Austin, TX
Austin advocates urge more support for harm reduction amid high overdose, fentanyl deaths
How to use Narcan
Austin-Travis County EMS goes through its Breathe Now program
Felix Gonzalez first used drugs at 9 years old.
Decades later, he continues to cycle in and out of drug use as a way to cope with the trauma from his life, he said. But in the past two years, as someone experiencing homelessness, he has seen more family and friends die on the streets of Austin than at any other time of his life. Most of those deaths are due to fentanyl.
“So much death around fentanyl,” Gonzalez said, as he began tearing up. “I really don’t know what a solution to this is. … But we need help.”
Gonzalez was one of dozens of advocates, local officials, and former and current drug users who stood outside of the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance’s drop-in center in East Austin on Wednesday to call for more resources to be put into harm reduction as both the city of Austin and Travis County look to begin their budget processes. The alliance offers services to people at risk of opioid overdoses in the Austin area.
Wednesday’s news conference comes nearly a week after the Travis County medical examiner, J. Keith Pinckard, presented the office’s annual report, which found that overdoses were the county’s leading cause of accidental deaths — a trend driven by an increase in the deadly drug fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times stronger than heroin that has been found laced in other drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine.
Overdose deaths and fentanyl-related overdoses increased last year, the report found, with 486 people dying of an overdose.
So far, this year doesn’t seem to be bringing much of an improvement, as the county recently saw an overdose surge that resulted in 79 overdoses and nine deaths in less than a week. Fentanyl was present in each of the nine deaths, county spokesperson Hector Nieto has said. No arrests have been made in connection to this surge.
“We’ve been raising the alarm for so long, and we do not have the support we need,” said Alexandra White, director of services for the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance. “We are so tired. We are working so hard to keep our people alive that we don’t even have time to mourn our dead.”
During the previous state legislative session, harm reduction efforts such as legalizing fentanyl testing strips in Texas stalled in the Senate despite a measure passing in the House.
Many of the people who spoke at Wednesday’s news conference urged state lawmakers to make fentanyl testing strips legal during next year’s legislative session.
Travis County has the highest rate of fentanyl-related deaths in the state compared with other major metropolitan counties. Experts have partially attributed the rate to the area’s lack of treatment options and local policies that have made implementing a successful harm reduction strategy more difficult.
What is harm reduction?
Harm reduction includes making things available to drug users that can help limit some of the adverse effects that are typically associated with illicit drug use. Some of those items include clean needles, wound care and Narcan, a nasal spray that, if administered soon enough, can reverse an opioid overdose.
However, Maggie Luna, executive director of the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance, said harm reduction is a lot more than just providing Narcan to people. She said it’s providing support to drug users, and oftentimes people who are homeless, with dignity and without judgment. This can include offering people a meal, a place to shower or safe sex supplies, all things that the organization provides.
The alliance offers harm reduction in two forms: through its drop-in center in East Austin and through its outreach teams, which go to various places throughout the city where campsites or large numbers of people experiencing homelessness are typically found.
Currently, the alliance employs 11 people, including four on the outreach team and another four in the drop-in center. That’s not enough for Travis County, Luna said, and it’s why the group is asking Austin Public Health to increase its current yearly budget of $684,000 to $1 million.
White said that, in six months, the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance has handed out supplies to more than 1,800 people.
What are county leaders saying?
Leaders such as County Judge Andy Brown and Commissioner Ann Howard both spoke at Wednesday’s news conference and said they would be asking the Travis County Commissioners Court for more funding.
“We have pledged at Travis County to listen and to learn and to invest where it matters,” Howard said. “We need to do more, and we are in agreement about that. It is a struggle. There’s lots of needs in Travis County, we’re growing fast, but I think nothing compares to this one.”
Brown said increasing funding for harm reduction is a short-term solution and that, long term, the county is looking to increase permanent supportive housing for people who are homeless. Additionally, he said the upcoming mental health diversion center is another option to help treat people who are arrested on a low-level crime in a way other than sending them to jail.
While the building is likely years away from being completed, Brown said a pilot program between the county, the city of Austin and Central Health, the Travis County hospital district, has been given the green light. The pilot can handle up to 25 people and will begin taking people soon, if it hasn’t already, Brown said.
Other solutions
In addition to calling for more resources to be put into harm reduction, many called for an end to stigmas and for increased access to permanent supportive housing.
Permanent supportive housing is one of the two types of rental assistance offered to people experiencing homelessness in Austin. These vouchers have no time limit and come with intensive services, such as mental health treatment. The city has increased its capacity in recent years and expects to have an additional 1,000 permanent supporting housing units by 2026, with some being made available this year.
However, the number of people moving into permanent supportive housing units each year is far lower than the total number of people seeking such assistance, the American-Statesman reported.
White and others said the continued sweeps of homeless camps are making it more difficult to provide harm reduction supplies to the people who need it the most. White also called for investigations anytime there’s an overdose death in one of the city-funded shelters or housing projects.
Gonzalez, who said he is a veteran who served in the U.S. Navy in the late 1980s, said people living in campsites often won’t call 911 for fear that doing so will put them on the radar of police or city officials, which will then cause them to lose all their belongings.
