City of Austin, TX

Eighth Street Women’s Shelter

Population greater than 50,000

In December 2023, the City of Austin opened the Eighth Street Women’s Shelter to address a critical gap in the local homeless response system: the lack of gender-responsive shelter options. Data showed that 40% of Austin’s unhoused population identified as women or gender-diverse, yet existing shelters often failed to meet their distinct needs. Without access to safe and inclusive environments, many women and gender-diverse individuals were discouraged from seeking shelter or support.

To address this gap, the City of Austin purchased The Salvation Army’s former Downtown Center that was slated to close due to high operating costs. The City of Austin then quickly redeveloped the building with the intention of providing safe, accessible, and effective services specifically designed to meet the needs of women, transgender, and nonbinary people experiencing homelessness. Guided by input from individuals with lived experience, local service providers, and other key stakeholders, many of the building’s former offices and administrative spaces were converted into bedrooms, community rooms, and service spaces to maximize the building’s capacity and ensure more people could be safely supported.

Today, the Eighth Street Women’s Shelter provides safe, dignified accommodations for more than 160 and gender-diverse individuals. The shelter offers a range of room types—including ADA-accessible units, two-person rooms, and larger congregate spaces—to meet varying needs. It also includes up to a dozen overnight safe sleep beds for individuals seeking short-term accommodations. In addition to delivering critical community services, the shelter stands as a strong example of how aging infrastructure can be creatively repurposed to respond quickly to urgent housing needs.

The City of Austin’s plan to open and operate the Eighth Street Women’s Shelter had four key elements:

Comprehensive Support Services: Shelter residents receive case management, mental health counseling, substance use treatment referrals, housing navigation, vital records support, job training and placement assistance, and many other services to help them exit shelter quickly and positively.

Trauma-Informed Care: All staff are trained in trauma-informed practices to ensure a safe, respectful, and dignified environment for all residents.

Accessibility and Inclusivity: The shelter is intentionally designed and operated to safely accommodate women, transgender, and non-binary individuals—addressing a long-standing gap in gender-inclusive shelter services.

Public and Private Partnerships: The City partners with service organizations, advocacy groups, local colleges, workforce development programs, healthcare providers, and others to support shelter operations and enhance service delivery.

These four elements are critical to the success of the Eighth Street Women’s Shelter, which is evidenced by the shelter’s impact. In its first year of operation, the shelter served roughly 500 women and gender-diverse individuals. Nearly 100 secured permanent housing through on-site services and support, while many others made progress toward stability—obtaining identification, connecting to health care, engaging in case management, or moving into other housing programs. The previously underserved population now has enhanced safety, security, and stability.

In addition to meeting a critical community need, the City of Austin learned valuable lessons in developing gender-responsive homeless services. Community engagement is crucial, flexible and low-barrier entry is essential, equity and inclusion principles must guide the program design, and continuous staff training matters. The City of Austin is using these lessons as guiding principles for future projects spanning the homeless response system – from new homeless prevention efforts to the designs of future permanent supportive housing communities. The Eighth Street Women’s Shelter highlights a commitment to equity-driven governance and responsive service delivery, which are key principles of any local government project.