Media

The city also recently announced that in partnership with nonprofit Urban Alchemy a parking lot in downtown Austin has been turned into a place where people experiencing homelessness can get reprieve and be connected to resources. You can read more about that here.

Urban Alchemy has partnered up with the Downtown Austin Alliance to get the homeless help they need, without getting police involved. “It’s like being around a room full of angels,” said Jackie Webb, who was helped by the Homelessness Engagement Response Team.

Earlier this year, City Controller Kenneth Mejia began an investigation into Urban Alchemy, a city-vendor contracted with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to run climate stations — where Skid Row residents can receive services and relief from harsh winter and summer weather.

The office found that the California nonprofit, which runs the city’s mass encampment at Clinton Triangle, had failed to disclose meetings and visits with the mayor’s office in 2022 as it sought the contract.

El recinto operará en colaboración con Urban Alchemy, una organización sin fines de lucro que ofrece albergue y servicios en las dependencias de ARCH. (The facility will operate in collaboration with Urban Alchemy, a nonprofit organization that provides shelter and services at ARCH facilities.)

As Toshio Takanobu walks us through Clinton Triangle in Southeast Portland, we quickly learn he’s a popular guy. Guest Susan Davis hugs Toshio and says, “he smiles when he greets you and it’s just warming for the heart. If you need help with anything, he immediately is right on that.

As the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that could change city homelessness policy nationwide, we zoom in on the Clinton Triangle shelter in Portland, and look at how it’s been working for residents trying to leave homelessness behind.

Since Wilks moved into the large sleeping pod site about 10 months ago, she has been hospitalized twice but has “never felt so loved,” she said. “Urban Alchemy staff came and got me from the hospital and they made me feel cared about and like it is worth living,” Wilks said.

The $3 million pilot project, run by Urban Alchemy, is part of the city’s ongoing efforts to free up officers to respond to violent crime or more serious property crime. Like Urban Alchemy’s street ambassadors who patrol sidewalks throughout downtown, the HEART team consists primarily of staff members who were formerly incarcerated or have experience with homelessness or drug use.

The city’s Homeless Engagement Assistance Response Team (HEART) program reached a milestone as the program marks its first year helping San Francisco’s street population. Mayor London Breed launched HEART last year to respond to 911 and 311 calls regarding unhoused people, and to help keep city streets “safe and clean,” the mayor’s office said.

HEART’s four teams of practitioners and supervisors operate citywide, assisting nearly 300 people every week. In its inaugural year, the program has helped thousands with connections to shelter, public benefits, and medical and behavioral health resources. HEART responded to over 80% of calls to 311 or 911 involving unhoused individuals, including calls about blocked sidewalks.

”I’ve got a place to live and I’m thankful for Urban Alchemy for all the things they’ve done for everybody, for me, my friends Patrick and James. They said they would get us into a place, and they did,” said King.