Latest news with #EndingCommunityHomelessnessCoalition
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
$100M: Austin mayor responds to skepticism about homelessness spending
AUSTIN (KXAN) — There are several numbers floating around about how much the city of Austin may need to spend on homelessness: From the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition's estimate that $350 million is needed to build out Austin-Travis County's homelessness response system in the next 10 years, to an even more recent estimate from Austin's Homeless Strategy Office that the city is roughly $100 million short next fiscal year to respond to homelessness the way it hopes to. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson admits, he understands some skepticism from the community about how much the city needs to spend on the issue. 'I think when I came in, there was a whole lot of talk about, well, 'what's this number, and what's that number?' And 'I thought we were going to do this.' And I think people were skeptical. It's been slower than I would like, and I so I understand skepticism in that regard, but now I think we have the plan from our Homeless Strategy Officer, who's doing a very good job,' Watson said. The city is not proposing it spends $350 million on homelessness and then $100 million on top of that. So let's break down how the city got to each of those numbers: The $350 million estimate comes from the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO)'s State of the Homelessness Response System report. It looks at the entire community — including private partners, the city of Austin, the state and federal government and Travis County — and what it would need to meet demand over the next decade. ECHO said the number of additional shelter or housing units required to 'meet functional zero' over the next 10 years includes: 550 new emergency shelter beds 2,355 rapid re-housing units 4,175 permanent supportive housing units Altogether, building out those beds or units alone could cost the city an estimated nearly $350 million. The breakdown is as follows: $24,399,259 for emergency shelter beds over the next ten years $104,473,188 for rapid re-housing $217,411,093 for permanent supportive housing In response to that report, Austin leaders approved a resolution committing to prioritizing homelessness spending in its next budget cycle. 'What I have said from the very beginning is, I want to hear what others predict or others speculate we'll need, or others in their expertise tell us we need,' Watson said. In an Audit and Finance Committee and Public Health Committee joint meeting last month, David Gray, the city's Homeless Strategy Officer, said his office has identified $101 million in funding needs for fiscal year 2026 to address homelessness at the capacity the city wants to. Austin's homeless strategy office identifies $101 million needed for new strategies to address issues 'About a third of these considerations are current one-time funding that we believe council should consider for ongoing investment,' Gray said. 'A third is new investment considerations for the city, and a third is new investment considerations for our homeless response system partners.' Watson pointed to Gray's analysis as being the number he would like the city to base its current budget discussions around. After all, he said the Homeless Strategy Office was created to do this very work. 'We in the city of Austin now have a Homeless Strategy Office that we have charged with the responsibility of putting together the plan, and it's now a detailed, thoughtful, appropriate plan, and therefore that's who I want to turn to,' Watson said. He later added: 'We'll take the data, we'll take the information from others, but it's going to be us that makes those final decisions.' The city of Austin is already working through its budget for fiscal year 2026, which won't be voted on until this fall. The city also has a bond advisory commission working through a possible November 2026 bond package that could include funding for homelessness. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
3,238 people counted in Austin's bi-annual tally of people experiencing homelessness
AUSTIN (KXAN) — After more than 600 volunteers spent a misty night in January hand-counting the number of people they found sleeping in cars, tents and parks, Austin's 2025 Point-In-Time (PIT) count shows at least 3,238 people were experiencing homelessness on that night. The snapshot includes people in shelters and transitional housing — 1,661 during this count — and another 1,577 outside. Due to federal rules about how the count is conducted, 911 people in the Travis County jail who were otherwise unhoused are not included in the PIT total. The PIT count is a bi-annual count done in Austin by the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO). It's federally required and provides a snapshot of how many people may be experiencing homelessness in Austin on any given night. MORE: Point in Time data released, not likely a full count of people experiencing homelessness in Austin While the PIT count helps the city of Austin identify people it may not otherwise reach with its homelessness response system, the PIT number is a well-established undercount. That's why ECHO also produces homelessness data through a dashboard on its website — allowing the public to tap into real-time information from service providers, shelters and outreach groups. This year's PIT count found nearly 900 more people experiencing homelessness than the 2023 count; 2,374 people were found during the last count. 'You'll see a 36% increase in the number of unhoused neighbors counted on a single night in January,' Austin Mayor Kirk Watson wrote in his Watson Wire. The mayor pointed out a significant portion of the increase is due to a 50% uptick in people at shelters since 2023's bi-annual PIT count. '…(turns out, it's easier to count people when they're sheltered). Emergency shelter is not a stable housing solution, of course, but those people would've been on the street or in the woods if we hadn't focused on increasing our shelter capacity,' Watson wrote. That's something Austin's Homeless Strategy Office echoed. 'This year marks the first time the PIT Count shows more people in shelters than unsheltered – punctuating the success of our focus on adding shelter beds so more people can come indoors and begin their path toward stability,' Austin Homeless Strategy Officer David Gray said. Of the 561 people living outside who took the PIT survey this year, 13% said they are veterans, 44% said they were homeless for the first time, 68% said they became homeless in Austin-Travis County and 40% reported they were living with a physical disability. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
