Downtown parking lot being used as homeless resource center this summer

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Heading into another summer of dangerous temperatures, the City of Austin -- in partnership with non-profit Urban Alchemy -- have converted a parking lot in downtown Austin into a place people experiencing homelessness can get reprieve and be connected to resources.

The location is being called "the Oasis." According to Austin's Homeless Strategy Officer, David Gray, it will be open seven days a week to provide relief from the heat, water, connection to Urban Alchemy staff and their resources -- including any open shelter beds.

"We've already served 200 unique individuals at that site," Gray said. "And we're continuing to have conversations with our nonprofit partners to make sure that our street outreach teams have water, not just for a our staff, but also for clients who we're coming across. And that we're providing water to our nonprofit partners who are also doing street outreach throughout the city."

Urban Alchemy is the nonprofit that runs both the ARCH shelter and the 8th Street shelter downtown. Gray said operations have changed at the ARCH so that it can serve as an additional cooling center during the day.

The City also operates cooling centers in its facilities, like libraries and parks and recreation buildings, during normal operational hours. Cooling center locations can be found online.