AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center will officially launch a hotline on Tuesday to connect people experiencing homelessness with housing assessments and other resources.

The new hotline is a build off of a call center pilot project that launched in June as a “community-wide solution for unsheltered residents to access safe, affordable housing resources,” Sunrise officials said in a Monday news release.

During its pilot program, the hotline grew in volume from a few hundred calls to more than 2,000 calls each month in August and September, officials added in the release.

“We are finding ways to make coordinated entry more convenient and accessible to Austinites by offering same-day housing assessments and referrals from anywhere in Austin,” said Allie Roberts, Sunrise’s hotline lead, in the release. “This approach treats homelessness like the urgent crisis it is and removes barriers for people who could not otherwise access support.”

Those looking for assistance can call the Sunrise Hotline at 512-522-1097 where live assessors will be on the line between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on weekdays. Expanded hours are expected to come.

Located in south Austin, Sunrise’s day center hub assists those experiencing homelessness by providing food, hygiene packs, medicinal resources and post-referral housing services. The center, located at 4430 Menchaca Road, has served members of Travis County’s unhoused population since 2015.

The resource center serves approximately 5,500 individuals annually. In addition to its hub and hotline, Sunrise also offers street outreach teams and a permanent supportive housing team.