Homelessness storage program expands
Monday, July 12, 2021 by Tai Moses
The city’s Violet KeepSafe Storage program, which provides a secure place for people experiencing homelessness to store their possessions while they’re out and about, is being expanded to operate seven days a week, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Robert Kingham, court operations manager for the Downtown Austin Community Court, explained the move in a news release. “We know from working with the Austin Homelessness Advisory Council and other individuals with lived experience with homelessness that access to storage is a basic need. Storage is necessary for individuals to be able to pursue job interviews and medical appointments, maintain secure access to identification documents and important belongings, and is a matter of human dignity.” Currently, 174 people use VKS “to store vital documents, family memories, clothing, bedding, and more. Any individual experiencing homelessness may access storage through VKS at no cost to the program participants.” For more info about accessing this service, call 512-974-4879. People may also bring the items they wish to store to VKS and sign up in person at the former HealthSouth Parking Garage at 612 E. 12th St.
Join Your Friends and Neighbors
We're a nonprofit news organization, and we put our service to you above all else. That will never change. But public-service journalism requires community support from readers like you. Will you join your friends and neighbors to support our work and mission?
