The city of Arlington currently offers temporary solutions for those immediately facing homelessness. In the near future, the city — alongside other local organizations — is poised to take a step toward a permanent solution, according to officials.
Members of groups vested in solutions for homelessness across Tarrant County gathered in Arlington on Wednesday morning to discuss the latest data and findings from Partnership Home during the group’s State of Homelessness address.
Arlington Mayor Jim Ross told the audience that organizations within the city, including the police department and Downtown Arlington Management Corp., have been reaching out to the homeless community but that more solutions are needed.
“One thing has become clear to us on council: We need additional shelter and housing capacity,” Ross said.
Partnership Home gathers numbers on the homeless population using a database maintained by smaller organizations across Tarrant and Parker counties, as well as through its annual Point in Time counts.
The number of homeless people in Tarrant and Parker counties who accessed either shelters or street services has remained somewhat stable since 2023, according to the group’s data.
That stability may not last, Partnership Home CEO Lauren King said.
Between 2021 and 2022, the homeless population in both counties jumped from roughly 7,700 to around 9,700.
Much of that jump is attributed to the loss of rental assistance programs and other services from the pandemic, King said.
Partnership Home had roughly $22 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that was spent on permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing, King said.
Under funding changes, Partnership Home will receive roughly $13 million. She said the funding drop will lead to a reduction in permanent housing the organization offers. She estimated a cut by half, going from 763 households to 350 households. On top of that she anticipates a complete loss of 269 rapid rehousing units.
The rapid rehousing units are part of a short-term program and will be easier to do without than permanent housing, King said.
“As much as I want to say, ‘Oh, we’ll figure it out,’ we will not be able to absorb those units into existing programs,” King said. “I do think this policy, where we can’t fund as much permanent supportive housing, will result in people returning to homelessness.”
King said the cut is part of a larger shift within the federal government to focus on transitional programming and services rather than permanent housing. Communities will need to continue to look for ways they can address the issues that lead to homelessness, she said.
“I have always said that we will never HUD our way out of homelessness,” King said. “It is a community issue, and as a community, we will have to figure out how we want to solve it.”
Roughly 8% of Tarrant and Parker counties’ unsheltered homeless population lives in the city of Arlington. The city also houses 12% of the sheltered homeless population between the two counties.
Ross announced that a city-owned property, 1220 W. Division St., will be redeveloped into permanent supportive housing for homeless and near-homeless people. Deputy City
Manager Jennifer Wichmann said construction doesn’t have a timeline, but the city hopes to at least have it done by 2030.
Arlington City Council approved the $2.8 million purchase in February through the Arlington Housing Authority.
Some funding for the project came from a federal grant given to the city during the pandemic, Wichmann said.
“We’ve had that money for some time, but we’ve been trying to figure out what the best use for it is,” Wichmann said. “We’ve gone through, looked at some different ideas, and they have finally settled on this one.”
The city is in the process of moving tenants at the current property, a BudgetStay Suites. Once tenants are moved, demolition will begin.
The current property has around 70 units, a number officials are hoping sticks when it shifts to permanent supportive housing, Wichmann said.
“We’ll have to determine it based on construction costs. The goal certainly would be to replace at least 70 units,” Wichmann said. “If there could be more, that would be great, but we’ll have to see.”
The city is searching for a partner well-versed in permanent homeless housing to handle the day-to-day management, Wichmann said.
The success of fighting homelessness requires more than temporary solutions, Ross said.
“This project represents an important investment in long-term solutions and restoring stability for individuals who need it most,” he said.
Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@arlingtonreport.org.
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