Cedar Park - Far Northwest Austin Edition | March 2025

Nonprofits aid unhoused in Cedar Park From the cover

Two-minute impact

Williamson County point- in-time count Numbers reflected are dependent on number of volunteers and public awareness of the count, according to the Wilco Homeless Coalition.

100

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

+300%

NOTE: 2021 DATA WAS NOT COLLECTED DUE TO THE PANDEMIC.

2019 2020 2021

2022

2023

2024

SOURCE: TEXAS HOMELESS NETWORK/COMMUNITY IMPACT

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.

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.

The background

The approach

Where WilCo’s unhoused sleep In 2024, the coalition counted 89 people experiencing homelessness in January. Sixty-three individuals gave the following answers to the question “Where are you sleeping tonight?”

Conducting the point-in-time count requires an immense amount of effort, and the Wilco Home- less 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 encamp- ments 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

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 homeless- ness 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.

Street/sidewalk: 24 Vehicle: 15 Park: 8 Outdoor encampment: 8 Abandoned building/structure: 4

Total: 63

Under bridge/overpass: 3 Bus, train station, airport: 1

SOURCE: TEXAS HOMELESS NETWORK/COMMUNITY IMPACT

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,” Erick- son-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.

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