City of Fort Worth, TX

01/15/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/15/2025 06:07

High-ImpACT adopts strategies to impact unsheltered homelessness

High-ImpACT adopts strategies to impact unsheltered homelessness

Published on January 15, 2025

The Fort Worth City Council heard an extensive update on homelessness strategies during a work session Tuesday.

Fort Worth experienced a rise in homelessness following the COVID-19 pandemic, with unsheltered homelessness increasing by 18% from 2020 to 2024. There have been positive strides in bringing that number back down in recent years, especially between 2023 and 2024, when Fort Worth saw a 12% decrease in homelessness overall and an 11% decrease in unsheltered homelessness.

Recognizing these important trends and the work being done across the local Continuum of Care, staff highlighted updates on several efforts:

  • Comprehensive camp cleanup efforts: A transparent review of the costs and strategies involved in managing encampments on public and private property, balancing safety and compassion. The City cleaned 1,363 camps in Fiscal Year 2024, amounting to 1,963 tons of waste collected.
  • Stakeholder engagement: Feedback from nearly 300 stakeholders that include individuals who have lived experience, service providers and community partners to shape effective strategies.

Looking ahead, the City shared action items for 2025 and beyond:

  • Panhandling and street charity awareness campaign: A yearlong initiative aimed at educating the public on sustainable ways to support individuals experiencing homelessness.
  • Enhanced outreach strategies: Balancing compassionate outreach efforts with enforcement strategies to address encampments and their impacts on communities.
  • Request for proposals: The City contracts with innovative partners to enhance efforts to address homelessness. The presentation announced that the FY26 RFP process would launch in early 2025, seeking proposals that align with the City's focus on reducing unsheltered homelessness.
  • Homeless Strategies Plan: Building a plan to focus, align and enhance City actions related to homelessness in support of the Continuum of Care Strategic Work Plan.

Directions Home is now Homeless Strategies

At the meeting, it was announced that the City's homelessness unit, previously known as Directions Home, will now be called Homeless Strategies. This name change reflects the City's evolving priorities and its commitment to comprehensive, strategic approaches to homelessness.

Map: The High ImpACT Pilot program is a 17-month pilot program that aims to tackle the intersection of mental health and homelessness by combining high-level, mobile psychiatric services through the creation of a Housing First Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACT Team) with housing assistance.

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