opinion

ACC gives crucial step to break the cycle: Job training for the unhoused.

We need to address the affordable housing crisis right now! It's a social justice issue! Everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Rent subsidies and more affordable housing must be prioritized! Poverty is political! So let's take action and attack this crisis head-on from every possible angle to get our most vulnerable community members housed ASAP!

Published August 12, 2024 at 6:02am by Bridget Grumet

Homelessness to Hope: Austin's Esperanza Community Offers a Path Forward

Near the hum of U.S. 183, a beacon of blue stands tall at the gateway to the Esperanza Community. This building represents a novel approach to tackling homelessness and a path to a brighter future for its residents.

Come next month, 30 students from Esperanza will file into this classroom, eager to learn trade skills that will be their ticket out of homelessness. With Austin Community College's (ACC) Skilled Trade Program, half will pursue HVAC certification, and the other half will become auto mechanics. These high-demand professions offer a starting wage of $18-24/hour, a living wage that can lift people out of homelessness.

Luis Castillo, ACC's Skilled Trade Program manager, puts it simply: "ACC is helping the community, and the community is everybody on this piece of land."

The need is dire, with nearly 1,400 people in Austin shelters and thousands more on the streets. The path to housing is long and challenging, with a lack of affordable options and rental subsidies. Max Moscoe, from The Other Ones Foundation, which runs Esperanza, knows this well: "Getting people housed needs to be attacked from every angle."

Esperanza is doing just that. Through partnerships, they've created a skill center with funding from John Paul DeJoria's Peace, Love & Happiness Foundation and support from the Texas Department of Transportation. ACC provides training materials, and Workforce Solutions covers tuition of up to $7,500 per student.

Workforce Solutions' Sarah Garza highlights the need for "nontraditional talent," and the homeless are a prime example. With a shortage of 10,000 employees each year in Central Texas's transportation and infrastructure sector, these trained individuals will be in high demand.

Esperanza residents are now safe, with their basic needs met, and ready to train for a better future. They've evolved from survival mode to a place of empowerment. As Castillo says, "Companies are still bringing people in from other cities because there aren't enough technicians [here]."

Esperanza is more than a shelter; it's a community fostering hope and tangible skills. With additional plans for plumbing and welding programs, plus the launch of Magnolia Services, a for-hire work crew, they're creating pathways to financial independence and stability.

This is the power of community— providing not just a roof but a chance to thrive.

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