Austin News

Austin Mayor Steve Adler joined a group of advocates, business leaders and politicians to address homelessness in the city, marking the first time a coalition of groups come together to combat the crisis.

The groups are attending a virtual Summit to create immediate and long-term plan-of-action to address reducing the homeless population.

"Austin must take bold and immediate next steps to address homelessness," Adler said on Twitter.

The summit went through March to address prevention, crisis beds, permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, street management and encampment response. The plans developed by the groups will include action items of 30-, 60- and 90-day targets over an 18-month timeframe with annual benchmarks to track progress.

"We’re coming together to forge a new path to combat homelessness — one that doesn’t force our homeless population into unsafe places or to fend for themselves," Adler said in a press release.

Adler has often advocated for homeless youth and adults and has verbally recognized that the system is not working for them in the way that it needs to.

“We have experts and advocates together to develop a holistic strategy and long-term solution to address the needs of Austin. There is nothing we cannot accomplish together," Adler said.

Participants for the summit include: Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, Downtown Austin Alliance, Austin Chamber of Commerce, Austin Justice Coalition, Homes Not Handcuffs, Notley's HomeFront Fund, the City of Austin, advocates who have been or are currently homeless, faith organizations, services and housing providers, advocates for civil-rights, funders and philanthropic groups, data experts, groups in the fields of healthcare, housing, and public safety, and residents and business owners of Austin.

Austin philanthropists have donated $2 million to improve health for those experiencing homelessness. It is estimated that 2,506 Austin residents and 10,000 Travis County residents experience homelessness on any given night. In 2020, it was estimated that 27,000 individuals in Texas experienced homelessness on any given night, with 37% of that population being black.

For more information on the summit, contact Lia Truitt or Candice Honaker at 512-472-9599.