Questions about Community First! Village

How do Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ three core programs – Community First! Village, Truck Ministry and Community Works – work together for a holistic approach toward addressing homelessness?

The Community First! model is built on the foundation of Genesis 2:15 – “The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and care for it.” With Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ Truck Ministry, we allow the broader community to move throughout areas of the metaphorical garden that [...]

What makes Community First! Village unique?

It’s all about relationships. Mobile Loaves & Fishes desires to empower the community around us into a lifestyle of service with the homeless. We achieve this vision through Community First! Village by taking a relational approach for connecting with our homeless brothers and sisters, instead of a transactional approach. When we bring an individual into [...]

What is the difference between housing and community?

Mobile Loaves & Fishes has a basic philosophy that housing alone will never solve homelessness, but community will. Most often, we find people on the streets who have a regular, albeit dysfunctional, community, even though they have no houses or shelter to live in. So the fundamental component that human beings need is human interaction; [...]

How did Community First! Village get started?

The idea behind Community First! Village simply began with one person in one RV. In 2004, Mobile Loaves & Fishes purchased our first gently used RV with a goal of lifting one person off the streets of Austin and enabling them to live in that RV. This was the advent of our Community First! [...]

What was the process like to get Community First! Village zoned?

In Texas, there is no discretionary land use authority outside of municipal boundaries. “Not in my backyard” (NIMBY) resistance most often leverages zoning to discriminate against populations of people they would prefer not to have in or near their neighborhoods. Community First! Village sits just outside of the City of Austin city limits; therefore, there [...]

How large is Community First! Village and how many neighbors live there?

Community First! Village is currently a 51-acre master planned community, designed specifically for men and women who are coming out of chronic homelessness. As of March 2024, more than 370 formerly homeless individuals are living in the Village. Once complete and at full capacity, Phases 1 & 2 of Community First! Village will be home [...]

How many homes do you have at Community First! Village?

Phase 1 of Community First! Village offers an innovative mix of housing options, including micro-homes, canvas-sided cottages, RVs and park model RVs. Phase I of the development includes 120 micro-homes, 100 RVs and 20 canvas-sided cottages. Phase 2 of the Village offers 110 RVs and park model RVs and 200 micro-homes, and also several [...]

Is Community First! Village considered transitional housing?

No, Community First! Village provides permanent supportive housing. The intent is that any individual who qualifies can live in the Village permanently, providing they pay their rent, abide by civil law and follow the rules of the community.

Who is eligible to live in Community First! Village?

To be eligible to live in Community First! Village, an individual must be chronically homeless as defined in the City of Austin’s Action Plan to End Homelessness: The definition of chronic homelessness: Living in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or an emergency shelter for at least one year (or four [...]

Does a potential resident need to be free of drug and alcohol addictions in order to qualify to live in Community First! Village?

Community First! Village has been developed with an approach similar to the Housing First model, which believes an individual must first be adequately housed before important lifesaving services such as drug and alcohol rehabilitation would be effective. To go through rehab or receive other vital services only to be released back onto the streets is [...]

6,512,700

MEALS SERVED to the homeless in Central Texas through MLF’s food truck ministry.

28,998

HOURS SERVED in 2023 by dedicated volunteers in Community First! Village.

SUPPORT OUR MISSION

374

FORMERLY HOMELESS NEIGHBORS now living at home in Community First! Village.

$1.5MM

DIGNIFIED INCOME earned by Village neighbors in 2023 through Community Works and other micro-enterprise opportunities.

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