Data from the city’s first point-in-time count of the local homeless population in three years show a slight decrease in the total number of people living without shelter, with laws against camping in public causing a sharp decrease in the number of unhoused people in the downtown core. Austin’s Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) released […]
ECHO
The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) is, according to its website, “a collaborative funding and planning nonprofit that is fiercely committed to ending homelessness in Austin, TX.” The groups brings together resources to serve the city’s homeless population and works with agencies to bring together leaders, volunteers and other nonprofits to help the cause.
Posted inPublic Health
New forecast modeling puts Austin homeless population near 4,600
New methods for counting and forecasting by one of Austin’s leading homelessness services organizations suggests nearly 4,600 people are experiencing homelessness in the city, far higher than previous estimates and counts using federal guidelines. The new figure was revealed at last week’s Downtown Commission meeting in a report from Dianna Grey, the city’s homeless strategy […]
Posted inPublic Health
Downtown Alliance praises ‘transformation’ of ARCH under new management
Just months after the management switch-up at the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, the Downtown Austin Alliance is praising what it calls “transformational change” at the downtown men’s shelter. The alliance’s safety and hospitality committee toured the facility in early December to learn about recent improvements made by Urban Alchemy, the California-based nonprofit now in […]
Posted inHousing
ECHO offers lease incentives to real estate agents for placing homeless tenants
Real estate agents in Austin have an incentive to find market-rate homes for those experiencing homelessness, and help one of the city’s main homeless services nonprofits lower the number of people facing housing instability. Austin’s Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, known as ECHO, has launched its new Realtor Incentive Program, which offers a sliding scale of […]
Posted inHousing
City anticipating three new hotels for homeless housing
The city expects to have about 190 new hotel rooms available by the end of June to provide permanent supportive housing to homeless people who are found to need long-term assistance to avoid winding up on the streets again. Approximately 60 additional affordable units will be operated by a nonprofit partner. During a presentation at […]
Posted inDevelopment
Tax break proposal prompts call for changes to county’s public-private partnerships
The Travis County Commissioners Court may consider changes to the county’s affordable housing program to encourage apartment developers to provide more meaningful rent reductions in exchange for property tax abatements. Commissioner Brigid Shea suggested future changes as commissioners deliberated two public-private housing partnerships at their June 29 meeting. Both proposals were postponed to Tuesday’s meeting. […]
Posted inAustin
Austin’s homeless population remained steady during pandemic, survey shows
Austin’s homeless population has remained steady since last year, according to the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition’s annual count. All told, this year’s count found 3,160 people were experiencing homelessness in Austin, ECHO says. The agency says 2,238 people were unsheltered, while 922 people were in traditional shelters or staying in the hotel properties acquired by […]
Posted inAustin
Big-picture look at homelessness downtown shows challenges ahead
A cross-section of representatives briefed the Downtown Commission on Wednesday about an ambitious suite of strategies underway to house unsheltered individuals in Austin. Their message was clear: The city and its partners are doing an enormous amount of work toward providing housing and other services to people experiencing homelessness. The response from some commissioners was equally […]
Posted inHousing
The city is closing shelters it set up for homeless Austinites during Covid. Residents want to know when.
Last Wednesday, Helen Davis was in St. Louis, tired, sore and 825 miles from home without bus fare or a place to stay. As cars whizzed by, she wracked her brain, trying to think of an excuse – something to tell the bus driver so he’d let her on for free. She’d tried to pay […]
Posted inAustin
Austin sees 10-year high in the number of people experiencing homelessness
The number of people experiencing homelessness in Austin hit a 10-year high in 2020, according to a new report. Data from the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition’s point-in-time count show that 2,506 people were homeless on the night of the annual census, Jan. 25. More than half of them – 1,574 – were on the street […]
Posted inCity Council
Council members support using hotels to house homeless, but are wary of locations and quick timeline
Austin City Council members say they’re concerned about the timeline, placement and funding strategy for a plan to expand efforts to buy and retrofit hotels to house homeless Austinites. Last month, Council OK’d a plan to buy the Rodeway Inn near Oltorf and Interstate 35 to house at least 87 people. At their work session […]
Posted inAustin
Proposed partnership with ECHO would convert more motels to temporarily house Austin’s homeless
ECHO, the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, says the addition of 200-300 short-term motel units would substantially impact the community of Austinites living without shelter. In a memo sent Tuesday to the mayor and City Council, city staff said they agree. Earlier this month, Council approved buying the Rodeway Inn in South Austin and converting the […]