Austin's plan for people experiencing homelessness still $93 million short of funding goal

In April 2021, Austin Mayor Steve Adler and housing advocates gathered to address the city's homelessness problem and came away with an ambitious plan: House 3,000 unsheltered individuals within three years. After an initial surge in funding, it looked like it would happen. Now, with fundraising efforts slowing and inflation driving up the cost for new housing, that's no longer so clear. The outcome, housing advocates say, will go a long way toward determining Austin's progress with a crisis that they insist can be fixed but is likely to get worse without urgent attention. To do it, they say they need another $93 million. Already, they are a year behind schedule in securing the housing they'll need.

Adler, whose second term as mayor will conclude at the end of this year, said he'd like to raise the remaining money before he leaves office. "My hope is to button it up before I leave office so that all these people a year from now don't have to be focused on this and they can be focused on other stuff," Adler said. To secure the homes and social services needed to get 3,000 people off the streets and into housing, last year the group's organizers revealed they needed $515 million — a large amount, yes, but feasible. They had already identified 43% — $222 million — through bonds, vouchers and funds the city committed to buying hotels to convert into housing. That left a $293 million gap. A plan developed. To help kickstart an economy weakened from the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government distributed emergency funds to Austin and Travis County through the American Rescue Plan Act. There were few rules on how the money could be spent.