Houston, Texas — One week after Houston opened its much-anticipated homeless super hub, the sidewalks and benches around City Hall look largely the same.
On Monday afternoon, Eyewitness News spotted around a dozen people sleeping on benches along the City Hall reflection pool, while one man wandered the grounds shouting obscenities at passersby.
For visitors like Aurelia, who was in town from Michigan with her family, the scene was hard to ignore.
“This being City Hall, I guess that is a little eye-opening, right, that it’s here out in the open for everyone to see,” she said.
A Ban That Isn’t Being Enforced
Last summer, the city passed a 24/7 sidewalk-sleeping ban in downtown and the East End.
But on Monday, reporters found person after person sleeping on sidewalks in broad daylight — at the Pierce Elevated, on Fannin, and at the corner of Main and Holman — suggesting the ban is doing little to move people off the streets.
The Hub Can’t House Everyone
The new homeless super hub, located in East Downtown, has a capacity of just 222 people.
According to the Coalition for the Homeless, Harris County had approximately 3,000 people without homes in 2025 — meaning the facility can shelter only a small fraction of those who need it.
As of Monday, the Harris Center for Mental Health, which runs the facility, confirmed it was housing over 100 people.
There is another significant hurdle — the hub is not accepting walk-ins. Guests must be dropped off by law enforcement, leaving many homeless individuals without a direct path to getting inside.
“Has anyone from the city come by and offered you guys a place to stay?” a reporter asked one man camped outside City Hall.
“Nope,” he replied.
Homeless Residents Speak Out
For Anthony Harper, who remains on the streets despite the new facility, the situation speaks for itself.
“Look around, and we still out here on the streets. What does that tell you?” Harper said. “If y’all built something brand new, it should at least house these few people.”
Even among those who have secured housing, the challenges run deep.
Tauresha Thomas now lives in a government-subsidized apartment — but she still spends her days at a nearby gas station because her unit came with nothing inside.
“No bed, no clothes, no nothing,” she said. “So I come out here because that’s where I can get those things.”
Thomas also doubts many of her peers would accept shelter even if it were offered.
“They have to want it. They don’t,” she said.
That sentiment is backed by data — about 40% of people offered shelter during a recent housing surge declined, according to the Coalition for the Homeless.
City Says This Is a Long-Term Plan
The city pushed back on the idea that the hub was a quick fix — or a move tied to Houston’s upcoming World Cup hosting duties.
“This facility will operate before, during, and after the World Cup and is part of a larger strategic plan to reduce street homelessness in Houston,” a city statement read.
For the people still sleeping on the streets outside City Hall, that long-term plan cannot move fast enough.
One week in and the streets still look the same. Do you think Houston’s homeless hub is the right approach? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
