Homelessness is Not Always Visible

By Lynne Williams, HomeAid Austin Executive Director

When people think of homelessness, they often imagine tents under highways or people sleeping on park benches. But the reality is that homelessness often hides in plain sight. It looks like a child in your neighborhood classroom who doesn’t know where they’ll sleep tonight. It looks like a mother working two jobs and still spending nights in her car. It looks like a family living week to week in a motel, trying to hold on until they can find a home they can afford.

In October, HomeAid Austin took part in Amplify Home, a campaign to shine a light on those invisible experiences of homelessness in our community, the family unit. Through that effort, we learned a heartbreaking truth: in the Austin Independent School District alone, there are nearly 2,500 families experiencing homelessness — and more than 1,100 of them are children. These are students who show up to school each day carrying burdens most of us can’t see, uncertain where they’ll sleep or how long they can stay.

At HomeAid Austin, we’re working to change that reality. Through our partnerships with service providers and the local building industry, we’re creating housing that gives families more than shelter—it gives them stability, safety, and hope. Projects like the upcoming Peace Lutheran Family Housing will provide temporary shelter for over 40 families a year who might otherwise be hidden in plain sight. And at Magdalene House Austin, where we helped expand their supportive housing for women recovering from trafficking and addiction, we’ve seen firsthand how a safe place to live can restore dignity and transform lives.

Homelessness doesn’t always announce itself. Sometimes it wears a school backpack or carries a lunchbox. Sometimes it’s dressed for work. But when we take the time to truly see, we begin to understand that every person without housing is part of our community—and that we all have a role to play in building solutions.

This Homeless Awareness Month, we invite you to look closer, listen with compassion, and join us in making sure that every family in Austin has not just a place to sleep, but a place to call home. Learn more, get involved, or make a gift today at www.homeaidaustin.org.