Latest news with #HEALInitiative
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Austin's HEAL Initiative focused on high risk homeless camps during severe weather season
AUSTIN (KXAN) — This week's forecast has included the risk of tornadoes, hail, flash flooding, and damaging winds. For people living outside and without easy shelter options, that type of weather presents unique challenges. 'Last night's storm was another reminder of why the preparation is important. Especially when you have severe wind, rain, hail and tornado warnings happening in the middle of the night,' Austin's Homeless Strategy Officer David Gray said. How does the city of Austin decide which homeless encampments to clear? That's why Gray said the city is tailoring its HEAL Initiative efforts toward areas that may be most impacted by severe weather right now. 'We've been looking at sites in wooded areas both to prevent wildfires but also to make sure that people are not injured from lightning strikes, falling trees, wind, tornados and floods,' Gray said. The HEAL Initiative is Austin's program that moves people from high-risk homeless encampments to a bridge shelter, where people get a temporary place to stay until something more permanent opens up. HEAL stands for Housing-Focused Encampment Assistance Link. 'A lot of our recent HEAL initiatives have focused on creek beds for this specific reason. We know that we're entering severe weather season and it's really important that we get people out of those creek beds and out of those low lying areas, so if we do have a flash flood, heaven forbid, we've minimized the chance for people to get injured in those weather events,' Gray said. Austin-led HEAL initiative closes four encampments If it's left you wondering — well, there's an encampment near my house. Why hasn't the city cleared that one? The city can only move people to shelter if one is available. When that space opens up, the city has a ranking system for which camp it targets next. 'Priority rankings are based off of things like the people who are at the sites, so if there is evidence of children or pregnant women or seniors. We also look at factors like, have there been fires at sites recently, what's its proximity to residential areas,' Gray said. Read more about that process here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Homeless encampment in East Austin shut down due to 'high wildfire risk'
The Brief A homeless encampment in East Austin was shut down after the city said it was located on "high wildfire-risk" land It was near the intersection of westbound Ben White Boulevard and Montopolis Drive AFD responded to 35 fire-related calls at the encampment in 2024 AUSTIN, Texas - A homeless encampment in East Austin was shut down after the city said it was located on "high-wildfire-risk" land. The backstory The City of Austin's Homeless Strategy Office (HSO) said it shut down 37 acres of land near the intersection of westbound Ben White Boulevard and Montopolis Drive. Thirty-two people at the homeless encampment were moved to the Northbridge and Southbridge shelters. To learn more about homelessness in Austin, click here. Dig deeper The Austin Fire Department responded to 35 fire-related calls at the encampment in 2024. The encampment also bordered several infrastructures in East Austin. Due to that, and the land posing an elevated fire risk, the city shut it down. What they're saying "Through the HEAL Initiative, we are not just addressing immediate needs—we are working towards long-term solutions that create a safer, more resilient future for everyone. By tackling wildfire risks, providing crucial support to those in need, and prioritizing the well-being of all individuals, we are fostering a community that stands together," said David Gray, Homeless Strategy Officer. The Source Information from the City of Austin
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
City closes homeless encampments off East Riverside, relocates 28 people into shelters
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two homeless encampments in southeast Austin were closed and cleaned out this week, and nearly 30 people were moved to three of Austin's shelters. The city of Austin said in a press release Tuesday morning that its Homeless Strategy Office and the Austin Watershed Protection Department 'compassionately closed an encampment within a high flash flood risk area of the Country Club Creek watershed near the intersection of Wickersham Lane and East Riverside Drive.' According to the city, 21 homeless residents were moved to the Northbridge and Southbridge shelters as part of the Housing-Focused Encampment Assistance Link (HEAL) Initiative. Seven others were moved to the Marshalling Yard Emergency Shelter through a separate encampment closure nearby, per the release. Austin Resource Recovery was in the area Tuesday conducting general litter abatement throughout the area to clean trash and debris in the vicinity of the creek channel. Since its launch in June 2021, the HEAL Initiative has moved more than 988 individuals from high-risk encampments to the City's Northbridge and Southbridge shelters, as well as the Marshalling Yard Emergency Shelter, according to the city. The release noted that the closure of the encampment located at the Country Club Creek watershed area near Wickersham Lane and East Riverside Drive is part of the city's broader strategy to address homelessness while returning public spaces to their intended use. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
