AUSTIN, Texas — On Tuesday, the City of Austin announced the relocation of 33 people experiencing homelessness and six pets who were previously all living in the same encampment to a City-owned shelter.
The encampment was located in a high flood risk area in East Austin.
An extensive cleanup process is underway at the encampment, which is near the Longhorn Dam and East Cesar Chavez Street. The cleanup effort is expected to take several weeks.
The 33 people who were living there are now in the Northbridge Shelter.
This relocation is part of the City's Housing-focused Encampment Assistance Link initiative, also known as HEAL.
“Ensuring dignity and well-being for those experiencing homelessness, HEAL provides a direct pathway to crisis shelter from the most unsafe encampments and an opportunity to attain stable housing,” Homeless Strategy Officer David Gray said.
The HEAL Initiative was approved by the city council in February 2021. Since it began in June 2021, the City said more than 694 people have been moved from "high-risk" encampments to the Northbridge and Southbridge shelters.
The City said the cleanups near the Longhorn Dam were a collaborative effort that involved the Austin Public Health Homeless Strategy Division, the Homeless Outreach Street Team (HOST), Austin Parks and Recreation Department Outreach, Integral Care, the Austin Police Department, the Austin Area Urban League and other community partners.