Though headlines this year announced that the homeless head count in Dallas County had gone down, many Dallasites were skeptical. They only have to look out their window to see tents, dirty mattresses and stolen shopping carts.

“This is a constant battle,” read a recent 311 complaint to Dallas City Hall.

In the past 30 days, Dallas’ 311 service has received more than 1,000 complaints about homeless encampments, records show. Residents and businesses complained about homeless people urinating and defecating on the sidewalk or other public places where children can see them. They complained about tents behind neighborhoods and apartments, under bridges and near retail stores, and reported unsheltered people cutting holes through highway fences.

Dallas’ “housing first” strategy to shut down a camp only once a permanent home has been secured for every camp resident is not quick enough to address the disorder that residents live with every day. The city simply cannot tolerate having people sleeping on the street or in wooded areas for days or weeks at a time. We need a middle ground, and the Dallas City Council is right to explore a pilot program for transitional housing options.

According to a recent council briefing, these would be makeshift homes without foundations, making them temporary structures. Dallas isn’t pioneering anything here; other cities struggling with homelessness have provided a roadmap. Think of tiny, prefabricated homes and refurbished shipping containers arranged neatly on parking lots to create small communities or “villages.” City staff and council members recently visited transitional housing sites in Los Angeles and Atlanta, where nonprofits provide “wraparound” services for residents to get them job training and help them get apartments.

Each person gets his or her own private unit, and it’s much quicker and cheaper for cities and nonprofits to set up these communities than it is to build an apartment complex or neighborhood.

There is some concern that transitional housing could distract from the city’s efforts to get more permanent supportive housing built. Dallas clearly needs both.

“We talk about what we’re getting: a roof over your head, a door that locks, something that’s waterproof, something that has electricity,” City Council member Jesse Moreno, chair of the council’s housing committee, said at a recent meeting. “And I just can’t understand how some folks can argue against this type of housing versus a tent on the streets.”

Of course, there will be lots of complexities to sort through. There is the question of where the temporary housing would go and how operating costs would be covered, including social services and security. Dallas has some capital funds earmarked for homelessness to invest as seed money, and council members are interested in a two-year pilot program.

We have concerns about the idea of city-sanctioned encampments that would keep people outdoors, and we cannot tolerate city-sanctioned lawless spaces. The council has to carefully vet temporary housing options and potential private partners. What it can’t do is sit around the horseshoe and accept things the way they are now.

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New and old was the theme for FC Dallas’ final match prior to Leagues Cup and the MLS All-Star game.

The New England Revolution gave homegrown defender Peyton Miller his first MLS start. The decision paid dividends for them, as he combined with veteran striker Bobby Wood for a goal in the 65th minute.

In what looked like another road loss for FCD became a crucial road point thanks to rookie Logan Farrington’s ball into the box in stoppage time that found its way to homegrown, 19-year-old forward Tarik Scott. Scott was taken down by the Revolution’s Henry Kessler for a penalty in which FCD’s veteran winger Paul Arriola buried into the top corner. The match ended in a 1-1 draw at Gillette Stadium.

FCD entered the match with two consecutive victories and the Revolution had their joint-equal biggest loss of the season on Wednesday to the Philadelphia Union.

The two club’s recent form would do little to forecast the events of Saturday night.

New England dominated the majority of the match with 54% possession and 12 shots compared to FCD’s seven. The match began with the Revolution putting ball after ball into FCD’s box, with the road side having little choice but to concede corner kicks and look for the rare counter-attacking chance. The Revolution’s young phenom Miller hit FCD keeper and MLS All-Star Maarten Paes’ near post with a rocket of a shot in the 8th minute.

FCD wouldn’t find themselves with much in the way of opportunities until well past a third of the match had gone by and the rain started to teem down in Foxborough, MA. A Revolution turnover in the 35th minute led to what looked like a certain goal on the break, only for Arriola’s low cross to be blocked for a corner.

Miller would get a welcome to the MLS moment in the 37th minute when FCD Sebastien Ibeagha flew into a 50/50 ball, taking out the 16-year-old and causing a confrontation between the two sides.

The half ended with a pair of Revolution chances that came in the form of misplaced Wood headers.

The second half began much like the first, where FCD was forced to look for chances on the counterattack. FCD’s Farrington had what looked like a golden opportunity on the breakaway, and a near assist in the 60th minute that defender Sam Junqua couldn’t put away. A challenge in the box was reviewed by VAR for a potential penalty, but none was given.

After the Revolution’s Wood broke the deadlock with a headed goal in the 65th minute, the home side added a second just three minutes later. That was until the Tommy McNamara header past Paes was ruled offside.

FCD’s Sebastian Lletget went down multiple times in the second half with what first appeared to be a head injury. When he made his way slowly to the bench in the 74th minute, he looked to be limping.

The match looked to be all decided headed into the lengthy 11 minutes of stoppage time due in no small part to Lletget’s multiple injury stoppages. The only chance for FCD came from a tepid long rage effort from Eugene Ansah in the 88th minute.

Despite their road point on Saturday, and Arriola showing his skill from the penalty spot, FCD has yet to win three games in a row since the end of 2020 and the team hasn’t won a road game since the final day of the regular season last year.

The good news is not only did FCD rescue a point when they were missing their leading goal striker and club-record signing Petar Musa due to yellow card accumulation, but they are creeping ever closer to a playoff spot, sitting just three points behind Minnesota, who currently holds the 9th place and final playoff wild card spot in the Western Conference.

FCD’s next match will be a Leagues Cup road game against St. Louis on Saturday, Jul. 27 at 8:00 p.m. They won’t be back in MLS regular season play until Aug. 24 when they play at D.C. United.

Find more FC Dallas coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.