How Texas shrank its homelessness population — and what it can teach California

Haven for Hope is a large, 22-acre, 1,600-person shelter that serves 85% of the city’s homeless population. It’s an all-inclusive space that provides a place to stay, as well as access to services like medical and dental care, counseling services, mental health care, childcare, job and housing assistance.

Fortify Life takes a holistic approach to addressing homelessness and also provides emergency and long-term stays in a renovated motel for people experiencing homelessness. Long-term guests participate in a micropayment program that teaches them how to budget and become financially self-sufficient. Since 2021, Fortify Life has helped 179 families with emergency or transitional housing.

In response to managing the homeless crisis, several Safe Rest Villages have emerged throughout the city. These are small, individual units on city-owned land, separate from nearby neighborhoods. There are currently seven active Safe Rest Villages in the city and they have created 350 transitional housing opportunities for the local homeless population.

Inside Safe addresses the significant homelessness crisis in the city by traveling to encampments and offering people hotel rooms to stay in where they are connected with permanent housing and other necessary resources, like mental health care. Hotel rooms provide people with a safe space to heal and rest while working with a case worker to find housing. The initiative has so far moved 1,373 people into hotel rooms and 77 of them have moved into permanent housing.

Avivo Village provides shelter for those experiencing homelessness and assists them in securing their own permanent housing. Avivo Village is specifically for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness and offers a safer option than staying in encampments. As of December, Avivo Village helped 119 secure housing and every time a person moves out, the Village moves in someone else from an encampment.

The Courtyard is an apartment complex that houses young adults, usually between ages 18 and 24 and focuses on those who have aged out of the foster care system and those at risk for homelessness. To help these young adults in need, The Courtyard has partnerships with more than 20 other local organizations to ensure residents have access to food, education, life skill training, and employment opportunities

The Eden Village tiny home community helps to provide people without homes a place to live. Tiny homes communities allow municipalities to build more dense and affordable housing for the people who need it most. All the homes in the village are “permanent supportive housing,” meaning residents may live in their homes for the remainder of their lives as long as they follow the rules set forth by the community.

Community of Hope offers day shelter services and intensive case management for unhoused residents in the Las Cruces area. In the fiscal year 2020-2021, the program served 3,263 people, connecting them to affordable, income-based housing solutions.

Almost 4 years ago, Opportunity Village was established in Eugene. It’s a community of tiny houses for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church's overnight parking program offers those who are temporarily unhoused a place to stay, typically by camping in their cars or RVs. Recently, the Church partnered with local social service agencies to add three semi-permanent housing huts to their parking lot. Residents staying in the hut have access to amenities in the Church, like a kitchen, and are welcome to stay as long as they need to until they decide to move into more permanent accommodations.