Homeless Strategy Officer Dianna Gray said out of 1,300 new housing units planned under the “Finding Home ATX” initiative, around 1,000 are in the pipeline either under construction or soon to be.
Homeless Strategy Officer Dianna Gray said out of 1,300 new housing units planned under the "Finding Home ATX" initiative, around 1,000 are in the pipeline either under construction or soon to be.On Thursday, city leaders gave status updates on the multiple initiatives that are underway.
Of the new housing in the works, the Espero at Rutland project is expected to open first. Anticipated completion of the 171-unit development by Caritas of Austin is January 2023. Under the HEAL Initiative, also enacted in 2021, so far 361 homeless have been served, 117 are in a shelter and over 100 have been housed permanently. Of the 118 that have left shelters, 74 were connected to long-term housing resources.
According to Grey, the city’s shelters, which can hold around 900 people, have been at or near capacity for some time. Though new housing units are in the works, city leaders called for help from the private sector as well, asking landlords and property owners to help identify more, existing units that could be used as homeless housing.