Our Mission

Founded in 1989, HtH is the oldest all volunteer, action, homeless organization in the state of Texas. The mission is Education and Advocacy around the issues of ending and preventing homelessness.

Urgent Issues

Re-Criminalizing Homelessness — Speak up now!

HtH supports the direction being taken by the City of Austin’s relatively new Homeless Strategy Office, led by a very committed and responsive David Gray, and with the commitment of Charles Loosen and other staff. We further strongly advocate ALL positions below that preceded The vote to basically criminalize homelessness — especially:

reinstating a camping ban must consider that those with disabilities, the aged, and in fact anyone with no place to go. The no sit/no lie ordinance is absolutely inhumane and unconscionable we must have at least 15 minute respites particularly for those with disabilities and make other provisions.

Mayor Kirk Watson, elected in 2023, is working to secure funding for homeless services from the State and within the City Budget.

2025 interests:

City Council approved a resolution making homelessness a top financial priority.

Increase the capacity of the Homeless Strategy Office to address and implement a comprehensive approach to strategic advancements in homelessness response. (Plan detailed in a 50-page memo from David Gray, June 2025).

Examples:

1. Expand HOST (Homeless Outreach Street Team) support including team members:

APD officers, EMS paramedics, behavioral health clinicians, social workers, peer support staff.

2. Support for Marshaling Yard operations.

3. Rapid Response housing and safe housing, especially for families.

4. Increase shelter beds with support; and more.

 

The Austin city council recently voted to put on its May 2021 ballot a vote to reinstate the no camping ban including the no sit/no lie ordinances. Now is the time to contact your mayor and council members particularly those who have supported decriminalizing homelessness, such as Mayor Adler, Kathy Tovo, Ann Kitchen, Greg Casar, Sabino Renteria, and others, we pray.

First call to action is cold weather shelter. Anyone that reads this, our urgent plea is to email our mayor and city council in this urgent time of cold weather. House the Homeless is encouraging to use the Convention Center or other alternatives sites that are already over burdened due to Covid-19 or at capacity.

A second call to action is to not displace unsheltered neighbors from bridges and the four major camp areas without having an immediate plan for alternative shelter/housing.

Finally, advise your mayor and council members that the wording for the May ballot regarding reinstating a camping ban must consider that those with disabilities, the aged, and in fact anyone with no place to go. The no sit/no lie ordinance is absolutely inhumane and unconscionable we must have at least 15 minute respites particularly for those with disabilities and make other provisions.

Federal Minimum Wage Debate

Federal resolve is insufficient; highly recommend Universal Living Wage formula indexed on the cost of housing wherever the person lives and works. 

Livable Incomes and Universal Living Wage

Troxell meets Lech Walesa in person – Fall 2025

Mar 3, 2026 |

Honoring Lech Walesa and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Sharing a heartfelt handshake of comradery, Richard R. Troxell, cofounder of House the Homeless, meets one of his lifetime heroes, electrical dockworker, past President of Poland, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Lech Walesa. It is clear that they share their mutual respect and love for the people, the yellow flag of Ukraine and their President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In this photo, Richard had just shared his story of organizing supporters of House the Homeless, who raised over $2,000 to smuggle life saving generators through western Ukraine to the women and children trapped in eastern Ukraine.

In the early years of attack, Russian despot, Vladamir Putin, nearly devastated the entire electrical grid of Ukraine, stranding them to face a winter of hell. Mr. Walesa described the House the Homeless response to that action as a life saving initiative that proved that the world had not abandoned them.

Second is a picture of a special illustration shown to Mr. Walesa. It is a pen and ink drawing that Richard Troxell created in 1984, honoring Mr. Walesa many years before when he was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting and defeating communism in Poland. The drawing, honoring Lech Walesa, also hung for 10 years in the hall of the Poor Richard’s Club in Philadelphia at a time when Troxell was a union organizer and self-made Mortgage Foreclosure Preventionist working for Legal Aid, saving homes of the poor from being foreclosed upon.

ULW letter to Gavin Newsom 2025

ULW letter to Gavin Newsom 2025

Dec 14, 2025 | ,

Greetings, 
I hope you and your families are well as you celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day 2026. Our most recent election was November the 4th when women, men, democrats, social democrats and independents swept all of the races. The key phrase being used by every single advocate was on the subject of affordability and how all of our basic needs involve the cost of living. Interestingly enough, their examples included housing, health care, and a number of other things, excluded the one thing that was not spoken to: wages, and specifically for our people, people experiencing homelessness, people working at one, two, or three minimum wage jobs and our Veterans, who served us well, but came back from the service with non-transferable skills, to an economic crisis that caused many of them to become homeless on the streets of our nation.

At least two of these people who will receive this letter may be running for President in the 2028 election. We are now going to try and help them keep their promises that they would come up with concrete methodologies to address affordability for our nation’s citizens. Well we have answers. As you read the letter, imagine that this might be our finest opportunity to get real traction for what we know and love as the Universal Living Wage (and what we now call the National Locality Wage). Let’s work together and try to make this become a reality. Thank you. Blessings to you and your families. Let’s talk again soon. Best, Richard

Richard R. Troxell
National Education Director HtH

Click here to download PDF

Texas Flood Relief

Texas Flood Relief

Jul 14, 2025 |

KERR COUNTY, TX – July 2025

In response to the devastating Texas floods, House the Homeless Board President Will Hyatt and longtime advocate P.J. Liles have joined recovery efforts on the ground in Kerr County, one of the hardest-hit areas.

Torrential rains caused the Guadalupe River to rise more than 26 feet in under an hour, overwhelming roads, camps, and homes. The damage is staggering. Entire buildings have been swept away, and countless families have been displaced. Most heartbreaking of all, at least 96 lives have been lost, including 36 children, with 161 people still missing. Many victims were attending or working at Camp Mystic, a cherished local summer camp.

In the midst of this devastation, local heroes and volunteers are stepping up—rescuing neighbors, praying together, offering shelter, and beginning the long recovery. These floods have impacted multiple communities across the state. Among them, San Angelo, TX(hometown to HtH board members Cecilia Blanford and Danny Marrs) has experienced its worst flooding since 1938. Please pray for the families whose children and loved ones were lost in the floods, and remember all those suffering in Kerr County and other Texas communities still reeling from this historic disaster.

The House the Homeless (HtH) Plastic Pocket Resource Guides (18th Edition)

The House the Homeless (HtH) Plastic Pocket Resource Guides (18th Edition)

Sep 19, 2024 |

House the Homeless’ Plastic Pocket Resource Guides (18th Edition) remain available in limited supply. These durable, waterproof, fold-out guides were created by founder Richard R. Troxell to connect unhoused individuals with critical local resources—such as shelter, meals, healthcare, and crisis services. Each guide includes only the most stable and reliable listings—information selected because it is expected to remain consistent over an extended period. To request guides or include them in your outreach efforts, please contact us directly. Donations help us continue printing and distributing this vital tool.

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Imagine not having a safe place to call home. Every night, thousands of people face that harsh reality. But together, we can change that.

Your donation, no matter how small, can help provide shelter, warmth, and hope to those who need it most. By supporting our mission, you're not just giving someone a roof over their head — you're offering them a chance to rebuild their life.

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