AUSTIN, Texas — Editor's note: The above video about a nonprofit supporting a state-sanctioned homeless encampment in Austin is from October 2020.
Two groups in Austin are launching an initiative called the How to House campaign to help people experiencing homelessness get permanent housing.
The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) and the Austin Justice Coalition (AJC) said in a press release on Friday they're starting this campaign to "significantly reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness and make housing a human right for everyone living in Austin."
The How to House campaign will recruit property owners and managers in Austin and Travis County to partner with ECHO's Community Housing Team. ECHO and property owners will agree to a low-barrier tenant screening criteria. This will help people exiting homelessness start renting at the properties that are part of the program.
Tenants will be enrolled in rental assistance and case management programs to ensure they can remain housed. The partnership between the How to House campaign and property owners will include access to risk mitigation funds that can be used to pay off outstanding rental balances or damages when the initial lease expires.
Organizers said since the campaign launched in December, ECHO has connected 13 households to permanent housing options.
This comes as local and state leaders are at odds over how Austin should handle homelessness. Gov. Greg Abbott said this week if Austin does not reinstate a homeless campaign ban, the State will.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler spoke to KVUE on Thursday about what the governor said.
"Well, certainly we can't control what happens at the state level," Mayor Adler said. "But the answer to homelessness is not to hide it. It's not to send people back to the streams, into the woods. It's a dangerous place for them to be."
ECHO and AJC said the program will promote antiracist practices and eliminate barriers that disproportionately impact Black people and other historically oppressed groups. According to the Community Advancement Network, Black residents make up about 8% of Travis County's adult population, but they account for 23% of people booked in the Travis County Jail. ECHO and AJC said "justice system entanglements" can often disqualify prospective tenants from rental properties, but increasing the number of units with lower screening criteria will create new housing opportunities.
“Housing justice is key to challenging the legacy of racism in our community,” Chas Moore, executive director of AJC, said in a press release. “If we want to be a truly inclusive city, we must find space in our community for those who have been systematically neglected. One action item is to tell your property owner or manager you want to live in an Austin that everyone can live in.”
ECHO and AJC are encouraging people to send a letter to property owners to encourage them to be part of this campaign. A draft letter can be found on their website.
"Housing ends homelessness," Kaylin Rubin, ECHO’s community housing portfolio manager, said in a press release. “While we’re looking at ways to build new permanent housing, we can build these new partnerships to utilize existing apartments and have an immediate impact. This will allow our neighbors experiencing homelessness to have more opportunities to gain access to housing, which is a human right. We know how to house our neighbors, and these partnerships turn that knowledge into practice.”
The How to House campaign said it plans to hold a virtual press conference on the plan on Monday, Jan. 25, at 10 a.m.
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