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Austin homeless strategy could get 'comprehensive review' from city council

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Published  January 17, 2024 5:38pm CST
Winter Weather
FOX 7 Austin

Austin homeless crisis: 'Review' of strategy?

The Austin City Council is considering signing off on a "comprehensive review" of its homeless strategy.

AUSTIN, Texas - The freezing temperatures this week forced Austinites indoors, with around 600 people staying in cold weather shelters on Monday and Tuesday night, respectively.

"When extreme weather hits, whether cold or hot, we know that our people experiencing homelessness are the most vulnerable and the most at risk," said David Gray, homeless strategy officer, during a press conference ahead of the weekend's cold front.

Temporary shelters served as a temporary solution to a long-term problem. This fiscal year, the city budgeted more than $80 million towards addressing homelessness.

If City Council members approve Item 14 on Thursday’s agenda, an outside company will conduct a "comprehensive review" of "homelessness strategies, programs, and services." Items 27, 28 and 29 are related.

Austin weather: More people seeking shelter

Central Texans are waking up to below-freezing temperatures today and there's freezing rain and snow in some places. Ken Snipes, director of Austin's Homeland Security and Emergency Management, joins us with more on how the City is responding.

Primary focus areas would include "evaluating the use of funds allocated for homelessness services and homelessness prevention, including contracts with third-party entities."

"What I don't want to see happen is duplicative efforts amongst different departments that provide the same types of services," said council member Mackenzie Kelly, District 6. "I think that there's a lot of consolidation that could be done for the efficiency of managing those funds."

Council member Kelly has been pushing for a comprehensive and external audit for years. In response to her efforts, the city conducted its own audit in 2021, but it was limited in its scope.

"Homeless spending should not just fall on the shoulders of the taxpayers of the City of Austin. I believe it's a regional issue, and as such, I think that our regional partners need to help us make more headway in the space of housing individuals experiencing homelessness and getting them the services that they need in order to be successful," said Kelly. "I believe that this audit is a good first step into finding ways that we can do that."

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In December, the Homeless Strategy Division, which was previously under Austin Public Health, transitioned to a stand-alone office.

"We see this as an opportunity for us to consolidate and strategize around our investments, everything from developing contracts to managing and monitoring those contracts," Gray said in December. "We also think this would not only give us the opportunity for better oversight but also yield better outcomes for clients by being able to move nimbly and pivot funding and pivot investments as needed."

According to Gray, the city currently has more than 100 contracts worth tens of millions of dollars related to homeless issues.

According to a spokesperson for the City of Austin, this would be the first comprehensive review of services spanning the City of Austin, Travis County, Dell Medical School, Central Health, and Integral Care.

Prior reviews and audits that included City strategies are the 2018 Action Plan to End Homelessness, the 2020 Barbara Poppe Report, Public-Private Partnership Task Force to End Homelessness recommendations, the Summit to Address Unsheltered Homelessness Report, and the 2021 City Auditor report on Homelessness Spending.