Community Plan to End Homelessness

The Plan to End Community Homelessness 2010 updates and expands upon Austin ’s 2004 Plan to End Chronic Homelessness. The 2004 plan focused on one segment of the homeless population – the chronically homeless – who has both an extended history of homelessness and significant barriers to self-sufficiency. The 2010 Plan substantially expands the scope of planning to include the entire continuum of the homeless population, from those at immediate risk of becoming homeless to the chronically homeless.

The Plan addresses community homelessness by focusing on four critical areas:

Prevention
Short-term Homelessness
Long-term Homelessness
Highly Effective Coordination

ECHO membership unanimously voted to approve the Plan at the Quarterly Membership Meeting on April 16, 2010.

Executive Summary

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.