City staff propose roughly $101 million package to sustain and expand Austin homelessness response

David Gray, staff lead for the city's Homeless Strategy Office, told a joint meeting of the Audit & Finance and Public Health committees on April 28 that staff had compiled a set of funding and staffing "considerations" totaling just under $101,000,000 to sustain and expand Austin's homeless response system.

"Our total investment consideration package total is just under $101,000,000," Gray said during the staff presentation, adding that roughly one-third of the package would be to convert currently one-time investments into ongoing funding, one-third would be new city investments and one-third would be new investment requests to other system funders.

The staff recommendations respond to a council resolution adopted in January directing staff to examine funding sources, partnerships and opportunities to prioritize ongoing investments in the homelessness response system. Gray said the package reflects four guiding principles: that any recommendation must produce a measurable reduction in homelessness prevalence; that investments should span prevention through permanent supportive housing (PSH); that interventions should be matched to client needs; and that the city cannot fund the system alone.

Key figures and components…