Since 2015, Austin has been home to a remarkable experiment in ending homelessness in Texas. The Community First! Village uses microhomes to help people transition out of chronic homelessness. It’s been a wild success, inspiring similar projects in Midland and Little Rock, Arkansas.
Part of that success is an extremely basic, yet often missing, empathy and respect for homeless people as, you know, people. The capital city has been a major front in Governor Greg Abbott’s vocal campaign against encampments, which has been overseen by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Mobile Loaves & Fishes, the driving force behind Community First! Village, takes a different approach to housing people than the dormitory-style shelters that are most common. They began in 2004 by using RVs to create makeshift communities for people, which eventually grew into the Community First! Village. It’s the sense of belonging that helps the most after the physical act of sheltering people…