Downtown Shelter Services Changes

Downtown – Austin, Texas: Last Friday July 26 Front Steps, who manages the City’s homeless shelter ARCH, began posting notice inside the facility that the first of a two part conversion is set to begin next month on August 8th. According to the notice, phase one of the transition will be limited for male nightly stays at the ARCH to those only participating in case management. The maximum capacity of the case management program for nightly stays is 130 individuals. While some services will be modified, the day resource center at the ARCH will continue as usual until September 30th of this year according to the plan laid-out at a meeting by the City of Austin Health and Human Services Commission on the 29th of April of this year. After the 30th of September the facility will accommodate only the 130 case management participants.

There has yet to be any known discussion over handling the loitering outside the shelter’s facility. In addition, a response has yet to be issued regarding a report produced on the 8th of May to the Austin's Health and Human Services Commission regarding the City's responsibility of chronic addiction and chronic mental illness within Austin's homeless population.

Limiting the capacity at the ARCH does serve some benefits as it will eventually detour surrounding municipalities from dropping-off individuals in need as has been reported in the past utilizing unmarked police cars.

When the City’s non-profit human services contractors performs the Point-In-Time each year, the methodology is to secure funding from the federal government to supply services to those whom are known to be in the head count. The abominable practice of other Cities dropping off their responsibilities, expecting the City of Austin and its hard working taxpayers to pick up the tab, is one of the many “leaking faucets” Austin can repair in order to focus on the City’s homeless crisis. This exponential burden is one of many contributing factors leading the City in taking a new approach in solutions. Every municipality has the ability to apply for grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The day of the conversion at the ARCH on the 8th of August coincides with the day that Austin’s City Council reconvenes to take one the much heated debate over the repealed homeless ordinances.