Outreach to Persons in Need Ministry

Applications for REMOTE assistance are processed ONLY if you live in one of the following zip codes:

78702, 78723, 78724, 78741, 78744, 78745, 78753, 78758 

and ONLY for the following services:

• Rent

• City of Austin Utilities

• Texas Gas 

Apply by sending the following information to [email protected] (or [email protected] for Spanish-speakers):

1. Your phone number

2. Your ID

3. Your lease in your name OR your utility bill in your name (1 bill). 

Drawings for remote assistance are held on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month. 

Mailed and dropped off applications can only be accepted if they include a phone number.

Outreach can help with a little bit of rent OR a City of Austin Utilities bill OR a Texas Gas bill (1 bill). 

We do NOT help with:

• bills from other utility companies

• eviction notices, notices to vacate, notices to cure, notice of proposed evictions, or if you owe 2 months of rent or more

• rent or utility deposits or with first month's rent

• paying a third-party rent or utility vendor, such as Flex, or reimbursing for rent or utility payments that have already been made

• hotel or motel bills

• internet or cell phone bills

• finding or securing housing

If you or someone in your household has been helped by St. Austin Outreach in the past, you are eligible to reapply ONE YEAR (12 months) after the last time you were assisted by us. Those who have been assisted by St. Austin Outreach multiple times since March 2020 have a TWO YEAR (24 months) limit on assistance. Reapplying after 1 or 2 years does NOT guarantee assistance, and priority is given to those we have not helped before. 

In-person assistance is provided on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month (EXCLUDING December 19 and January 2) at our Ministry Center (2026 Guadalupe St., Austin, TX 78705; see parking details HERE). 

You MUST arrive between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. to be entered in the lottery. Make sure your schedule allows you to stay until 12 p.m., in case your name is chosen.

Bring your ID and a copy of your lease or utility bill (City of Austin or Texas Gas ONLY) in your name. Names are drawn from those who are present and eligible. 

Residents of the following zip codes are prioritized in the lottery: 78702, 78723, 78724, 78741, 78744, 78745, 78753, 78758 

People who come on one of our IN PERSON mornings may be assisted from other zip codes if we have enough funds. 

We determine who we can help by randomly drawing names in a weekly lottery for a very small amount of assistance. We prioritize our target zip codes and people we have not helped before. 

Lottery drawings and assistance interviews are conducted on Thursday mornings. Calls from our volunteer team for remote assistance must be answered for assistance to be provided. 

• We do NOT make assistance checks out to individuals, including landlords or the person requesting assistance. 

• Landlords/apartment complexes must accept a business check that is mailed directly from the program.

• We are unable to make electronic payments or provide assistance via money order or cashier's check. 

• Assistance checks are mailed via USPS, and Outreach makes no guarantees about checks arriving or arriving by a certain time. 

• Please apply as early as possible to have the best chance of being chosen in our lottery and (for those who are chosen in our lottery) for checks to arrive before late fees accrue or the eviction process begins.