Downtown Shelter, Resource Center, and Health Clinic

Formerly know as the "Seventh Street Hope Center"

Summary

This is a multi-purpose facility designed to meet the needs of many segments of the homeless population. The Center is made up of three components: a 100-bed shelter for men, a day resource center, and a health clinic for all homeless persons. The shelter capacity will be expanded to 250 men during extreme weather.

Status

The concept of the Center remains intact, but other aspects have changed. First, the project is no longer called "The Seventh Street Hope Center." Its working name is the "Downtown Shelter, Resource Center, and Health Clinic." Second, the City had been working with The Salvation Army to build the facility. In November of 2000, however, the City Council decided to move forward on the project without the involvement of the Salvation Army. The City Council approved the purchase of the property located at the corner of Seventh Street and Neches Street. Now, the City will build the facility and will provide funding for operations. The City of Austin's Primary Care Department will operate the health clinic. A request for proposals will be released to solicit an operator for the shelter and day resource center.

Final project designs are anticipated in August of 2001. The construction of the project will be put out for bid in January of 2002. The expected date of completion for the facility is July of 2003.

Description

1. The Shelter component is intended to provide an option to sleeping outside for chronically homeless men who have been unable to successfully access other shelters and services. Shelter is available to any adult male, regardless of drug or alcohol use, or mental illness, provided the client is not a danger to himself or others. However, repeated presentation in an intoxicated state may result in termination of services. Clients are allowed 30 nights of shelter within a 90 day period, with extensions available at the discretion of case managers.
2. The Day Resource Center will be open to all homeless persons, and will provide centralized intake, information and referral, and basic services (including showers, telephone/mail/messaging, laundry facilities, and computer access). In addition, other services that help homeless persons to reach self-sufficiency will be co-located at the resource center (e.g., legal aid, case management, mental health outreach, assistance for homeless children in AISD).
3. The Health Clinic will replace the Homeless Health Clinic currently operated at the Salvation Army shelter. The new expanded space will allow staff to serve more clients more efficiently. Homeless families, adults and youth will be able to access acute care, wellness/prevention care, and public health screenings.

Involved Parties

The development of this project has involved extensive community input. Three groups comprised of representatives from neighborhood associations, downtown businesses, homeless service providers, homeless/formerly homeless people, and members of the faith community have participated: The Stakeholders' Committee, the Coordinating Council, and the Design Committee.

The City of Austin Self-Sufficiency and Responsibility Stakeholders' Committee was created as part of the City Homeless Initiative to develop and oversee the operations of proposed new homeless programs, particularly those in the downtown area. This committee provides oversight to Coordinating Council, oversees the design of homeless service facilities, ensures project timelines, and monitors the fund development process.

A Coordinating Council was created as part of the City Homeless Initiative. The Council's responsibilities center on developing and reviewing operating policies and guidelines for the downtown shelter, resource center, and clinic. The Council is anticipated to work closely with the operating board of the agency(ies) operating the facility. A Design Committee has been meeting with architects regularly since November 2000 to finalize programmatic aspects of the facility and to begin designing the building.

A fourth group that has been involved in planning the downtown shelter, resource center, and clinic is the Homeless Task Force. Established by the Austin City Council in January 1996, the Homeless Task Force was charged with developing a comprehensive plan for addressing homelessness in Austin/Travis County. The plan was completed in December 1996 with five year goals for each gap identified in the local continuum of care. The Task Force serves as the Community Action Network's official planning body for homeless issues and is comprised of service providers, homeless advocates, business and neighborhood representatives, public agencies, and community representatives.

Basic Data