Donate to Austin Street Center

Want to Donate? Contact us at volunteer@austinstreet.org.

Our Immediate Needs

  • Adult Incontinent Undergarments
  • Towels
  • Disposable Razors
  • Toothbrushes
  • Socks
  • Backpacks
  • Toilet Paper
  • Women's Hygiene Products
  • Kleenex
  • Toothpaste
  • Rolling Duffle Bags
  • 55 Gallon Black Trash Bags
  • Coffee
  • Towels
  • DART Bus Passes

Community involvement is vital for the continuing operation of Austin Street Center. Here you, the donor, decide which services you would like to support.

Approximately ten percent of all the people in the United States live  below the poverty line. And a full ten percent of those will spend some time in the next year on the street. This means that approximately one percent of the population of the U.S. - about 3 million people - will be homeless in any given year. This is not insignificant. This is a huge mass of population.

Homelessness and poverty are inextricably linked. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources don't cover basic necessities, like housing, food, childcare, health care, and education. Being poor means being an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets.

While the last few years have seen an increase in minimum wages, these increases have not been enough to counteract a long pattern of stagnant and declining wages.
Declining wages, in turn, have put housing out of reach for many workers: in every state, more than the minimum wage is required to afford a one- or two-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rent.

The growth of homelessness has far exceeded the capacity of charitable groups. Government institutions are stuck in running study after study, trying to solve homelessness, while financial resources are wasted on programs without achieving results.

Contrary to popular opinion, welfare does not provide relief from poverty. Current Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) benefits and Food Stamps combined are below the poverty level in every state; in fact, the current maximum TANF benefit for a single mother of two children is 29% of the federal poverty level.

Homelessness is a societal problem that requires whole communities to be involved on multiple levels.