The mayor of Texas’ capital city is taking heat for visiting Los Angeles to bring back some tips on how to deal with a homeless problem he helped create.

Austin’s city council voted June 20 to allow the homeless to legally camp out in public areas, a policy that kicked in just two weeks later.

Then, one week later, Mayor Steve Adler took off for Los Angeles, which is ironically infamous for a surging homeless population estimated to be 60,000.

“It’s generally wise to study solutions to a problem and assess the successes and failures,” begins a PJ Media story about Mayor Adler, “before taking a vote on it and putting a policy in place.”

Adler also visited Seattle, which is also being overrun with homeless people.

Cathie Adams of Eagle Forum says Adler should have learned what not to do after his West Coast trip or else wasted his time.

“And when you have Typhus showing up in American streets today,” she says, “there is no reason for this other than an irresponsible politician."

With a population of approximately 960,000, Austin is the Lone Star State’s fourth largest city behind Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas.

Adams

Instead of spending taxpayers’ dollars on his trip, says Adams, Adler could have driven just an hour south to San Antonio, which she says is taking a far better approach to help homeless veterans.

“And what they have done,” she tells OneNewsNow, “is provide a one-stop shop for those homeless people in order to find the help that they need, whether it's a mental illness or a physical illness --- whatever their needs are --- let's help them."

San Antonio’s effort was also mentioned in the PJ Media story, which described the Haven of Hope facility that has become a national model. The facility is also 60 percent privately funded.

The story by Bryan Preston also pointed out that Abilene is housing its homeless veterans --- and there is no policy allowing them to sleep on the streets and sidewalks and city parks.