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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.)

The nonprofit Urban Alchemy, which runs the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) and the Eighth Street Shelter, is transforming the downtown parking lot into a place where people can have water, coffee and food, or simply get away from the heat.

A downtown Austin parking lot turns into a homeless resource center for the summer, thanks to the city of Austin’s partnership with nonprofit Urban Alchemy. “I’m very grateful for it,” said guest Kimberly Parsons.

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.

That’s something groups like Urban Alchemy, which runs the ARCH shelter downtown, says is a tool they’re using regardless. They’ve deployed a three-part strategy, which they say they’ve seen a lot of success with in their California locations.

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.