The Salvation Army is selling the site of its shelter for homeless Austinites downtown. The shelter shut down abruptly last month. The national nonprofit retained the developer CBRE to sell the site, which is expected to fetch millions. Salvation Army Austin Commander Major Lewis Reckline said profits from the sale will go toward programs at the […]
homelessness
Posted inHousing
Salvation Army’s downtown shelter is closing, leaving gap in services for single women
Maria Pérez heard she was weeks away from homelessness from an unlikely source. It wasn’t a case manager or anyone from the administrative staff at the Salvation Army downtown shelter, where she’s been staying for weeks. “I heard it from the lady that cleans,” she told KUT. Pérez had been struggling to hold down an […]
Posted inPublic Health
New forecast modeling puts Austin homeless population near 4,600
New methods for counting and forecasting by one of Austin’s leading homelessness services organizations suggests nearly 4,600 people are experiencing homelessness in the city, far higher than previous estimates and counts using federal guidelines. The new figure was revealed at last week’s Downtown Commission meeting in a report from Dianna Grey, the city’s homeless strategy […]
Posted inPublic Health
Salvation Army changes course on timing of downtown shelter closure after Council pressure
After a week of pressure from Mayor Kirk Watson, members of City Council and community activists, the Salvation Army announced Friday it would extend operations at its downtown shelter through April 30. The extension is being funded by the city of Austin and is intended to allow time for the nonprofit to connect residents to […]
Posted inHousing
Salvation Army’s handling of downtown shelter closure draws Council criticism
The Salvation Army’s handling of the closure of its downtown shelter was the target of criticism at City Council’s Public Health Committee meeting on Wednesday. Critiques came from Mayor Kirk Watson, members of City Council, and clients of the shelter who find themselves in limbo as a result of the announcement. The Salvation Army, which […]
Posted inHousing
HACA shifts voucher allocation to let housing groups assist homeless
The Housing Authority of the City of Austin has shifted 300 of its housing vouchers to be more available to those experiencing homelessness, in a move aimed at helping the city reduce the number of people in chronic need of housing. Last week, HACA announced the change to convert the 20-year vouchers, which equate to […]
Posted inAustin
Notley/Monitor Poll: Austinites want reinstated camping bans on the homeless enforced
Austin residents feel the city isn’t doing enough to manage the effects of homelessness throughout the area, according to a January/February poll of 429 voters commissioned by Notley and conducted by national pollster Change Research for the Austin Monitor. Homelessness has remained as one of Austin’s most hot-button issues in recent years. The poll found that, […]
Posted inPublic Health
Audit shows flaws in city’s plans for cold weather shelters
An audit presented to the City Council Audit & Finance committee last week says the city is not keeping up with planning for cold weather shelters and that city staff have not received sufficient training in dealing with people seeking shelter during extreme cold. In addition, the city does not appear to be consistently following […]
Posted inPublic Health
Downtown Alliance praises ‘transformation’ of ARCH under new management
Just months after the management switch-up at the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, the Downtown Austin Alliance is praising what it calls “transformational change” at the downtown men’s shelter. The alliance’s safety and hospitality committee toured the facility in early December to learn about recent improvements made by Urban Alchemy, the California-based nonprofit now in […]
Posted inHousing
ECHO offers lease incentives to real estate agents for placing homeless tenants
Real estate agents in Austin have an incentive to find market-rate homes for those experiencing homelessness, and help one of the city’s main homeless services nonprofits lower the number of people facing housing instability. Austin’s Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, known as ECHO, has launched its new Realtor Incentive Program, which offers a sliding scale of […]
Posted inPlanning
City, Central Health eye partnership for homeless respite care facility
The city may soon begin talks with Central Health and homelessness service providers focused on creating a permanent health care facility to aid those experiencing homelessness in recovering from significant illnesses and injuries. The state of respite care for the homeless was the only agenda item for last week’s meeting of the Public Health Committee, […]
Posted inAustin
Esperanza’s hiatus underscores city’s lack of shelter options for homeless campers
The staff at the Camp Esperanza site in Southeast Austin that is currently under construction to provide permanent small homes to formerly homeless residents acknowledge they will likely continue to receive visits from people they are unable to help for another two to three months. Although the site is currently closed to new campers due […]