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 recent memo from Interim Assistant City Manager Sara Hensley spells out how the $1 […]
homelessness
Posted inAustin
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 could inform – and complicate – that effort. In the last three years, Austin police […]
Posted inTravis 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 of the total $15.5 million dedicated to the program, which aims to create 250 […]
Posted inBudget
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 on programs related to homelessness. Most of the new money – $2.4 million – was […]
Posted inAustin
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 top of the roughly $25 million of spending on such services that will continue […]
Posted inAustin
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 75 participants grouped into seven teams spent last weekend working on the Mayor’s Blockchain […]
Posted inAustin
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 center easier to enter for those seeking shelter, putting a priority on helping the most […]
Posted inAustin
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 the city’s solicitation ordinance had been on the agenda for Thursday’s City Council meeting, […]
Posted inAustin
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 homeless population on business came up in a discussion at the Public Safety Commission […]
Posted inAustin
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 to obtain housing or employment.” The resolution, which was authored by Commissioner Daniela Nuñez, highlights […]
Posted inAustin
Audit says city needs better data on homeless population
What does it mean to be homeless? It depends who you ask. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development applies the term to a variety of living situations, including people living in places “not meant for human habitation,” those in emergency shelters or transitional housing, those who are about to leave jail or a […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Overheard, signs of the times
And on and on… Last week brought a tentative update to the ongoing labor negotiations with the Austin Police Association. Those negotiations resumed after City Council voted against a proposed contract in December. Since then, police have been operating without a contract. In a memo to Council members and Mayor Steve Adler, City Manager Spencer […]