There are around 4,000 homeless individuals in Austin on any given day. One quarter of Austin’s homeless population are children. Nearly half of homeless adults have a mental illness and approximately 33 percent of homeless men are veterans on disability. Many homeless women are single mothers fleeing domestic violence.
In addition to an above average-sized homeless population, a staggering 25 percent of Austinites live one pay check away from homelessness.
So what is our local nonprofit community doing to address this growing need?
Generally, services for the homeless and those at risk of being homeless are provided in 3 forms representing the all-important continuum of care:
* Emergency shelters
* Transitional housing
* Permanent, affordable housing
Emergency Shelters
Local nonprofits like Front Steps and the Salvation Army provide emergency shelter to families and individuals in crisis. Some homeless individuals and families are in the immediate aftermath of a catastrophic event like a sudden serious illness or disability, domestic violence, or loss of home due to fire, disaster or lost wages. Others have chronic physical and mental health issues, disabilities, or substance abuse problems that ultimately lead to homelessness.
Several nonprofits like Caritas and the Foundation for the Homeless provide other essential care, support services and case management to homeless individuals and families to help them get back on their feet and once again achieve self-sufficiency. This continuum of care is critical to preventing individual and families in crisis from falling into chronic homelessness.
Transitional and Supportive Housing
In some instances there is a longer period of recovery for a family or
individual in crisis. Several local nonprofits provide transitional housing
and support services for Austinites who need additional help in their
transition from crisis to self-sufficiency.
Safeplace and VinCare Services of Austin provide transitional housing with
supportive services to women and their children. During their stay, the
women focus on achieving self-sufficiency and permanent housing. Residents
receive assistance with employment, help finding stable child care,
transportation assistance and counseling.
Permanent, Affordable Housing
There are also thousands of low income families in Central Texas at risk of becoming homeless. The annual household income needed for a family of four to afford to live in the Austin area is $44,000. Yet jobs that pay well below that are the fastest growing segment of Austin’s job market. In fact, the majority of people moving to work in Austin will earn an annual income of $24,999 or less. Today, 21.4 percent of Austinites live in poverty.
The shortage of affordable houses and apartments in Austin forces low income families to live with other families or friends or move to remote areas far away from their jobs, childcare and support infrastructure. These commutes add to the families’ burden and risk by increasing transportation costs, child care expenses and diminishing valuable parenting time.
Several local nonprofits are working to increase the amount of affordable housing in our community. Austin Habitat for Humanity builds affordable homes for low income families and assists clients in becoming empowered, successful homeowners. Additionally, Foundation Communities rents centrally-located apartment homes to low income families and provides onsite services such as free after-school programs for children, adult education, financial literacy and parenting classes.
Our local nonprofits are working together to provide a continuum of care to first prevent homelessness and then to minimize the trauma and period of homelessness.
Listen to KUT’s story “Survey Shows Homeless People Work”
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