What she found was a city with a massive shortage of shelters and affordable housing. She came to Austin about six months ago to find a home. Tuyet Sang Vo is not one of those people. Outside the Salvation Army Downtown Shelter, neighbors helped move belonging-stuffed trash bags for those who have found another place to stay. The Downtown Salvation Army shelter has about 250 beds out of roughly 1,000 available in Austin, which has more than 4,000 unsheltered homeless people, city data shows.

While HUD reports homelessness has gone down statewide, Austin/Travis County has the highest number of unsheltered homeless families and the fifth highest percentage of unaccompanied youth who are homeless and unsheltered in the nation. The partially city-funded shelter was set to close March 15, but the mayor has vowed to keep the doors open.Īustin continues to struggle in their homeless recovery efforts compared to the rest of the state, and the nation. Right now, staff are working to make sure residents at the Salvation Army’s downtown shelter don’t end up on the streets.

The city is working to relocate about half of the 100 residents who are still at the shelter.Salvation Army announced the closure of the downtown shelter with a about a month’s notice.The City of Austin has roughly 1,000 beds for more than 4,000 unhoused, according to ECHO.HUD data shows Austin/Travis County has the highest population of unsheltered homeless families.

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