City Working on Plan to Relocate Salvation Army Downtown Shelter Clients

Austin Interim City Manager Jesús Garza announced Wednesday that the City is actively working with The Salvation Army on options to ensure guests at the organization’s downtown shelter have somewhere to go, despite The Salvation Army’s plans to close the shelter on March 15.

The Salvation Army announced on Feb. 17 that the shelter would be closing. The news came as a surprise to shelter residents and partner organizations in the homeless response community. To address the situation, the City will announce detailed plans later this week on how the current guests of the downtown shelter will be assisted.

“This is a vitally important issue to Council and to the community,” Garza said. “We are exploring all options for placement and will have a solution by the end of this week that ensures each Salvation Army resident is provided for and able to stay here in our community if they wish to do so.”

Mayor Kirk Watson expressed concern not only about the closure, but also the short notice residents were given.

“I’m disappointed that it’s taken this long for The Salvation Army to live up to the promise they made in January to take care of each and every resident that they’re displacing. I’ve been pushing them every step of the way and sent a letter to Major (Lewis) Reckline yesterday demanding that they fulfill their responsibility,” Watson said. “Last night, Salvation Army asked for help from the City to do so. Austin is home for these residents, and we will take care of our neighbors.”

Council Member Zo Qadri, who represents District 9 where the downtown shelter is located, shares Watson’s disappointment and emphasized the urgency of the current situation.

“Any community should be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable residents, and right now, we can do better. I’m disappointed that The Salvation Army didn’t adequately communicate the timeline of this closure to the District 9 constituents who are using this shelter to lift themselves out of unfortunate circumstances,” Qadri said. “The urgency of this crisis is real and the fear and uncertainty it has created is as unfortunate as it was avoidable. Moving forward, our collective priority should be to take care of our neighbors and keep them on a path towards permanent housing.”

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Federal Grant Kickstarts Effort to Make It Easier for People Experiencing Homelessness to Get Help

The City of Austin’s Downtown Austin Community Court (DACC) and researchers from the University of Texas at Austin (UT) are working together to provide better data to improve services for people experiencing homelessness thanks to a $50,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. 

The award is funding the initial co-creation and planning for improved data sharing to assist service providers in giving people experiencing homelessness easier access to basic needs like food, clothing, and assistance with public benefits. In early 2023, UT and DACC, along with the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO), the Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center, and other community collaborators, submitted a further grant application which, if awarded, would provide an additional $1 million in funding over one year to develop and pilot increased service provider data sharing and a community dashboard.

View a video about the grant opportunity HERE.

“This current grant is the initial phase to co-create a real time public facing dashboard and support data sharing to provide summary information to policymakers and the community, and support the information needs of people experiencing homelessnes,” said Robert Kingham, Interim Court Administrator at the Downtown Austin Community Court. “Additionally, this project will provide us with the tools and data to support analysis that we can use to allocate services and resources more efficiently and effectively, and better inform policymakers and the community. This effort will also improve our outcome reporting, which we can use to advocate for further funding to expand the services that we provide for people experiencing homelessness.”

The project is funded by the Civic Innovation Challenge (CIVIC), a research and action competition sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Homeland Security. Teams of academic and civic partners competed for awards to support the rapid implementation of community-driven, research-based pilot projects. For CIVIC 2022, 56 teams received Stage 1 planning awards of $50,000 over 6 months.

“This grant opportunity has given us the resources we need to bring the community together to begin collaboratively designing a pilot project that is reflective of our local needs,” said Sherri Greenberg, Assistant Dean for State and Local Government Engagement at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. “By prioritizing equity, user experience for individuals experiencing homelessness, functionality for service providers, and data needs in our community, we have the potential to improve access to services and data sharing capabilities across our homeless services continuum.”

To kick off the collaborative planning process, UT and DACC hosted a co-creation workshop on October 20, 2022, which included key stakeholders from across the community. Participants included individuals with lived experience, service providers, community planning partners, and governmental organizations.

Over the grant period, UT and DACC will continue to bring together community stakeholders and service partners. The goal is to equip service providers and the community with access to better data that can help them to provide timely and tailored wrap-around services.

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AUS prepares passengers for a busy Spring Travel Season ahead

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) advises passengers to expect a busy terminal beginning March 8^th through early April. 1,822,198 passengers traveled through AUS in March 2022 – making it the busiest March in airport history. This year, airlines are offering 10% more seats than last – poising March 2023 to top March 2022.

