St. David’s Foundation has granted $7.8 million to various Central Texas organizations that provide services for the homeless and boost affordable housing in Austin. The grants are part of a new initiative to ensure that homelessness is rare, brief and nonrecurring in the region.
Three of the main recipients are:
- Austin Community Foundation, receiving $2.5 million for the creation of affordable housing
- Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO), receiving $3.3 million for general operations and specific projects over two years
- Foundation Communities, receiving $2 million for infrastructure and predevelopment for new supportive housing projects
While the funds deviate from the foundation’s regular strategic priorities, they are tailored to support sustainable solutions for Austin’s homelessness predicament. In a prepared statement, the foundation emphasized the data that finds a direct correlation between housing and health. Specifically, affordable housing provisions can drastically enhance health outcomes, particularly for low-income groups, positioning housing as a foundational aspect of health.