Publications

Urban Alchemy has similar outreach programs in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Kirkpatrick Tyler, who directs community and government affairs at Urban Alchemy, described HEART as a ‘community-based public safety response’ and an ‘alternative to policing.’

Posted on many a street corner in the beleaguered Tenderloin neighborhood are Urban Alchemy’s neon-green-vested ambassadors, mostly formerly incarcerated men who try to calm downtown streets. The novel idea began as a vision of Urban Alchemy co-founder Lena Miller, and while the group remains controversial, it’s also one of San Francisco’s fastest growing nonprofits.

The idea is to divert some 911 calls from police to civilians. There are similar programs in cities around the country, but what’s different about the LA version is that workers here only take 911 calls that involve unhoused people.

61-year-old Vicky is now living at the Clinton Triangle Temporary Alternative Shelter site.

As April unfolds, Goettl continues its mission of kindness by supporting Urban Alchemy, a transformative force in the fight against homelessness. Through their donation, Goettl is helping Urban Alchemy to ignite hope and provide essential support to individuals striving to rebuild their lives, embodying the spirit of empathy and community.

Inside the Downtown Austin Alliance office, the community’s vision for downtown, written and drawn on wooden blocks, serves as wallpaper. Stewarding that vision is the organization’s ongoing goal. Most recently, DAA has partnered with Urban Alchemy, the California-based nonprofit that runs the ARCH and 8th St. shelter, to launch a pilot program addressing homelessness issues downtown.

This site, operated by Urban Alchemy, offers 60 temporary shelter beds, with mental and behavioral health services in Southeast Portland.

The Downtown Austin Alliance will launch the Homelessness Engagement Assistance Response Team, or HEART program, from Feb. 1 through July 31. The DAA will be managing the program alongside nonprofit Urban Alchemy, which runs the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless and the Eighth Street shelter for women and transgender clients.

In partnership with staff from Urban Alchemy, the nonprofit group that manages two downtown shelters, HEART will operate during daytime hours in the area between Congress Avenue and Brazos Street and Fourth Street and Ninth Street, as well the Fifth Street to Seventh Street blocks from Congress Avenue.

A new homeless outreach program is looking to pilot a new approach to address the needs of homeless individuals in downtown Austin. The Downtown Austin Alliance, in partnership with Urban Alchemy, is launching the Homelessness Engagement Assistance Response Team or HEART Austin.

The nonprofit Urban Alchemy trumpeted an impending Stanford University study last week that found drastically lowered crime where its community ambassadors were posted.

Urban Alchemy set out to provide a new model for public safety on downtown San Francisco streets afflicted by addiction, mental illness and homelessness. And according to Stanford University researchers, they’re on the right track.