“We’re excited for the return of Spring Travel Season,” said Towanda Cordon, Acting Deputy Chief of Operations. “AUS has taken steps to prepare the airport for the influx of travelers during March and April by coordinating with airlines and other on-airport partners to ensure we are staffed appropriately for the period. We ask that passengers plan ahead, arrive early, use our tips and pack their patience as our teams prepare for their arrival.”

When to arrive at AUS

- Passengers using general Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening should arrive at least 2.5 hours before departure for domestic flights and 3 hours before departure for international flights.

- Passengers that need to check luggage, return a rental car, or complete other activities before joining the TSA security line should arrive even earlier.

- TSA PreCheck and Clear users can expect a faster security process than those using general TSA screening.  On-site TSA PreCheck enrollment is now offered to departing passengers after they are cleared through security through a new enrollment program, which you can learn more about here.

Security screening & packing correctly

- AUS has 4 security screening checkpoints and all checkpoints lead to all gates. The checkpoints open at 3:00 a.m. and TSA PreCheck and Clear are available at Checkpoints 1 and 2 West.

- AUS Department of Aviation staff will be throughout the terminal to assist passengers.

- The TSA has reported that AUS passengers continue to bring a record number of guns to security checkpoints. Bringing prohibited items, like firearms and liquids exceeding 3.4 oz. will cause delays for passengers.

- Passengers can visit TSA.gov for guidance on how to pack and what items are allowed in carry-on luggage.

- Event promotional items, bulky souvenirs and giveaways should be packed in carry-on luggage to prevent delays in the checked baggage security screening process.

Parking and/or dropping off passengers

- Visit ABIAParking.com if you're planning to park at AUS. You can reserve a parking space and check for real-time parking availability before arriving at the airport.

- Passengers should budget in extra arrival time for shuttle service to the terminal as it runs approximately every 15-20 minutes.

- Use either the upper level for departures or the lower level for arrivals to drop off passengers. And vice versa - if you're picking up someone and the lower level for arrivals is backed up, have them go to the upper-level departures and pick them up there. We recommend using whichever level is least congested.

- Allegiant and Frontier passengers are encouraged to park on-site at the South Terminal.

Mobility assistance and accessibility needs

- Passengers who require wheelchair assistance need to contact their airline prior to their travel date to set up the service.

- AUS offers SkySquad, a new service which connects passengers with a trained, pre-vetted airport assistant to provide an extra pair of hands from the curbside to their gate (from ticketing, checking bags, loading items onto the security belt, keeping an eye on travel items when they go to the restroom and more). Passengers need to book 24 hours in advance. Visit the SkySquad website or call (877) 359-2256.

- AUS has a new Mobility Lounge for passengers using wheelchairs and other mobility assistive devices located on the ticketing/departures level.

- AUS also has a new Mobility Assistance Zone, which provides priority access for Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs), taxis and rideshares to pick-up passengers with limited mobility. It is located on the lower level curbside one lane across from the G and H pick-up areas; it is free and open daily from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.

- We also have a Mobility Assistance Tram, which transports Passengers with mobility needs via tram across the walkway between the car rental area and the terminal curbside. It operates 7 days a week.

- Consider requesting TSA Cares Assistance. TSA Cares is a helpline that provides travelers with disabilities, medical conditions and other special circumstances additional assistance during the security screening process. Contact them at (855) 787-2227.

Checking into your flight

- Airline ticket counters open at various times. Passengers should contact the airline directly for hours of operation.

- Passengers without checked luggage can bypass the busy ticket counters and head immediately to TSA screening checkpoints using these time-saving flight check-in options:

• Use a mobile boarding pass to skip the airline ticket counters.
• Use a self-service kiosk located inside the terminal to print boarding passes.
• In addition to traditional check-in procedures, some airlines offer outside curbside check-in on the upper level.

Getting the most out of AUS

- Once inside, explore the food, new art installations, live music stages, and more using step-by-step directions on the AUS digital wayfinding map at AirportMaps.AustinTexas.gov.

- AUS is excited to offer a special music line-up, featuring 52 different live music performances starting Monday, March 13 through Friday. March 17.  You can view a detailed schedule of our 8 music stages on the Live Music in the Air at AUS program webpage.

Information for Allegiant and Frontier travelers: Know your terminal

- Passengers flying Allegiant or Frontier will depart from The South Terminal, which is a separate terminal located near US 183 and Burleson Road at 10000 Logistics Lane. This terminal is not accessible from the main Barbara Jordan Terminal. While we do provide shuttle service to the terminal, we encourage Allegiant and Frontier passengers to park on-site at the South Terminal to save time.

Passengers needing assistance at any point in their journey at AUS are encouraged to call the Airport Operations Center at (512) 530-2242 or to ask any Department of Aviation staff member for assistance.

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