AUSTIN, Texas — The City of Austin has a new pilot program called the Displacement Prevention Navigator Pilot Program.
The focus is on two neighborhoods that are at a particularly high risk of displacement: Colony Park and Dove Springs.
The city will hire 15 people in the community and pay them $25 dollars an hour. The “navigators” hired will be trained in the summer and start work in these communities in the fall.
“The goal of the program is to help connect residents to the various services and resources that exist within the city of Austin to help them become more stabilized," said the Community Displacement Prevention Officer in Austin's Housing Department, Nefertitti Jackmon.
The navigators will instruct those in the community about programs that will help them get emergency rental assistance, utility assistance, and home repair. They will be working around 15 to 20 hours per week.
"Not only are the navigators helping people in their communities they are also being paid for their services and skills in their expertise they have of knowing their community," says Evada Jackson, a Colony Park resident.
Jackson says there are a lot people struggling and can use the help, adding that she would be a navigator.
"I think it would be a good thing to help the community," said Jackson.
The city-funded program will cost around $360,000. It is slated to run until May 2024.