Huge Influx of State Funds Will Increase Shelter Capacity by 700 Beds

An Austin man experiencing homelessness sleeps Downtown (photo by John Anderson)

Last week, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs awarded almost $65 million to organizations combating homelessness in Austin. That's $10 million more than the proposed city budget has allocated toward homelessness services for all of next fiscal year. Most of the money – $60 million – will go toward the planning and expansion of the "non-congregate" shelter model, with a city goal of expanding capacity by 700 additional beds. That's a significant step toward the 1,000 additional beds needed citywide, according to a July study from the city's Homelessness Services Division. The other $5 million will go to Caritas of Austin and LifeWorks for housing stabilization efforts like emergency rental assistance.

In his statement announcing the funding, Mayor Kirk Watson alluded to the "politically charged" disagreement around allocating funds toward long-term supportive housing solutions as opposed to short-term shelters. "Some see only a portion of the solution as the be-all end-all of the solution. They so favor the creation of permanent supportive housing that they've rejected more immediate needs that could change lives – such as appropriate shelters." Watson defended the funding going toward temporary shelters as an emergency response to the extreme heat and a humane way to enforce the camping ban: "The creation of more permanent supportive housing remains an important long-term goal, but progress is incremental and slow. While we work toward that goal, our unhoused neighbors need shelter now, and we need to follow the law regarding camping."

The funding announcement comes as a new 250-300 bed shelter at the Marshal­ling Yard in Southeast Austin is set to open this week. At the City Council meeting authorizing its emergency opening last week, advocates for unhoused people raised questions about the living conditions at the facility and about its funding coming out of the permanent supportive housing pot, which they see as a long-term solution preferable to the "Band-Aid" solution of a shelter. (The Mar­shal­ling Yard uses $3 million of the $14 million from the American Rescue Plan Act that was to be set aside for PSH construction.)

Still, this influx of cash is game-changing for organizations such as The Other Ones Foundation. In a statement on Watson's newsletter, the Watson Wire, Executive Director Chris Baker said, "We are grateful to Mayor Watson and the State for working together to bring much needed funding into our community's homeless response system to accomplish both [shelters and PSH]. ... "The most important thing is that these new resources are stewarded by our community and used in response to what our community needs. That's why all of TOOF's programming is designed in partnership with a variety of community stakeholders. Most importantly, those who are unhoused."