Cedar Park and Williamson County have provided funding to local nonprofits to help support unhoused and financially struggling residents. However, nonprofits and homelessness organizations say there are not enough resources in the area to meet the needs of unhoused residents, who are often unable to access shelter and transportation.

When she was 16, Lindsay Kocen was homeless, living in her car and on the streets of Round Rock. Now, Kocen serves as the vice president of the Wilco Homeless Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to helping Williamson County residents who have fallen on hard times.

“I was homeless in this area, too,” Kocen said. “It’s harder to find, but it happens more than we like to think.”

The two-minute impact

The Wilco Homeless Coalition formed in 2019 to begin conducting an annual point-in-time count to track the number of unhoused people in Williamson County. Unhoused people identified by the county rose by 300% from 2022 to 2023 before declining in 2024.

“We have more folks than people know,” said Christel Erickson-Collins, chair of the Wilco Homeless Coalition. “There’s a myth that that is not an issue for our community because there’s a lack of visibility.”

Neither Cedar Park nor Williamson County have shelters designated for unhoused people or city- or county-run warming shelters besides Pecan Gardens. The permanent supportive housing facility for seniors in Northwest Austin faced pushback when Williamson County unsuccessfully sued the city of Austin to stop the project in 2021.

The city of Cedar Park awarded $96,500 to local nonprofits for 2025 and funds $8,195 a year for case management services from Hill Country Community Ministries at the Cedar Park Public Library. In 2023, Williamson County donated $1.4 million in federal funding to build more tiny homes at Community First! Village, a permanent, affordable housing community in East Austin.

The Hill Country Community Ministries food pantry provides resources and serves struggling residents in the Cedar Park and Leander area, many of whom are one emergency away from needing these services, executive director Tiesa Hollaway said. A survey of 312 food-insecure Williamson County residents by Central Texas Food Bank found that 41% would be unable to afford an unexpected $400 emergency.

Thousands fall above the federal poverty line while still struggling to make ends meet, Hollaway said. Homelessness can happen to anyone due to a variety of life situations, Erickson-Collins said.

The background

Conducting the point-in-time count requires an immense amount of effort, and the Wilco Homeless Coalition, a volunteer-based organization, receives no additional funding from the state or county, Erickson-Collins said.

The count is conducted over one day with groups of volunteers going out to search for people for up to four hours. The group had around 40-45 volunteers during its 2025 count in January compared to 65-70 volunteers last year.

Once someone is identified, volunteers will ask the person a series of questions, point them to local resources and offer them items, such as gloves or beanies, sleeping bags, nonperishable food items and gift cards.

Williamson County does not have large encampments of unhoused people, as people are typically out of sight and on the move, Erickson-Collins said. This year, the coalition counted most people at cold-weather sheltering run by churches while the unhoused population has been more spread out in other years.

The coalition has identified people living in their cars at Walmart and Lowe’s parking lots. This year, however, volunteers noticed many businesses put up signs prohibiting overnight parking. Additionally, local law enforcement may enforce a statewide ban against camping in public places, which became effective in 2021.

“That unwillingness to allow people to be seen in Williamson County is a big obstacle,” Erickson-Collins said.

The point-in-time count does not account for people who are homeless but living with a friend, which Erickson-Collins said she believes is a large number.

The approach

The Charlie Center in far Northwest Austin helps over 400 people each week. The nonprofit often connects clients to resources that are not available in Williamson County, said Leah Hargrave, executive director of the Charlie Center.

Hill Country Community Ministries serves over 3,000 families a month, around 25 of which are homeless, Executive Director Tiesa Hollaway said. Hollaway said she often has nowhere to send clients needing shelter outside of Austin.

Cedar Park does not provide services for unhoused people but encourages them to visit local service providers for assistance, Community Affairs Assistant Director Daniel Sousa said.

In 2022, the city began partnering with HCCM to provide services to residents in need at the Cedar Park Public Library.

Williamson County Commissioner Terry Cook told Community Impact the county has no unified approach to addressing homelessness due to a cap on tax rate increases.

“I’m hoping that we can come up with something, but without funding, I don’t know what that could be,” Cook said.

The conditions

Nonprofit organizations say homelessness services are not just important for those who are currently unhoused, but everyone in the county facing hard times.

“A lot of those folks, they can get back on their feet,” Erickson-Collins said. “It’s just this one crisis situation that lasted a little bit too long.”

Increases to the cost of living and housing costs in the Cedar Park and Leander area have created challenges for families, Hollaway said.

Many families in the area are considered ALICE, or asset limited, income constrained and employed, Holloway said. The term, coined by United Way, describes people who are above the federal poverty line but making less than it costs to make ends meet.

“It’s amazing how many people are one paycheck away from financial ruin or homelessness,” Hargrave said.

The creation of more rental assistance and rapid rehousing programs could help ensure more residents don’t fall into or stay experiencing homelessness, Erickson-Collins said.

The city of Austin has reopened several former hotels as supportive housing. Additionally, the city provides $1,000 monthly payments to qualifying low-income families, most of which are spent on rent, according to a 2024 study from the Urban Institute.

Going forward

HCCM is raising $3 million to open a nonprofit mall to house various nonprofit services near the Cedar Park and Leander border.

“[This] could be transformative,” Cedar Park City Council member Heather Jefts said in December. “We are all just one health crisis, one car crash away from needing [HCCM’s] services.”

The organization has received zoning approval to build eight tiny homes for transitional housing at its current food pantry off Lacy Drive, Hollaway said.

Moving forward, the Wilco Homeless Coalition wants to support organizations providing winter sheltering, including outreach efforts in Georgetown and Taylor, Erickson-Collins said.

“Almost all of the resources ... are coming through small nonprofits or through churches,” Erickson-Collins said. “There’s a lot of opportunity for cities and the county to provide services.”

Put in perspective

Disability rights advocate John Woodley has been visiting The Charlie Center to receive support while living in his vehicle. Woodley said he recently transported someone from Round Rock to a cold-weather shelter as there were no options in the area.

“I don’t think there’s resources, period,” Woodley said. “They don’t prioritize people with disabilities to get into housing, and that’s a big problem.”

Kocen, who formerly lived in her car and on the streets of Round Rock, said she now understands that the hardships of life can happen to anyone and the importance of treating unhoused residents with respect.

“Given a chance, I’m sure many of them would be great at being your neighbor,” Kocen said.

The Wilco Homeless Coalition is working to improve understanding and awareness of homelessness, Erickson-Collins said.

“Homelessness is not something that happens to somebody else. It can happen to any of us.” she said.

How to get involved

WilCo Homeless Coalition - [email protected]

The Charlie Center - www.thecharliecenter.org

Hill Country Community Ministries - www.hccm.org