New development hopes to help hundreds of older, unhoused adults in Austin

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new housing development specifically for older people experiencing homelessness broke ground on Tuesday.

Cairn Point Cameron is a 100,000-square-foot housing development that will provide affordable housing for the unhoused community in Austin.

“150 units. 100 of which will be permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness,” Austin Housing Department Interim Director Mandy DeMayo said.

Developers said the community will provide:

• Affordable and safe housing
• Medical services
• Educational and social learning opportunities
• 24/7 access to Community Access and Support Services

The Caritas of Austin is one of the organizations behind the project.

The nonprofit’s CEO Jo Kathryn Quinn said there are more than 1,200 adults over the age of 55 that are homeless in Austin.

“Cairn Point will provide 150 homes and a sense of belonging, safety and community,” Quinn said. “I wish it was for all 1,200. But we’re going to at least take a chunk out of that.”

Pricing for the project

The development is estimated to cost $42 million.

DeMayo said there is $6 million worth of subordinate financing for this project.

“Thank you to our voters who approved our general obligation bonds,” DeMayo said. “This is how we are investing those dollars.”

The City of Austin’s Housing Authority will provide vouchers for 50 units and the Austin Housing Finance Corporation is providing 100.

In total, DeMayo said there’s about $900,00 a year in local housing vouchers.

Older unhoused population growing

More of the unhoused community is aging, according to the AGE of Central Texas.

Age of Central Texas CEO Suzanne Anderson said older people are on a fixed income which makes it harder to keep up with rising housing costs.

“If Social Security doesn’t increase for cost of living, for instance,” Anderson said. “What we’re seeing with affordability is definitely an outpacing of that particular increase.”

When people are priced out of their living situation, Anderson said it’s difficult to find something else that’s affordable.

“We see more and more older adults on the streets because of the lack of the ability to pay for a mortgage or rental payments,” Anderson said.

Anderson said these types of projects are a piece of the puzzle to address homelessness.

“We can continue to think about how to make sure that older adults are taken care of,” Anderson said. “Whether they’re moving in the new affordable housing or other options and resources where we can also take care of the older adults.”

Breaking down the data

According to ECHO , there are 1,620 people unhoused above 50-years-old in Travis County as of September 2023.

ECHO said 13% of those people are in a shelter. However, 87% are not. The organization said it’s slightly higher than the overall unhoused population.

A report from the Aging and Homeless Affinity group of ECHO had these recommendations:

• Develop relationships and improve processes to address hospital discharge
• Make access to HMIS available to all organizations serving older adults
• Increasing affordable housing stock, with greater access to SUD and mental health services

“Chronically homeless older adults are more likely to be men and ‘difficult to house’ due to
substance use history, comorbid mental health and physical health issues and limited social
support,” the report said.

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