The city will consider a $350 million plan to “end homelessness” after the Austin Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, or ECHO, presented the plan at a Nov. 6 Public Health Committee meeting.
The 10-year plan would create 550 emergency shelter units, 2,355 rapid rehousing units and 4,175 permanent supportive units. ECHO — which operates with the goal of creating an effective homelessness response system — developed the plan based on the city’s homelessness trends, such as expected demand, turnover rate and current capacity.
ECHO uses system modeling, which creates a pathway between short-term and long-term services. Emergency shelter units and rapid rehousing units are meant to give short-term assistance to unhoused people. Permanent units would help those who are chronically homeless and need indefinite support.
Council Member Ryan Alter said the city’s next steps are to identify its priorities and determine how to fund these initiatives. He said there is “no question” funding is the city’s main challenge. Alter said he expects the plan to progress early next year once new council members are sworn in.
Joseph Montaño, ECHO’s director of research and evaluation, said the coalition is also focused on finding funding for the plan.
“The city could fund it, but that would take a lot of commitment and restructuring of their budget,” Montaño said. “So I think that it’s going to have to be multiple streams of the city funding things from private investors, funding units from community partners, sourcing grants.”
The city’s first plan to end homelessness, Finding Home ATX, was created in 2021 following a community summit. Alter said Finding Home ATX is the reason units are currently being built. This year alone, the city has built over 300 units.
“(Our) successes are because of the work we did years and years ago, and that’s why I feel it’s critical that seeing all the work it took, however many years ago, to set us up for success today,” Alter said ”That’s the work we need to be doing right now to set us up for success tomorrow.”
Angelica Sharma, treasurer of UT’s Hearts for the Homeless organization, said she believes city initiatives to combat homelessness — like ECHO’s plan — are important. As part of Hearts for the Homeless, Sharma gives free blood pressure and blood sugar checks to unhoused people.
Sharma, a computer science junior, said volunteering with the organization has also helped her learn more about homelessness and connect with unhoused people in Austin, who have shared their stories with her.
“A lot of people have this misconception that people become unhoused (just) for financial reasons, when, in reality, typically, they become unhoused due to trauma,” Sharma said.
Montaño said he believes ending homelessness in Austin is achievable and financially feasible.
“What we want to communicate with this plan is that to reach functional zero and to reach a state of equilibrium within our system to where unsheltered homelessness does not exist is absolutely possible,” Montaño said. “And we can do it within 10 years if we really want to.”
