HOMELESSNESS

I will accelerate immediate shelter and permanent housing for unhoused people. As Council Senior Policy Advisor, I launched HEAL and helped The Other Ones Foundation expedite permitting for utilities at the Esperanza Community. HEAL offers immediate shelter and a path for permanent housing to people camping in dangerous places. The Esperanza Community is building tiny homes as shelter for 200 people on state land.

I will also work to change the city’s response to public space management. The city is not doing enough to address the impact on both housed and unhoused neighbors of the people who engage in unsafe, illegal, or threatening behaviors. I have direct experience working with neighbors, unhoused individuals, APD, and our Homeless Strategy Office to close encampments in District 5 that posed such threats.

City resources should be used to help our partner agencies prepare people for and match them to the appropriate permanent housing. The most effective options provide support services for the transition to permanent housing.

I will also help fund organizations focused on equity, like the Austin Area Urban League, and work with CapMetro on making bus passes easier to obtain, for both unhoused and lower income Austinites. I have led efforts to improve conditions for people living unsheltered, including hygiene stations, safe storage, and trash collection.