Supervisor Lovingood looking at innovative models to address homelessness

Earlier this month First District Supervisor Robert Lovingood had an opportunity to visit the Mobile Loaves & Fishes Community First! Village in Austin, Texas to learn about their effective program to transition homeless individuals into stable lives. 

Below is a note from the supervisors trip:

This is an absolute solution for chronic homelessness. It was inspiring to see, first hand, a project that began with simple community outreach develop into housing more than 200 chronically homeless individuals with plans to grow to 1,000 residents. The community is immaculate and clearly the residents and 65 staff members are proud of what they have built together. There’s happiness, serenity and hope all around. The residents are contracted to work in a variety of jobs available within the village, which helps them earn living expenses, and there are many resources on site that they have access to. A public transportation stop at the Community First! Village helps residents get to jobs that they have obtained off site. Some of the staff members live at the Village and it is evident in talking with them that they are passionate about the work they do. All staff are trained in crisis intervention and focused on helping to build community among neighbors. Any needed calls for law enforcement support are few and far between. 

Mobile Loaves & Fishes describes Community First! Village as a 51-acre master planned community that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness. This transformative residential program exists to love and serve the neighbors who have been living on the streets, while also empowering the surrounding community into a lifestyle of service with the homeless. There are currently about 300 volunteers providing 500 hours of service each week at the Village, many of whom are sharing their professional skills and trades with the community residents. I’d encourage you to take a few minutes to watch this short video at https://mlf.org/community-first/