Tag Archives: homelessness
Wednesday, February 20, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
Council wants more cooperation, action at watershed homeless sites
City Council members sitting on the Health and Human Services Committee told city staff last week they want more urgency and cross-department team work in the execution of a new pilot program to clean up homeless encampments located in the…
Monday, February 11, 2019 by Jessi Devenyns
Austin
Watershed department works with city to clean up homeless camps
The number of people experiencing homelessness is growing in the city of Austin. Last fall, recognizing the crisis on the streets and the pressure on city resources, City Council approved an increased budget to help relieve the situation.In addition to…
Monday, February 4, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
City Hall
City putting high expectations on pending ‘homelessness czar’ position
By the end of this month, the city is expected to name a new “homelessness czar” – or homeless strategy officer in city hiring speak. The new hire will become the point person to coordinate programs from the city and…
Thursday, January 31, 2019 by Andrew Weber
City Council
New city agreement with ARCH would shift focus to housing
The Austin City Council will vote Thursday on renewing the contract for Front Steps, the operator of the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless. The new agreement could bring systemic changes to the city’s homeless shelter.One of those changes would…
Wednesday, January 30, 2019 by Jo Clifton
City Council
Council considering emergency shelter resolution
The number of homeless people in Austin continues to grow, yet shelter for these people has not kept pace, according to data gathered by the city and the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, or ECHO. On any given day, there were…
Tuesday, December 11, 2018 by Chad Swiatecki
Planning
Waller Creek taxes ID’d to possibly fund $30M in housing for homeless
City staff members have recommended that City Council consider using funds from the tax increment refinancing zone (TIRZ) created for the Waller Creek improvement project and system of parks as the biggest funding source for providing housing and services for…
Tuesday, November 27, 2018 by Audrey McGlinchy
Austin
People living on the streets can now clean up Austin’s parks for an hourly wage
People experiencing homelessness can now work for the city of Austin.The city’s Parks and Recreation Department, along with Austin Public Health, The Other Ones Foundation and City Council Member Ellen Troxclair, highlighted the pilot program Monday in South Austin.Joe Pacheco,…
Tuesday, November 20, 2018 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
City seeks grants, partnerships to implement tech solutions for homeless
The city’s Innovation Office has applied for a $400,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, with the goal of directing the money toward implementing a suite of blockchain technology solutions to help the city’s homeless population.The grant application is…
Monday, November 5, 2018 by Chad Swiatecki
Health & Human Services
Seton offers homeless groups space to address trafficking, services
Nonprofits addressing homelessness in Austin will get some long-sought-after help in steering clients through the area’s network of services designed to get them off the streets and into stable housing.Seton Healthcare Family has announced a new partnership with the Ending…
Thursday, October 18, 2018 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
More homes, services on the way for homeless with Community First! expansion
A Northeast Austin community constructed in recent years to provide permanent housing to Austin’s chronically homeless has announced its plans for a second phase that will nearly double its physical footprint to 51 acres and, when complete, serve nearly 800…
Tuesday, October 9, 2018 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
Homeless services would get a boost from recommended budget earmarks
A budget amendment expected to go before City Council later this month would seek to direct up to $1 million in new money toward improvements to Austin’s downtown homeless shelter and provide other resources to move people out of homelessness.A…
Wednesday, October 3, 2018 by Andrew Weber
Austin
Austin reconsiders homelessness ordinances as Houston laws are challenged in court
It’s a new fiscal year for the city of Austin, and one of the myriad items on City Council agendas over the next year will be an overhaul of ordinances relating to homelessness. That won’t be easy, as federal courts…
Wednesday, October 3, 2018 by Ryan Thornton
Travis County
County dedicates $3M to permanent supportive housing
The Travis County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday morning to dedicate $3 million to permanent supportive housing for repeat users of the criminal justice and health care systems.The county’s $3 million, comprising $600,000 annually over five years, is roughly a fifth…
Thursday, September 13, 2018 by Jack Craver
Budget
City boosts spending on homelessness, but advocates still disappointed
The Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget approved by City Council on Tuesday includes a $3.4 million increase in funding for homelessness services. City staff estimates that the new funds come on top of more than $26 million in annual city spending…
Friday, August 17, 2018 by Jack Craver
Austin
City budget boosts spending for homelessness services
The new city manager and City Council agree: The city needs more money to address the homelessness situation.The proposed Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget submitted by City Manager Spencer Cronk includes $3.1 million in new spending on homelessness-related services. That’s on…
Friday, August 3, 2018 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
City bundling blockchain hacks for homelessness in Bloomberg challenge
Austin’s Innovation Office will spend most of the next three weeks compiling and assessing the solutions that teams of area programmers and digital creatives came up with to use blockchain technology to solve the city’s chronic homelessness issues.A total of…
Tuesday, July 17, 2018 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
Case management, facilities improvements among recommendations for new ARCH contract
An analysis by a national agency focused on ending homelessness has given the city its recommendations on how to revamp services and operations at the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless. Among them are a change to make the downtown…
Tuesday, July 3, 2018 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
Possible changes to panhandling ordinance draw concern from business leaders
A possible revision of the city’s ordinance regulating panhandling is drawing concern from downtown business leaders who say the proposed changes would allow aggressive requests for money and could create safety issues in areas with heavy foot traffic.The amendments to…
Thursday, June 7, 2018 by Jack Craver
Austin
Business leaders raise concerns about homelessness
It’s not just advocates for the homeless who have serious concerns about homelessness downtown. Businesses say that the mass of misery on the streets is a threat to downtown commerce and the city’s ability to attract visitors.The effects of the…
Tuesday, June 5, 2018 by Jack Craver
Austin
The debate over decriminalizing homelessness
A campaign to decriminalize behaviors associated with homelessness got a boost Monday from the Public Safety Commission, which voted to approve a resolution that instructs the city manager to review ordinances that may “create barriers for people who are trying…
