Vocational skills center for homeless opens at Esperanza Community

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Other Ones Foundation, or TOOF, cut the ribbon on a vocational skills center that will serve the homeless population in Austin.

The John Paul DeJoria Vocational Skills Center opened Friday at the Esperanza Community. Its goal is to "host a new approach to homelessness services" by offering vocational training and services, according to a joint release from TOOF and JP's Peace, Love & Happiness Foundation.

The center will offer a range of professional and vocational training services ranging from soft skills development to certifications and job placement in HVAC, auto-mechanics, welding, plumbing, carpentry and other trades, the release said.

According to TOOF, the services offered at the vocational center are some of the fastest-growing and high-paying trades, as identified by the Texas Workforce Solutions Capital Area (WFSCA).

Building construction was funded by a $350,000 grant from JP’s Peace, Love, and Happiness Foundation. Pilot programming will be staffed by instructors from Austin Community College and ReWork Project, and WFSCA will sponsor the tuition of eligible unhoused students.

TOOF's release said Austin homelessness service providers are "having to get creative with new ways to tackle housing" because of a lack of affordable housing and rental assistance and a growing homeless population.

The foundation said pairing shelters like the Esperanza Community with vocational training is a new practice that will help people experiencing homelessness develop skills that will help them find and retain housing, employment and community.

City leaders joined leaders of TOOF, JP's Peace, Love & Happiness Foundation, WFSCA and ACC to celebrate the ribbon cutting Friday morning.

“We’re not just cutting a ribbon on a skills center today—we’re investing in the futures of folks who are trying to build better lives for themselves, all the while, strengthening our homeless response system. The John Paul DeJoria Vocational Skills Center will connect folks living in TOOF’s Esperanza Community to the Austin Infrastructure Academy, an initiative we’ve been building over the past 22 months, to create opportunities for vulnerable Austinites to get the training they need to take full advantage of our economic prosperity,” Mayor Kirk Watson said. “We’re making huge investments to expand the good work TOOF is doing at Esperanza, including the $60 million I helped secure from the state, so we can continue to get folks out of encampments, into safe shelter, and living independent lives.”