AUSTIN (KXAN) — For anyone experiencing homelessness in Austin, or for anyone who would like to provide those resources to people in need, here’s what you need to know.
Whether it is finding access to food or programs aimed to get you back into the workforce and/or housing, there are plenty of local resources to go around.
City of Austin Basic Needs Sites
The City of Austin website provides resources for anyone experiencing homelessness, which starts with basic needs sites- places where people from the community can get hygiene, access to showers, bathrooms and more.
Showers:
- Monday – Friday – Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center / 8:30 a.m.-11 a.m.
- Monday – Friday – Seventh Street & Interstate 35 / 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
- Monday – Friday – Burnet Road and U.S. Highway 183 / 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Bathrooms only available:
- Terrazas Branch Library / 1105 E. Cesar Chavez / 9-5 Monday – Sunday
- Little Walnut Creek Branch Library / 835 W. Rundberg Ln / 9-5 Monday – Sunday
- Public Restroom Fourth & Trinity Street
- Public Restroom Sixth & Brazos Street
- Public Restroom Sixth & Interstate 35
Hand washing and sanitizing stations at Violet Bag sites:
- State Highway 71/Packsaddle Pass (temporarily out of Service)
- Cesar Chavez/Pleasant Valley Road (near the IBC Bank)
- U.S. Highway 183/Burnet Road
- Highway 183/Cameron Road
- Seventh Street and Gonzalez (under the bridge)
- Terrazas Library – 1105 E. Cesar Chavez
- Highway 71/Burleson Road
- Pleasant Valley/Riverside Drive (located in the median near the McDonald’s)
- Interstate 35/Airport Boulevard
- Hwy183 at Oak Knoll
Parks and Recreation restrooms along city trails will remain open until further notice, according to the city.
Need food? Here are a list of places
Angel House/Austin Baptist Chapel
Where: 908 E. Cesar Chavez
When: Breakfast is 9:30 a.m.-10 a.m. every day; sack lunches 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. every day
Bread For All
Where: 1314 E. Oltorf St
When: 4 p.m.-7 p.m. (or until it hits 100 units served)
This organization also sponsors a mobile distribution with the food bank at Parker Lane United Methodist,2105 Parker Lane, the second Tuesday of the month from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., according to the city.
For more information on this organization, go to austincitylutherans.org/food/.
Caritas of Austin: Community Kitchen
Where: 611 Neches St.
When: Sack lunches served Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
For more information, visit the Caritas of Austin website.
Foundation for the Homeless / Feed My People
Where: 13th Street and Lavaca
When: Breakfast tacos are provided Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 6 a.m.
To see the full list of all food resources offered on the city website, go here.
Central Texas Food Bank
Another way to get access to food is to go to the Central Texas Food Bank, 6500 Metropolis Drive.
The food bank works with food donors across the country to fill unmet needs in Central Texas, according to the website.
With commitment coming from private, government and charitable partners, it has allowed the non-profit organization to bring nearly 54 million meals to the community.
Mobile Loaves and Fishes
Mobile Loves and Fishes (MLF) is a social outreach ministry empowering communities into a lifestyle of service with the homeless community since 1989, according to the MLF website.
Resources offered by MLF include a truck ministry, Community First! Village and Community Works, the website said.
Truck ministry:
MLF will continue to serve on food trucks, as long as there are enough volunteers, according to the city. For locations and schedules, visit www.mlf.org/truck-schedules.
Community First! Village:
Community First! Village is a 51-acre master planned development that provides affordable, permanent housing, as well as a supportive community for people coming out of chronic homelessness, according to the website.
Community Works
Community Works provides micro-enterprise opportunities that enable people from the homelessness community to earn a dignified income and also develop new skills.
Other resources
The Other Ones Foundation (TOOF) is a non-profit organization that offers humanitarian aid, case management and extremely low-barrier work opportunities to people in the community experiencing homelessness in Austin, according to the TOOF website.
TOOF partnered with findhelp films to tell the story of the Esperanza Community- a sanctioned encampment in Austin, the website said. TOOF and residents of the encampment work together to build a transitional shelter community where unhoused people can find the stability needed to move on to a safer and fuller life.
The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) is another non-profit organization that plans and implements community-wide strategies to end homelessness in Austin and Travis County, according to the ECHO website.
ECHO also conducts the Point In Time counts annually, which is conducted every other January, the website said. The survey is an opportunity to collect valuable insights that help advance the non-profit’s work in ending homelessness.
