A new interactive map on the City of Austin's website is aimed at helping people experiencing homelessness identify locations to get aid during the coronavirus pandemic.
Vella Karman, interim homeless services officer for the City of Austin, said the map and other resources for the city's homeless population can be accessed at austintexas.gov/homelessness. (You can also find the map below.)
The locations on the map include places to shower, get food, wash hands, use the restroom and charge devices.
For those who don’t have smartphones or a way to access the website, the city’s outreach workers are sharing the information in person and handing out fliers, Karman said.
She says city departments and community partners have also bought phones to hand out to people experiencing homelessness so they can access these online resources directly.
RELATED | Homeless Austinites – And The People Who Help Them – Are Having To Do Less With Less Amid COVID-19
The City of Austin is setting up additional hotels to isolate at-risk members of the city’s homeless population, Karman said. The city and county have already set aside hotel rooms and the Austin Sobering Center to house people who are homeless with symptoms of COVID-19.
You can watch the video of Saturday's news conference below (it starts at the 15-minute mark).
