education, resources, and advocacy
education, resources, and advocacy
Abilene’s Coordinated, Data-Driven Path to Ending Homelessness In Abilene, the city’s network of homelessness organizations is showing what’s possible when agencies work together: the city has achieved functional zero for veteran and chronic homelessness and reduced the number of individuals and families who return to homelessness. With guidance from the West Texas Homeless Network (WTHN)[…]
Drawing on Experience, Driving Change: Kraig’s Journey at THN Kraig Blaize-Fiero’s connection to Texas Homeless Network began unexpectedly. As a teenager navigating homelessness and addiction, he learned firsthand how challenging it can be to find support. Years later, when he discovered THN through community service, he recognized immediately how meaningful the organization’s work could be[…]
From Crisis to Comfort: How THN Helped a Family Rebuild When a mother of three was forced to leave her home because of a severe domestic violence situation, she fled across state lines with her children in search of safety, stability, and a fresh start. Their destination was not chosen at random. One of her[…]
Dismantling the Narrative of Homelessness as a Choice Homelessness is one of the most urgent and visible crises in the U.S. At the same time, homelessness is one of the most misunderstood and misdiagnosed crises. My work in housing and homelessness means that for those in my personal life, I am the expert on all[…]
Unveiling the 2024 PIT Count: What We Learned About Homelessness in the TX BoS CoC By: Ava Paredes Every year in the last 10 nights of January, the Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care (CoC) conducts our annual Point-In-Time (PIT) Count. While this count is a HUD-Mandated census, it also a crucial tool programs[…]
Financial Hardship and Homelessness: How Financial Social Work Can Help By: Billy Streu, LMSW, CFSW Have you ever heard of financial social work? I believe that it is a unique and valuable approach to our mission to ending homelessness in Texas. Let’s break it down! The Money-Housing Connection Imagine working endless hours but still not[…]
Enhancing Internal Controls for Homeless Services Non-Profits: Practical Strategies for Effective Governance By: Jim Ward In light of recent revelations about fraud, waste, and abuse of federal funding, there has never been a better time to revisit internal controls. Critical to the mission of ending homelessness, internal controls are the line between us and chaos.[…]
Homelessness Around the World By: William Kao When concentrating on addressing the issue of homelessness in our local communities, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that other communities, both in the United States and around the world, face challenges that are both similar and different from each other. Each individual case[…]
The Value of Sharing Your Recovery from Homelessness By: Tammy Chan Dear Reader, I am a member of the Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care (TX BoS CoC) Lived Experience Committee (LEC). I’m writing this post to share part of my journey and some things that I have come to see and believe are[…]
Navigating Challenges Together: A Personalized Roadmap for Rural Texas to End Homelessness By: Jim Ward Introduction In the vast landscapes and tight-knit communities of rural Texas, the journey to end homelessness is both a shared commitment and a distinct challenge. Unlike in larger cities, rural areas face unique obstacles that require tailored solutions. This guide[…]
Earth Day 2021: Climate Change and the Impact on Homelessness By: Cindy Ramirez Everything is bigger in Texas… and that unfortunately also applies to the climate change in our state. According to a 2017 study published in Science, Texans will experience some of the worst effects of climate change, from a dwindle in harvests to[…]
Austin, Vote No on Proposition B – Let’s Double Down on Solutions By: Nick Thomspon Early Voting: April 19-27, 2021 | Election Day: May 1, 2021 Please Vote NO on Prop B Find a polling place using the Travis County Clerk Website Because there has been so much misinformation about the proposition, let’s start with[…]
The Impact of Homelessness Awareness Day We are thrilled with the success of our largest, and first-ever virtual, Homeless Awareness Day in the history of Texas Homeless Network (THN). Homelessness Awareness Day (HAD) is an advocacy day that aims to educate policymakers on homelessness and housing. With over 200 registered participants, we doubled in size[…]
THN Opposes the Criminalization of Our Unhoused Neighbors Texas Homeless Network opposes HB 1925 and SB 987 because criminalization is the most expensive and least effective way of addressing homelessness. This bill seeks to hide people living outside from the immediate view of housed Texans rather than do what actually addresses homelessness – invest more[…]
Let’s Talk About Zoning By: Billy Streu Could zoning reform in Texas be a viable solution for our affordable housing crisis? Even more, could it begin to put a dent in economic and racial inequality? For many years, zoning reform has felt like a big Texas-size elephant in the room. President Biden’s housing plan includes[…]
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