Using a combination of technology, hard work and good old fashioned Austin kindness, Humanize Austin’s mission is to leverage technology to educate the public about the causes of homelessness, while connecting the homeless with potential employers, resources and donors.

With the homelessness crisis in Austin, oftentimes those experiencing homelessness are dismissed as a nuisance. The reality is, they’re human beings just like you and I. They each have a story, they each have a set of skills, they each deserve the compassion that we would give our own family…once they were like us. We hope to be able to allow them to tell their stories through our platform and get back on their feet.

Our Approach is simple: We provide select homeless participants with custom signs (generously provided by FastSigns of Austin.). These signs include a large QR code where people can point their phone’s camera and view a video message from the Homeless participant that explains their story, how they got here, any skills they might be able to offer a potential employer and a tax-deductible way to donate towards a crowdsourced purchase of goods for our participant. 

20% of all donations made to a participant will go towards a local non-profit partner of the Homeless participant’s choice. 70% will go to the homeless participant to be used towards a goal/purchase, and 10% will go to Humanize Austin to cover our costs such as credit card processing, outreach, advertising, video production, and technology enhancements. To learn more about our donation philosophy, click HERE. 

We are a 501(c)(3), non-profit, founded by The Monroe family.