A pilot program to help homeless residents with mental health and housing resources will continue, Fort Worth City Council members decided Tuesday.
The city launched the 17-month program in May 2024. After one year, it had housed 41 people. The earmarks $2.18 million annually to the program for the next four fiscal years.
Those receiving services were classified as the hardest to house, meaning they frequently interact with law enforcement, and their absence from neighborhoods is noticeable, Homeless Strategies manager Tara Perez told the council during a June 17 meeting.
鈥淥n any given day, we have approximately 900 unsheltered folks in the city,鈥� Perez said. 鈥淭his program is specifically targeting those who are the most visible, that I would say have an outsized or disproportionate impact on their neighbors and businesses.鈥�
High ImpACT focused on seven target areas across the city where homelessness was deemed prevalent, including several near downtown and along busy streets.
To be eligible for assistance, people must be unsheltered in a target area and experiencing either long-term unsheltered homelessness and/or severe mental illness.
Over the pilot鈥檚 first year, city officials worked with , and to identify 98 people in need across the areas. They then hired and trained a team made up of physician assistants, mental health professionals and a landlord engagement coordinator to conduct outreach.
The 17-month pilot cost about $3.27 million.
Council member Elizabeth Beck, whose district includes multiple target areas across downtown and Near Southside, said at Tuesday鈥檚 meeting that she hopes to see High ImpACT鈥檚 initiatives go citywide as it ramps up from pilot into a full-fledged program.
鈥淭his is not an insignificant price tag, but the work that we鈥檙e able to do through this program has really made a tremendous amount of difference,鈥� Beck said.
Why does Fort Worth consider High ImpACT a success?
In May 2024, the city launched the pilot with five goals to reach by Sept. 30, 2025.
Here鈥檚 where it stood as of April 30:
- Goal: Provide services to 80 clients 鈥� Twelve months in: Provided services to 78
- Goal: House 40 clients with high-impact assistance 鈥� Twelve months in: Provided housing assistance to 41
- Goal: Provide housing assistance to 40 more clients by leveraging other programs 鈥� Twelve months in: Aided 32
- Goal: At least 70% of clients offered housing would be housed within six months 鈥� Twelve months in: 89% of clients who were offered housing have accepted it
- Goal: At least 70% of aided clients would still be housed after one year 鈥� Twelve months in: 98% still housed
The median housed High ImpACT client was homeless for 7.5 years and was 54 years old, Perez said.
Council members applauded the program at the June meeting and expressed interest in expanding the efforts to other areas of the city.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge opportunity here, but if we don鈥檛 take the time to plan, we鈥檙e going to miss an opportunity to continue to serve the homeless community,鈥� said council member Macy Hill, whose district in northwest Fort Worth does not overlap with any of the seven target areas.
Council member Deborah Peoples, who similarly did not represent any target areas, agreed, calling the program a necessary, 鈥渕ultipronged鈥� approach to homelessness.
鈥淗omelessness is not just a Fort Worth problem. It鈥檚 a national problem,鈥� Peoples said. 鈥淚f we, as a city, can come up with a way to start cracking this problem, we could lead the nation in how we do this.鈥�
It cost the city about $44,000 to house each individual over its pilot year 鈥� a number Mayor Mattie Parker acknowledged at the June meeting was expensive. However, she said, it ultimately costs taxpayers less than if the clients stayed on the street and received other pricey medical or nonprofit services.
鈥淥n a year-over-year basis, we鈥檙e moving people through the system, getting them out of the most expensive triage system of services 鈥� which is what this pilot is, to get people off the streets 鈥� and then move them into a voucher program or some other sustainable some sort of funding when they don鈥檛 need the full wrap-around services,鈥� Parker said.
If an unsheltered resident spends a year in a state psychiatric hospital, it would cost taxpayers about $270,000, city officials said.
It takes 鈥渋ntensive鈥� efforts to keep the program鈥檚 clients in housing, Perez explained in June. Some need a visit from the psychiatric team daily. In April, 39% of clients needing mental health treatment had agreed to it.
In situations where a person is deemed a danger to themselves or others, High ImpACT gets them into JPS psychiatric hospital or another institution. After they are discharged from the hospital, they can receive housing services from the program.
鈥淭hose who are being placed in neighborhoods 鈥� they are safe neighbors, there should be no concern,鈥� council member Charlie Lauersdorf said at the June meeting.
The program鈥檚 next steps include developing plans for target areas with relevant partner departments, focusing on anti-panhandling efforts and working to secure long-term housing assistance to transfer existing clients out of High ImpACT services so new clients can be helped.
Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or .
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