Evaluating people and transgender people experiencing homelessness, Austin has reopened the original Salvation Army shelter in the city.
65 people can now stay in the shelter, which has been renamed the Eighth Street Shelter. By the end of March, it hopes to have raised that number to 150.
Greg McCormack, a manager with Austin’s Homeless Strategy Division, said, “We know how crucial it is to give people, especially women and transgender clients, who have expressed interest in finding shelter where they are the only ones in there and working with each other.”
Each person will also get meals and help finding more lasting housing, according to McCormack, in addition to a shelter bed.
The aging structure and rising operating costs led the Salvation Army to close the shelter at Eighth and Red River streets earlier this year. Since 1988, the organization has provided services to the downtown area.
In May, the site was put up for sale. The building was finally leased by the city for a year with the intention of being reopened as an overflow shelter.
In an effort to make up for the city’s lack of shelter beds, Austin announced last month that it would purchase the facility for $15 million. According to the volunteer Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, more than 5,500 people in Austin are thought to be experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
