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Austin summers have gotten hotter. As temperatures rise, advocates say institutional racism is intensifying the risks faced by unsheltered residents, leaving Black and brown people disproportionately exposed to extreme heat and with fewer options for shelter.
In 2025, the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) counted more than 3,000 people in Austin as homeless — a 36% increase from 2023. African Americans make up about 8% of Travis County’s overall population but account for roughly 32% of the city’s homeless residents, according to ECHO’s annual count and the city’s Heat Resilience Strategy initiative. Just over half — 51% — of those counted had access to shelter. Those figures do not include people experiencing homelessness who are incarcerated.
That gap in shelter access doesn’t just leave people on the streets — it also shows up in less visible places. Advocates say many Austinites experiencing homelessness cycle through the criminal justice system, where incarceration becomes a de facto form of shelter during extreme weather. As a result, jails are increasingly part of the city’s response to homelessness and heat, even as they reflect the same racial disparities seen outside their walls.
“Jails have become, in many ways, the city’s largest shelter during extreme heat,” said Matt Mollica, ECHO’s executive director. He said that during a recent count, nearly 1,000 people in the Travis County Jail did not have a reliable place to live, including several hundred Black men. City officials acknowledge racial disparities: Ken Craig of Austin’s Homeless Strategy Office said African Americans are overrepresented “not only in homelessness but in shelters as well.”
Advocates attribute those disparities to longstanding inequities, including discriminatory lending practices, housing discrimination, over-policing, and rising property taxes that have disproportionately affected communities of color for generations.
Chase Wright, founder of the Hungry Hill Foundation, said the barriers are systemic. Wright, who was homeless earlier in his life, said policies created without marginalized communities in mind continue to determine who falls through the cracks.
“People making the rules didn’t have good intentions when making the rules, and we are stuck dealing with that today,” he said.
Wright described the case of a woman who received a lump-sum payment when she sold her East Austin home to a developer. Because she struggled with addiction and lacked financial literacy, she spent the funds and eventually had nowhere to live. She later returned to sit outside her former home because it felt familiar and safe. Conflicts with new neighbors followed.
Wright questioned why no preventive resources were offered during the sale to reduce her risk of homelessness. He said he commonly sees other gaps in support services that leave people vulnerable — particularly during extreme heat.
The city operates dozens of cooling centers, but some residents can’t access them because of transportation challenges, the facilities’ limited hours and some communities’ distrust of institutions. For example, racism can surface even in life-saving spaces, said David Gray, director of the city’s Homeless Strategy Office, recalling an incident at a cooling center when a white man used racial slurs against a Black man and against Gray himself.
Aside from jails, public institutions have become critical refuges. The Carver Branch of the Austin Public Library on the city’s east side regularly serves as a cooling center in the summer. Rosemary Ledesma, an administrative staff member, counters the idea that a site that serves homeless people is unsafe, saying she feels safe at work and is grateful the library can offer relief during extreme weather.
“I think the city is doing the best it can with the help they are providing,” Ledesma said.
As Austin continues developing its heat resilience strategy, advocates are pushing for lasting solutions that address systemic racism in housing and public services.
“Real change means dismantling the barriers that got us here,” Wright said, calling for greater trust, representation and equity in decisions affecting the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Maliza Rivera is a junior sociology major minoring in communication studies at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin. This story was produced in partnership with Austin Free Press’ Enterprise Journalism training project.