Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center relocating to 'more appropriate location'

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A controversial homeless resource hub in south Austin -- the Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center -- will be relocating, according to Austin City Council Member Ryan Alter.

Alter, who's district encompasses the navigation center, says the city is "acquiring a property which will serve as a new navigation center in a more appropriate location."

"The idea is for pretty much all the services to move," Alter said. "We're still in those conversations. One of the things that has come up is they provide some family services and certain families have their address actually at the navigation center, so their kids are enrolled at Joslin. Doesn't make sense to uproot those kids."

The city is in a due diligence period, according to Alter, so the exact details of where those services will be moved are not yet public. Those details are expected to be released within the next few weeks, if not days.

But Alter did tell KXAN what the city looked for when picking the property:

"We're looking for first and foremost somewhere that's big enough -- where you don't have everybody having to wait outside, congregate -- but be able to get those services fully indoors, somewhere that's not right next to a school or a park...and then somewhere that maybe has other services nearby," he said.

Mark Hilbelink, the founder and Executive Director of Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center, said the following in a statement:

"We're excited the City of Austin is working on investments related [to] homelessness, particularly by diversifying its investments across the full spectrum of services - from prevention and basic needs all the way to permanent supportive housing. Sunrise has also been diversifying its services all across the Central Texas region and we look forward to continuing to partner with the City of Austin to permanently resolve homelessness for as many individuals and families as possible!"

The Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center is located near Menchaca Road and Ben White Boulevard. The center offers people an address to receive mail, food and housing help, among other resources.

Concerns about navigation center

Last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the south Austin navigation center “for operating as a common nuisance in violation of Texas law,” KXAN previously reported.

The OAG said it did an investigation which found the center to be a “magnet” for drug and criminal activity. The OAG also highlighted how close the center is to a nearby elementary school.

“Drug activity and criminal behavior facilitated by this organization have hijacked an entire neighborhood,” Paxton said in the 2024 release.

At the time, Alter acknowledged the location of the services was something he received many complaints about from nearby residents.

“I think we’ve all known that the location of Sunrise is not ideal, and certainly there is activity around there that is really difficult for the neighborhood," Alter said last year when Paxton filed the lawsuit. “It’s something that I’ve been working on for…well, since the moment I got into office, to try to help alleviate the pressure in that neighborhood and we’re actually making some real progress.”

During a community meeting about the Sunrise Navigation Center last year -- which attracted so many people the meeting had to be extended -- neighbors, people who worked in the area and community leaders talked about their concerns.

"It is a crisis and you need to treat it like a crisis," one person at that meeting said. Another said she had been assaulted and that one of her employees regularly had to pick up drug paraphernalia.

But many of the community members who showed up to that meeting in 2024 also recognized the need for homelessness services like what's offered at Sunrise.

"I would love to see something change. I would love for the services to continue and for the work to continue. I just don't think it should be right next to an elementary school," one man said.

According to the center’s website, staff helped nearly 20,000 clients last year, served almost 100,000 meals and answered roughly 45,000 hotline calls. You can read more about the navigation center here.