After years of working to protect the dignity of people experiencing homelessness and preventing low-income families from displacement, Central Texas Interfaith leaders celebrated the investment of $220+ Million in federal funding into homelessness prevention and support.  Over 100 CTI leaders were joined by City of Austin Mayor and Travis County Judge Andy Brown who expressed appreciation for the organization's partnership and doggedness in addressing key regional challenges.  Leaders relayed how this effort was connected to a multi-year effort that resulted in passage of an affordable housing bond in 2018, $40 Million in rental assistance during the first year of the pandemic, and now over $217 million in federal dollars into homelessness prevention and support.

Elected officials further committed to identifying sources for additional rental assistance as eviction moratoriums lift.

Central TX Interfaith Leaders Share Plans for $200M, Will Be Used to Address Homelessness, CBS Austin [pdf]

Church Leaders Praise City, County for Committing Fed Funds Toward Homelessness, Austin Monitor [pdf]

Central Texas Interfaith Leaders Share Plans for $200 Million, Will Be Used to Address Homelessness, CBS Austin  

Homeless Housing Plans, Spectrum News

Several Austin City Council Members Concerned About Spending on Homelessness Services, KXAN [pdf]

Interfaith Group Calls for Immediate Action on Homelessness, Austin Monitor [pdf]

Headlines / Quote of the Week, Austin Chronicle [pdf]

Líderes Religiosos Exigen Que las Autoridades Locales Tomen Acción para Ayudar a Indigentes, Univision [video]   

Central Texas Interfaith Calls on Austin-Travis Officials to Invest, Address Homelessness, CBS Austin [pdf]

Press Conference Footage, Central Texas Interfaith

[Excerpts]

....Leaders with Central Texas Interfaith – a non-partisan coalition of religious congregations – are also pushing the city council to act.

Jonathan McManus-Dail, the assistant priest at St. Julian of Norwich Episcopal Church, said the city should use available federal funds to make an immediate impact.

“I think many people, myself included, want more urgency around this issue because we see people suffering,” McManus-Dail told KXAN.

Austin has been criticized for not prioritizing permanent supportive housing efforts in the past. Homelessness advocates say the need for urgency has only intensified since the passage of Proposition B.

[Photo Credit: KXAN News]

Several Austin City Council Members Concerned About Spending on Homelessness Services, KXAN News 

Statement on City Funding to Address Rental Assistance and Homelessness, Central Texas Interfaith [6/7/21]

Statement on Use of Federal Stimulus Dollars, Central Texas Interfaith [6/10/21]

CTI leaders Ruby Roa of SoCo Episcopal and Trenton Henrichson of St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church advocated at Austin City Council this week for Austin to maximize affordable housing and public benefits for the city-owned redevelopment project at the former downtown Health South rehabilitation facility.

Councilmembers Tovo and Harper-Madison worked together to unanimously pass measures stipulating, among other community benefits, that "the central use of this tract is to be housing, specifically affordable housing."

[Photo Credit: HealthSouth Building/KXAN]

Austin City of Council Advances Plan to Bring Affordable Housing to City Land Near Downtown, KXAN Austin [pdf]