AUSTIN, Texas — On Monday, Integral Care held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly completed Terrace at Oak Springs apartments, Austin's first apartment community with ongoing support services to help move homeless people off the streets into permanent homes.
According to Integral Care, the community uses a unique model to support recovery from homelessness, mental health issues and substance use disorder.
Some highlights of the community include:
- Four-story, 40,000 square-foot apartment community with 50 fully-furnished single occupancy efficiency units
- Permanent supportive housing for 50 people experiencing homelessness in Travis County, half of which will be veterans
- Integrated health care clinic, offering primary health care and mental health care for adults, including support for substance use disorder; open to people in community eligible for Integral Care services; other ongoing supports for residents include employment and wellness services and assistance accessing benefits
- Developed on the principles of the “Housing First” model, where people on the streets are more successful recovering from mental illness and substance use if they first have a safe place to live
Speakers of the ceremony were to include: Integral Care CEO David Evans; Austin Mayor Steve Adler; Councilmember Natasha Harper-Madison; William Buster of St. David’s Foundation; Deputy Executive Commissioner Sonja Gaines of Texas Health and Human Services; and a representative of Central Texas Veterans Health Care System.
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