The church hopes this new initiative will become the blueprint for other aid organizations in Travis and Williamson counties that aim to help families facing serious issues such as homelessness, food insecurity and instability while keeping families together.
The approach
Peace Lutheran Church is in the process of developing a transitional housing facility for homeless families in far Northwest Austin. The $1.2 million project is expected to break ground in early 2026 and include four apartments, which can house a maximum of six families at a time until permanent housing is secured.
The church is working with HomeAid Austin as the construction partner and Foundation for the Homeless to manage daily operations. During their 90-day stay, families will receive help with case management, limited financial assistance and connections to community resources for services such as mental health care, said Monte Osburn, executive director of Foundation for the Homeless.
The housing development is approximately 75% funded. HomeAid Austin requires projects to raise 100% of the budget before breaking ground with the intention to match the building’s cost in in-kind labor. Throughout the planning process, Becky Reinhart, member of the Peace Lutheran Church, has been cataloging project meetings to eventually create a toolkit for other nonprofits to use as a resource in replicating the housing development structure. The materials are meant to give churches guidance on the correct processes for different administrative tasks, such as signing contracts and approving invoices.
In the last four to six months, other organizations have expressed interest in using the model in the future, Williams said. The process flowchart is expected to be developed after the housing development is fully built. Other nonprofits are working on similar transitional housing facilities, such as Hill Country Community Ministries. There are few transitional housing options in the Austin area that cater to families, and those that do have limited capacity.
“We get calls every day, not just needing rental assistance, but [people saying], ‘I need somewhere to go. I need somewhere to take my family,’” said Tiesa Hollaway, executive director of HCCM. “And we have nowhere to send them.”
Putting it in perspective
A 2024 Wilco Homeless Coalition study found 89 individuals living on the streets in Williamson County. The study is conducted by volunteers and is dependent on public awareness. The next count is expected to happen in January 2026.
“We have more folks than people know,” Wilco Homeless Coalition Chair Christel Erickson-Collins said. “There’s a lack of visibility.”
Peace Family Housing Project development timeline
- 2019: Peace Lutheran meets with council member Jimmy Flanagan to discuss housing
- 2021: Foundation for the Homeless agrees to be service provider
- 2021: Peace Family Housing selected as HomeAid Austin project
- 2025: Austin City Council waives $275,000 environmental fee
- 2026: Project expected to break ground
Discussions began six years ago when former Austin City Council member Jimmy Flanagan invited several churches to a meeting where he outlined his vision. The goal was to harness church resources like land, facilities and connections to aid housing insecurity in the Austin area.
“Churches have valuable assets, and they also know how to reach out to people in the community and how important it is for us to help people,” Reinhart said.
After years of development, Peace Lutheran Church expected construction to start Sept. 1, according to a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing, but faced challenges that prohibited breaking ground. The church is located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction and not represented by Austin City Council and does not pay Austin property taxes, but does have to comply with the city’s environmental regulations, according to Austin City Council member Krista Laine.
The church was going to have to pay an estimated $275,000 water supply mitigation fee to move forward with construction. City Council approved a fee waiver July 24.
Sorting out the details
Hill Country Community Ministries is another nonprofit working to help families in Williamson and northwest Travis counties. To provide more centralized resources to the community, HCCM was raising $3 million to open a nonprofit mall with a range of resources in the Leander and Cedar Park area, according to previous Community Impact reporting. In January, HCCM was negotiating a contract to purchase a 30,000-square-foot building. Due to time constraints and funding, HCCM had to terminate the contract in late March, Hollaway said.
Now, the organization is under contract to purchase 5.9 acres of land in Leander to build a 15,000-square-foot building that would house a food pantry, social services, mental health assistance, job and life skills training, financial assistance, and case management.
“I’m excited about what Peace [Lutheran Church] is doing,” Hollaway said. “We want to be an extension of that, and we want to be able to provide housing in the future if a family needs 30 days, 60 days, 90 days or up to a year.”
HCCM is working with an engineer and receiving bids for site development. Barring any delays, the project could break ground in six to nine months, meaning the nonprofit mall could be open within the next two years. Construction on transitional housing would come at a later date.
As the Peace Family Housing Project expects to break ground in 2026, coordinators are seeking donations to reach project goals. The project is $300,000 away from being fully funded. “The way people can help us is to meet us, come hear our story or hand out a brochure to friends, and help us to raise funds to be able to do this,” Reinhart said.
How to get involved
Foundation for the Homeless
www.foundationhomeless.org
Hill Country Community Ministries
www.hccm.org
HomeAid Austin
www.homeaidaustin.org
Peace Family Housing Project
www.peaceaustin.org/housing
