AUSTIN, Texas — Austin interim City Manager Jesús Garza has announced the reorganization of a city-run office in an effort to address homelessness in the Capital City. In recent years, homelessness in Austin has been in the spotlight amid population increases and an affordable housing crisis.

What You Need To Know

  • Austin interim City Manager Jesús Garza announced a standalone office that will be devoted to addressing homelessness in Austin

  • In recent years, homelessness in Austin has been in the spotlight amid population increases and an affordable housing crisis

  • The Homeless Strategy Office (HSO) will launch Dec. 4 

  • The number of unhoused people in Austin or Travis County has grown by 7.4% since 2019

The Homeless Strategy Office (HSO) was previously run by Austin Public Health and will now become a standalone office reporting to Garza's office. The HSO will launch on Dec. 4.

“While the Homeless Strategy Division was embedded within one department, the initiatives to address homelessness span multiple departments and require focused coordination,” Garza said. “Consequently, I am establishing a stand-alone Homeless Strategy Office (HSO) to serve as a focal point for addressing homelessness comprehensively, strategically, and compassionately.” 

Back in June, Garza created a homeless strategy special assessment to find out how the city addresses homelessness. Among his findings were that the city currently doesn't "effectively respond" to the homelessness crisis.

The HSO will be responsible for the following:

  • Homelessness-related contracts between the city and third-parties
  • Overseeing operations at city-run and city-owned homeless shelters
  • Expanding the availability of housing through emergency shelters, rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing
  • Public space management, including outreach, clean-up and encampment closures
  • Working with the Communications and Public Information Office to help manage communications regarding the city’s approach to helping people get out of homelessness
  • Working with the Intergovernmental Relations Office to manage relationships between the city and local, state and federal agencies and officials
  • Collaborating with Austin/Travis County's Homelessness Response System partners
  • Help secure funding for homeless response services

According to a report from Austin's Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO), the number of unhoused people in Austin or Travis County has grown by 7.4% since 2019. At least 6,197 people experienced homelessness in Austin or Travis County in a single day in 2023.

"Homelessness can happen to anyone. The data tell us it's more likely to happen to people who share certain circumstances — people who are targets of racist policy, for example. But because homelessness is primarily an economic condition, it cuts across social, political, and demographic boundaries," the report reads.