewalk, don’t look away. Ask yourself: Is this what justice looks like?