March 20, 2020 To: Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Speaker Dennis Bonnen We applaud the Texas Supreme Court’s recent decisive actions to protect Texans by halting some evictions as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. We share your desire to protect those most vulnerable and most likely to experience dire health and economic Read More »
A Letter to Texans: COVID-19 Response
Fellow Texans, Coronavirus, known as COVID-19, impacts countless vulnerable Texans. The elderly, immunocompromised people, low-income households and people living without basic shelter are all at a higher risk of contracting, spreading, and dying from this virus. Texas Homeless Network realizes the breadth of this impact and seriousness of the consequences at hand if we do Read More »
Homelessness in the Texas Balance of State: 2020 Point in Time Count Results
On January 23, 2020, Texas Homeless Network led efforts for the annual Point-in-Time Count (PIT), which aims to provide a snapshot of the individuals and families experiencing homelessness in a geographical area over the course of one night. Survey responses are self-reported and/or observed and may not be representative of the entire homeless population. This Read More »
Reflections on 2020 Solutions for Individual Homeless Adults: A National Conference
This year THN, as the CoC Lead Agency, provided a scholarship to support 10 local leaders from across the Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care to attend the 2020 Solutions for Individual Homeless Adults: A National Conference presented by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Katherine Hennecke, a community leader in Lubbock, offers her reflections Read More »
Texas Homeless Network Response to Marbut
On December 10th, Robert Marbut was announced as the new Executive Director of the US Interagency Council on Homelessness. Texas Homeless Network is encouraged to work with anyone that seeks to end homelessness, but we, along with our partners and advocates across Texas, are concerned about the events that led to this leadership change and Read More »
Texas CoC Leads Letter to the Governor
Our collective response to the State of Texas/Governor’s interventions regarding homelessness in Austin: Overview Bullet Points: The state of Texas and the Governor’s office recently created a sanctioned encampment on state land in Austin, TX for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. The given explanation for the State’s intervention was to protect Texans, but for this to Read More »
The Case for Resident-Owned Communities
By: Christian Volckaert As we continue to grapple with the affordable housing crisis, the importance of creating and maintaining low-income housing remains a key component to moving towards the goal of every person having safe and affordable housing. To reach that solution, manufactured homes (also known as mobile homes) are often touted as the solution Read More »
The Criminalization of Homelessness across the Texas Balance of State
By: Jen Beardsley The Texas Balance of State encompasses a huge swath of an already enormous state – 215 counties, or roughly 60 percent of Texas’ population. Though this region and its area and population are diverse, all communities share the burden of affordable housing shortages and operating homelessness resources on shoestring budgets. They’re also Read More »
Source of Income Discrimination
Written by: Christian Volckaert Affordable housing is the cornerstone of providing housing as a human right. To help low-income people gain access to housing, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) created a rental assistance program in 1974. This program, commonly known as Section 8, works to help individuals and families afford housing by Read More »
Advocacy as the foundation and future of ending homelessness
Advocacy means the opportunity to cultivate conversations in intentional and meaningful ways. Through advocacy, we can engage in policymaking, promote community equity work, and critically analyze the ways in which we can create a better and more just country. As THN’s Statewide Initiatives Coordinator, I have a direct role with THN Advocates in ensuring that Read More »