One challenge in Austin's fight against homelessness? The cost of land
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new report from the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) showed even though Austin's capacity to shelter and house people experiencing homelessness has grown significantly over the past five years, it's still far from enough to meet the need. Thursday, as Central Texas leaders talked about how they may come together to fund shelter and housing for people experiencing homelessness over the next decade, one obstacle was hard to ignore. $350M over 10 years: Austin City Council votes to prioritize homelessness spending Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison aptly put it: 'It's not the houses that are expensive y'all, it's the dirt underneath 'em.' That's something Texas Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, has teased she's trying to tackle at the state level. Her staff said the state owns nearly 200 parcels of land in Travis County. 'In addition to state dollars to assist with this, I also believe that we should look at all state properties within the city of Austin and within Travis County that would be appropriate for re-purposing or co-locating deeply affordable housing so that we can continue to expand our affordable housing and most especially our supportive housing stock,' Eckhardt said. It wouldn't be the first time the state has pitched in land to help people at risk of, or already experiencing homelessness in Austin. Camp Esperanza — a non-congregate shelter of tiny homes run by The Other Ones Foundation (TOOF) — was built on Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) land. TxDOT recently purchased additional acreage next door to help the operation expand, something Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said at the time was 'one of those examples, I think, of where government works.' Homeless shelter Camp Esperanza could double in size after TxDOT land purchase But barring additional help from the state, the city of Austin may have to continue to rely on its own residents. You're already paying for land acquisition through Austin's affordable housing bonds. Austin voters have approved multiple housing bonds over the past decade: one for $55 million in 2006, another for $65 million in 2013, then for $250 million in 2018 and most recently $350 million in 2022. Austinites voted for more affordable housing. Where did your money go? KXAN has previously reported the largest chunk of funding from the 2018 bond went to purchasing land. Of that $250 million, $100 million was set aside for land acquisition. The city told us it's been able to buy nearly 60 acres of undeveloped land and three hotels with that money. As for the most recent bond in 2022, the city of Austin has told us that even though they have less strict buckets for how they'll allocate that money, it will largely be used the same way as the 2018 bond, and large chunks will go toward land acquisition. 'I think it might be one of the most important components to addressing affordability in the city of Austin is using our assets and comprehensively taking an assessment of our assets and allocating those resources,' Harper-Madison said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Nearly 600 volunteers survey Austin's homeless population
The Brief Nearly 600 volunteers participated in Sunday's count of the homeless population in Austin and Travis County. Volunteers visiting shelters, camps and those living in cars and abandoned buildings to collect demographic information. The results are used by the federal government to aid policy and funding decisions. AUSTIN, Texas - Nearly 600 volunteers woke up early Sunday morning to take part in the Point-in-Time Count. The event involves volunteers conducting surveys with homeless people throughout Travis County. Hundreds of volunteers braved the rainy weather early Sunday morning, around 3 a.m., to help find as many homeless people as possible. "I drive past those streets every day. And I didn't realize that just five feet behind that brush line and behind those trees. There are campsites, there's people living there. And you don't, you don't realize it and see it," volunteer, Marl Littlefield said. The Point-in-Time Count takes place every other year. It's a one-night survey designed to identify homeless people living in Austin and Travis County—like those living in cars, tents, or abandoned buildings. "We're going to wake them up and we're going to ask them questions about their experience, how they ended up here, what's happened to them, if they've ever sought assistance. And if we can get into services after that," Littlefield said. The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition or ECHO organizes the federally mandated count. As the lead agency for the Austin/Travis County Continuum of Care, ECHO is responsible for planning and implementing community-wide strategies to end homelessness. What they're saying "The Point in Time Count is our opportunity to have a better understanding of the scale of the crisis of homelessness for our community. So, this is data that we're able to utilize to help us understand what resources are needed, what programs need funding, and then go out and actually advocate for those things down the road," Angela de Leon, Director of Operations at ECHO, said. Mark Littlefield has volunteered to take part in the count for several years. He says that over time, he realized he had never truly taken the opportunity to connect with the homeless people in his community. "I thought that I might do this one time. I thought I might volunteer for this one year. One time. And now it's been over ten years. And. And it has. And it changed the way that I interact and feel about this issue ever since," Littlefield said. The goal of the count is to capture a snapshot of the demographics of homeless people on a single night in Austin and Travis County. By the numbers In 2023's PIT count, ECHO says, 2,374 homeless people were accounted for. Out of that number, 1,108 homeless people were in shelters and 1,266 were unhoused. "Anyone that's in a shelter will also get counted. But these folks that are here tonight are going to be doing the unsheltered count," de Leon said. What's next After the work on the ground is completed, the Point in Time Count is compiled into a report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to determine how much federal funding Austin Travis County Continuum of Care will receive in its next budget. The findings from the count are typically released in the springtime. The Source Information in this articles comes from FOX 7 interviews.
