A roof overhead-it's the most basic of needs. Front Steps manages ARCH, the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (downtown Austin at 500 E. 7th Street ), a daytime resource center and overnight shelter for homeless individuals. It's home to Front Steps' programs, the point of entry to services for many homeless people.
Front Step's programs at ARCH include:
| Basic needs |
| Showers, laundry, lockers, phones, mail, messaging and bus passes. |
| Clothing |
| Clothing for men organized by a group of local Methodist ministers and volunteers. |
| Information and Referral |
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One-on-one assistance with walk-ins and call-ins to identify and prioritize their needs and connect them to services.
Learn more about Referrals |
| Identification Program |
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Helping homeless individuals obtain necessary identification.
Learn more about our Identification Program. |
| Case Management |
| Supporting and guiding individuals to meet their goals and connect to services. |
| Streets of Hope |
| A drug and alcohol psycho-educational program led by licensed chemical dependency counselors designed to enable clients to aid in their own recovery. |
| AmeriCorps: Keep Austin Housed |
| Keep Austin Housed, an AmeriCorps project of Front Steps, provides intensive mentoring and case management services to Austin area adults, families and youth experiencing homelessness, at-risk of becoming homeless, and who are formerly homeless. The project partners with local social service agencies to augment existing service delivery systems, providing service sites for AmeriCorps members to carry out their term of service. |
| ARCH Document Bank |
| The ARCH Document Bank provides a safe and secure place to store the documents most people would store in a lock box or safety deposit box. At this time, the Bank accepts the following documents: driver licenses, passports, citizenship certificates, naturalization certificates, Dept. of Homeland Security documents, military identification cards, birth certificates, court orders, school records, insurance policies, vehicle titles, military records, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, voter registration cards, pilot licenses, concealed handgun licenses, Texas inmate ID card and consular documents. |
| Discretionary Funds |
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Small, one-time grants to remove barriers to employment and housing (such as to buy tools, uniforms or bus fare to go live with family members) .
Learn more about Discretionary Funds |
| STEP |
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Support and Training Employment Program, assisting homeless and at-risk individuals to find employment.
Learn more about STEP. |
Other social service agencies also provide services at ARCH. These include the ACCESS program of Austin/Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation Center, Americorps, the Austin Advocate newspaper, A New Entry, Eldercare, Goodwill, House the Homeless, Legal Aid and Family Eldercare. Three other volunteer groups, Art From The Streets, Job Coaches and the Methodist Volunteer Clothing Closet are important members of the ARCH community.
ARCH is open everyday, 6:30 am to 4:00 pm
David Blackwell,
Client Services Specialist