The Austin City Council will consider increasing services for the homeless this week. A resolution sponsored by council member Jennifer Kim calls for adding bed space and expanding recovery programs. Kim says Austin needs a "comprehensive and compassionate" approach to taking care of the homeless. While Kim at one time supported a panhandling ban on city roadways and within a certain distance schools, she now feels those issues can be better addressed with stricter enforcement of the current laws.

The idea of expanding homeless services doesn't sit well with one downtown business owner. Bob Woody, owner of several bars and restaurants on Sixth Street, says he fears more bed space could only fuel the ranks of the homeless downtown to the detriment of Austin's tourist district.

"My customer in a lot of cases has become the tourist," says Woody. "It's not safe to come into that area where the homeless are. It's your vehicle or you are going to be accosted or assaulted."

Kim, however, says money should go into proven programs that help turn around the lives of the homeless.

"It just makes sense to make that investment that we know will work," says Kim.

Kim's resolution goes in front of the council on Thursday. It also includes collecting more information from the homeless and increasing the marketing and operation of the city's two day labor sites.

One state organization, the Texas Homeless Network, estimates there are as many as 6,000 homeless people living in Austin.