AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Justice Coalition started a petition calling on Austin City Council and Travis County Commissioner to each allocate $100 million to address homelessness with American Rescue Plan funding. More than 1,900 people have signed the petition, and the AJC said this is an urgent matter.
"We want people to know that this is a priority, that funding this plan and building this housing for folks experiencing homelessness in our community cannot be put off," said João Paulo Connolly, the director of housing and community development with the Austin Justice Coalition.
A few months ago, Connolly said there was a summit put together by City leaders and nonprofits, but it was delayed because of the winter storm. They eventually came up with a plan to make 3,000 households available to those experiencing homelessness in three years.
"That goal is incredibly bold and ambitious and it would put us in a very different place than we are today as a city and as a county in terms of our services and capacity to help folks experiencing homelessness. A plan is great, but to actually make a plan reality, you need money, you need funding," said Connolly.
At least one city council member, Greg Casar, said he's on board with this push. This week, City and County leaders are figuring out what to do with the money from the federal government's American Rescue Plan. These groups hope some of that will go towards these solutions.
This is the list of solutions on the petition:
"1. House AT LEAST 1,000 people this year & 5,000+ people in 3 years.
This should be on top of existing housing efforts and include vouchers for no-barrier housing and the creation of new Permanent Supportive Housing.
"2. Improve Service Provider Capacity & Responsiveness.
This funding must support improving the cultural proficiency of outreach efforts that are informed and led by those with real lived experience of houselessness.
"3. Rehouse People Equitably.
Rehousing must be based on the health and safety needs of those experiencing houselessness and designed to prioritize addressing the inequities that exist within the unhoused community."
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