On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court approved a whopping $3 million agreement with the Other Ones Foundation, a nonprofit that provides housing aid and case management for unhoused individuals. This is the second of 11 housing projects that the county pledged to fund as part of a gargantuan federal sum designated for supportive housing.
“This is part of the $110 million that Travis County committed to address affordable housing and supportive housing, people that are unhoused, and build a pipeline of supportive housing units,” County Judge Andy Brown said. “This agreement with the Other Ones Foundation is the second agreement to begin implementation of this investment.”
In addition to housing support, the Other Ones Foundation helps connects homeless individuals to work opportunities.
“It’ll pay for approximately 200 shelters,” County Executive Pilar Sanchez said. “They’re tiny shelters with restroom facilities: 36 individual stalls in eight facilities.”
The shelters, which are about 100 square feet, according to Sanchez, feature flexible spaces for laundry, a kitchen, open-air gathering and a community center. The shelter units will be located at the Esperanza Community, a transitional shelter in East Austin.
“They have temperature control, locking doors, and essential furnishing will be provided with a life span of approximately 20 years. And broadband will be included across the complex,” Sanchez said.
“Today’s contract approval for the Other Ones Foundation gets us one step closer to enough housing for our community members who are unsheltered. More importantly, this contract will provide the wraparound services needed for these neighbors to achieve stability in permanent housing,” Commissioner Ann Howard said.
“The Esperanza Community is a vital part of the continuum of care. A low-barrier shelter with an individual occupancy model is crucial for the many people who have struggled to engage with more traditional shelter services: folks with pets, couples, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and more. The TOOF community is honored to work with all our supporters to create a place where Austin’s unhoused neighbors are offered reliable and equitable access to shelter, opportunity, and support,” said Chris Baker, TOOF executive director.
During the public comment period, longtime advocate Zenobia Joseph called in to voice some concerns over project transparency and equity.
“While I certainly appreciate our brothers and sisters being housed in Southeast Austin, I just want to remind you that Austin is the most economically segregated metro area,” Joseph said to commissioners, referencing a 2015 study from the University of Toronto.
“Our brothers and sisters are being housed on the east side as opposed to west of MoPac. This is state-owned property and I’d just ask Commissioner Howard to be transparent and let us know if there’s any space in West Austin where our brothers and sisters can live.”
Joseph also mentioned that, in one of the overall project documents, some of the information about the Austin Area Urban League, a nonprofit that helps Black communities in Austin, was redacted.
Editor’s Note: Andy Brown is on the board of the Capital of Texas Media Foundation, the parent nonprofit of the Austin Monitor.
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Travis County Commissioners Court: The legislative body for Travis County. It includes representatives from the four Travis County Precincts, as well as the County Judge. The County Judge serves as the chair of the Court.
