Why the State of the HRS report looks the way it does
The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) recently published the 2024 State of the Homelessness Response System (HRS) report, a comprehensive analysis of the people our HRS serves, the programs that exist to serve folks, and how our HRS functions to move people from homelessness to housing.
The report is the first of its kind for our community. It combines our community’s Needs & Gaps and Racial Disparities reports and provides a deeper analysis of Rapid Re-Housing data, our community’s Permanent Supportive Housing pipeline, and the investments needed to create an HRS that works for everyone. Our goal with this report is to make the information about how our HRS functions available and accessible to everyone.
The cover of the report is a painting by David Dominguez. David is an artist with the nonprofit Art from the Streets (AFTS), an organization is dedicated to providing space and supplies for artists who’ve experienced homelessness to create. ECHO would like to thank David for partnering with us to allow the use of this piece. You can view the piece in person at the Austin Central Library, where it’s on display through Sept. 29.
We decided to contract with David to use this piece for a couple reasons. First, it’s a beautifully layered, vibrant work of art that tells a story about our community. But more importantly, it highlights something that too often gets lost in lengthy analytical reports about HRS data: There’s a lot more to all of us than what might show up in a database.
As you read the report, remember every number is a person. Every data point is an artist who wants to create, a musician making our city more vibrant, a friend or family member who’s struggling, a coworker striving for better for their family, a neighbor, an Austinite. Each is someone who lives in our community and is in need of the kind of support only a community can provide.
ECHO would also like to thank Pat Chapman and Art from the Streets for making the process to connect with David simple. Pat is a tireless promoter of the artists who find home there, and For anyone interested in a similar arrangement with an artist from AFTS, you may contact them directly on their website.
And mark your calendars: AFTS’ 32nd Annual Show and Sale takes place Oct. 12-13 at the Blue Genie Art Bazaar.