The Other Ones Foundation

The Other Ones Foundation provides extremely low barrier employment, case management, and humanitarian aid to people experiencing homelessness in Austin, TX. We’re all about the marginalized. The vulnerable. Those “Other Ones” out there living on the fringes. We believe in the extraordinary value of every human life, and that everyone deserves to be fulfilled.

OUR STORY

The Other Ones Foundation was born out of a multi-agency work group trying to find innovative solutions to Austin’s Downtown Homeless crisis. Knowing that income is vital to finding housing stability, we wanted to offer folks the opportunity to earn an income during the day while the shelters weren’t operating. This led us to seek out employment opportunities for our homeless neighbors, and gave way to our Workforce First Program.

WORK FORCE FIRST

Workforce First offers folks (who might otherwise be panhandling) the opportunity to get a days work. The dignity and empowerment of work, and the income it brings, serves as a major stepping stone to getting our homeless friends on the path to a more fulfilling life. We have already enjoyed a great deal of success so far: WFF has paid out over $611,000 in earned income to individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty, and 83 of our clients have moved into stable housing!

MOBILE HYGIENE CLINIC

When COVID-19 hit in early 2020, we rolled out our second major program, the Mobile Hygiene Clinic (affectionately named the “Box of Rain”). What started as one shower trailer going around town delivering showers, toiletries, and lunches, has now grown to 10 permanent locations all over Austin.

So far, we have provided 10,000 showers and over 12,000 lunches from our Mobile Hygiene Clinic locations!

ESPERANZA COMMUNITY

Our most recent endeavor is to step up as stewards, in partnership with a resident-elected Leadership Committee, of Esperanza Community. Esperanza Community is located at a State-sanctioned homeless encampment in Austin, TX that is currently occupied by ~150 people. TOOF is offering our services to the residents, including hygiene facility access, employment opportunity, and case management. We are also functioning as service coordinators for the camp by partnering with other local service providers in the city of Austin. Finally, we are partnering with the residents of the camp and their self appointed leadership committee to build a solution focused community at Camp Esperanza.