Community Documents

Continuum of Care

Our community has been actively engaged in a new level of collaboration to work on the systemic problems that lead to and extend homelessness. The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO), in conjunction with Austin/Travis County Health & Human Services, has been responsible for assessing the needs of homeless individuals, reviewing, exiting services, identifying gaps, and developing a strategic plan to address our community’s priority needs. The ECHO also makes policy recommendations to community decision-makers, such as the Austin City Council. In addition, our community has successfully called broad-community participation from all parts of our community – homeless and formerly homeless individuals, faith community, nonprofit organization, business leaders, representatives from state and local government, and community members – along a defined course of action guided by our Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in Austin/Travis County.

The Continuum of Care Subcommittee of the ECHO Planning and Evaluation Committee, along with the City of Austin Homeless Services staff, produces an annual application for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Grant (“SuperNOFA”). Exhibit One, a section in the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Grant application, provides a description of Austin’s Continuum of Care strategy, the process used to create the strategy and a list of resources in the community.

• Brief One – A Federal Approach to Homelessness
• Exhibit One Year 2008
• Exhibit One Year 2007
• Exhibit One Year 2006

The Plan to End Chronic Homelessness

The Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in Austin/Travis County (“the Plan”) was developed to support the federal government’s efforts to address the challenge of ending chronic homelessness. The Plan has been drafted by a committee of the Community Action Network Homeless Task Force with the help of Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department and JP Results Consulting. The Plan was approved by the Austin City Council in September 2004.

The Plan addresses chronic homelessness in four categories:

• Develop plans to end, rather than manage, chronic homelessness by collecting better data on local chronic homelessness, conducting a pilot study, and conducting outcome evaluations.

• Improve discharge planning for individuals exiting provide adequate substance abuse and mental health treatment.

• Provide adequate affordable housing with supportive services, help homeless individuals access income and employment, provide services using a “system of care” approach, and increase outreach to individuals with chronic substance abuse and mental health problems.

• Build the infrastructure to address the systemic problems that lead to poverty and homelessness. This task can be accomplished through removing barriers that prevent chronically homeless persons from obtaining housing, employment, access to services and public benefits.

• The Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in Austin/Travis County
• ECHO First Year Progress Report (Jan.- Dec. 2005)
• Presentation to the Texas Homeless Network Conference in 2006

Other Community Documents

• October 2007, Homeless FAQ
• New – ECHO "Voices of Homeless Persons" Report, 2008
• ECHO Progress Report, 2007
• A Comparison of Homeless Services Among Five Cities Utilizing Existing Data:
  Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Seattle, 2005
• Homelessness Urgent Issues, 2001
• Community Action Network Homeless Assessment, 2001
• Community Action Network 1998 Assessment - Chapter on Homelessness
• Community Action Network 1997 Community Guide - Chapter on Homelessness