American Rescue Plan Act Homelessness Investment Priorities

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Setting the Course to End Homelessness in Austin

In early 2021, a diverse group of civic, local government, and business leaders convened a planning process, bringing together individuals with lived experience, social justice advocates, social service providers, representatives from the business sector, and other community members, along with city staff for focused conversations on homelessness.

Called The Summit to Address Unsheltered Homelessness in Austin, the conversations resulted in setting an ambitious community-wide goal of housing an additional 3,000 individuals over the next three years by building upon existing community efforts.

To dramatically expand the scale of the overall response, Summit leadership called for raising nearly $300 million to fund the comprehensive $515 million plan.

• On June 10, 2021, Austin City Council affirmed its intent to identify $106.7 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds toward addressing homelessness, providing that governments, non-profits, and philanthropic partners commit to matching the City’s investment.
• On September 14, the Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to allocate $110 million in ARPA funds to build housing units for people experiencing homelessness in the Austin area.

Homeless Strategy Officer Dianna Grey will soon provide an update to City Council on Summit governance and the funding plan, along with the next steps for moving forward.

We Want to Hear from You

As these plans evolve, it’s important that we hear from you. We seek Austinites' feedback and constructive insights on how the City of Austin proposes to invest $106.7 million in ARPA funding to rehouse individuals and expand services through 2024.

Make plans to attend one of two virtual meetings. Register to attend the Oct. 14 meeting. Register to attend the Oct. 18 meeting.

Take the survey to share your thoughts about proposed investments in ARPA funds.

Your feedback will help to inform spending priorities and strengthen the City of Austin’s work with government and community partners to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring across our community.