Homeless Strategy Office details outreach, shelters and rapid expansion of permanent supportive housing for downtown Austin

David Gray, director of Austins Homeless Strategy Office, told the Austin Downtown Commission on April 16 that the city is expanding outreach, shelter capacity and project-based permanent supportive housing to address homelessness in downtown Austin.

Gray said the Homeless Strategy Office (HSO) estimates about 6,300 people are experiencing homelessness in Austin and Travis County, a figure he said is based on the Homeless Management Information System rather than the point-in-time count. "Our estimated homeless population here in Austin and Travis County is around 6,300 people," Gray said.

The office reported that in 2023 about 3,000 people exited homelessness, a 50% increase from 2022. HSO also said 24,300 unique people were served in 2023 (a 60% increase over 2022), and 8,400 of those were first-time service recipients (a 72% increase).

Why it matters: Downtown commissioners said the trends show both progress in rehousing and growing demand for services. Gray described a two-track emphasis: prevention and rapid rehousing for newly homeless people, and a larger investment strategy in permanent supportive housing (PSH) for people who are chronically unsheltered.

HSO described a suite of services delivered downtown. Outreach and enforcement are handled through an approach the office calls HEAL (Housing-Focused Encampment Assistance Link) for high-risk encampments, a multidisciplinary HOST (Homeless Outreach…