DAA launches Project H2O

The Downtown Austin Alliance and the Downtown Ambassadors have partnered with various community organizations to launch Project H2O to provide water, face masks and other resources to those experiencing homelessness in the downtown core. The program is intended to offer some basic essentials while also gathering information about what kinds of medical and behavioral services are needed by the city’s homeless population. The main Project H2O team will operate weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the ambassadors and Austin Police Department officers handling additional hours. Each week the program will aim to distribute 700 water bottles, masks and pamphlets offering recipients information on the services available to them. Dewitt Peart, president and CEO of the DAA, said the combination of the Covid-19 pandemic and summer heat created the need to reduce potential public health risks for the homeless population downtown.