Liz Schonfeld, chief executive of LifeWorks, urged the council committees on April 28 to treat unaccompanied youth homelessness as a distinct priority, saying youth homelessness in Austin and Travis County has grown sharply since 2020.

"In Austin, unaccompanied youth account for about 10% of the overall homeless population," Schonfeld said. She told the committees that 85 percent of those youth are unsheltered, 57 percent reported foster-care experience, and nearly one-third are parenting while homeless.

Schonfeld summarized LifeWorks' program outcomes and presented projections prepared by the agency. She said the number of youth experiencing homelessness rose from about 247 in October 2020 to more than 1,000 more recently, and that current trends could push youth homelessness above 2,000 by January 2029 without additional investment. She described a fully funded, scaled response that combines diversion, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing and wraparound services and said that, with adequate investment and capacity, youth homelessness "could effectively be resolved by November of 2028," while noting that people will still fall into homelessness but the system would respond immediately.

Schonfeld highlighted LifeWorks' program outcomes: nearly 1,700 youth have moved from homelessness to housing through LifeWorks over the last six years, 62 percent of those served; in FY2024 LifeWorks reported serving more than 275 youth through rapid rehousing with a 72 percent exit-to-permanent-destination rate. She said the agency has launched a scattered-site permanent supportive housing (PSH) program and is leveraging current rental market vacancies to house higher-acuity youth.

She stressed that housing must be paired with wraparound services such as workforce development, peer supports and counseling. "Solving youth homelessness is a smart strategic investment that prevents higher long-term public costs," she said, citing per-person public-cost estimates for chronic homelessness that LifeWorks included in its slides.

Ending: LifeWorks asked the council to prioritize investments that scale diversion and housing interventions and to ensure supportive services are part of any expansion intended to reduce youth homelessness. The presentation was entered into the committee record and considered as part of staff and community testimony informing the broader funding discussion.