“I just wish the public would open up their eyes a little bit and not be so close-minded,” Gonzalez said. “They think a lot of this is taboo and stuff, but, no, it’s real life. Basically, it’s just a little more consideration for other human lives.”
TEXAS — According to Redfin, a national real estate brokerage firm, the top three most affordable cities for renters in the country are in Texas. The firm released its study in 2025, which also lists the median incomes needed to afford the average rent.
Renters living in the Sawyer Heights neighborhood near downtown Houston say apartments in that area come with a hefty price tag.
“It’s not cheap to live in this city, especially with income the way it is,” said Evan Camp, a renter.
Jacinto Cepeda shares his sentiment, adding you get what you pay for.
“It’s just increasing in price if you want to live somewhere nicer or a little bit safer, I would say, it’s definitely on the pricier side,” Cepeda said.
However, Redfin’s report ranking the top 10 most affordable metros for renters across the country shows renters in the Houston metro area may be better off compared to other Texans. Austin, Houston and Dallas took the top three spots, respectively.
The study analyzes Census Bureau data on median incomes and average rent costs, based on the affordability criteria of renters spending no more than 30% of their income on rent.
“In the most recent American Community Survey, we found that, for the first time, the majority of renters in Harris County in Houston are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent,” said Dr. Stephen Sherman, an associate director of research at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University.
Sherman says while some may consider Houston rent as more reasonable than New York City and Los Angeles, Harris County incomes have not kept up with inflation.
“When you start to look at how that compares to people’s incomes, how high eviction rates are, the quality of multifamily building here, you start to see that that cheery story has some cracks and fissures,” he said.
The Redfin study shows the typical U.S. renter earns nearly $9,000 less than the income needed to afford the median apartment. It shows a median rent in the Houston metro of $1,239, meaning the affordability required for annual income needed is closer to $50,000. As of December 2024, Houston’s median renter income was roughly $58,000, which was nearly $9,000 more than needed to cover the rent. Sherman says that means nearly half of renters don’t make enough.
“Apartment rents and home prices, as well, have stabilized, but when you look at incomes, especially after adjusting for inflation, they’ve actually gone down,” said Sherman, adding this is while expenses like groceries and gas have gone up. “Everything is a trade-off. You can find affordable places to live in Houston, but it might be in an older building in dire need of repairs.”
Cepeda said walkability is one thing he appreciates about the Heights area.
“It’s just a matter of where you’re willing to live where you’re willing to live, and how you’re willing to live is the most important thing,” he said.
An outbreak of cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness that can cause explosive diarrhea, has been confirmed in Texas, prompting health officials to urge extra precautions when handling fresh produce.
The Texas Department of State Health Services has confirmed 48 cases of cyclosporiasis across 10 Texas counties. State health officials say there have been no deaths linked to the outbreak so far.
There are no reported cases in Southeast Texas at this time, and Port Arthur officials say they have not received any reported cases from area hospitals or health care providers. Still, health officials say now is the time to take extra precautions.
Judith Smith, Port Arthur’s director of health services, said cyclosporiasis is caused by “a microscopic parasite that is usually found in contaminated food and contaminated water.”
Smith said contamination typically stems from floodwater or sewage water when produce is harvested, allowing parasites to transfer to produce long before it reaches consumers.
“I have not heard of an outbreak like this. It’s been a while. It might have been 2023, 2024, and so, you know, and of course, Texas is not immune,” Smith said.
Smith said foods that are eaten raw can pose a higher risk. “Those foods that are not cooked are the ones that really make you more at risk,” she said.
Health officials recommend washing raw produce, including lettuce, cilantro, raspberries and basil. They also recommend cleaning cutting boards, refrigerating fresh goods and throwing away any remaining produce after experiencing symptoms.
Symptoms can include watery diarrhea, fatigue, lack of appetite and a low-grade fever. “Those individuals that may have that watery diarrhea or really just more than two to three days should seek medical attention,” Smith said.
Testing can confirm the parasite, and early treatment can help prevent more serious complications, especially for children and elderly relatives. Health care experts recommend contacting a health care provider as soon as possible if persistent stomach cramps and other symptoms develop after eating fresh produce.
The Texas Longhorns are less than two months away from starting their regular season slate of the 2026 schedule.
Just like last season, the Longhorns have been given unrealistic expectations by some, but will look to avoid the slow start that had everyone counting them out in September. On paper, the Longhorns should be a lot better than they were last season.
A national championship run should be on the table for head coach Steve Sarkisian and his team. One of the reasons that is a possibility is due to the Longhorns have something in common with previous national championship winners.
Legacy Year
Last season, the college football world was enamored by the Indiana Hoosiers. A program that no one saw ever winning the national championship, was hoisting the trophy at the end of the season.
Now, the Hoosiers had a talented roster from top to bottom. But the play of starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza was the leading factor in this team reaching the mountaintop.
Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning has the chance to make that same impression this season. After his first full season as the starting quarterback in Austin last year, there is a growing confidence that Manning is going to be on another level in 2026.
Last season, Manning threw for 3,163 yards and 26 touchdown passes. If you were to compare those numbers to Mendoza’s last season, the Hoosiers quarterback threw for 3,535 yards and an impressive 41 touchdown passes.
Those numbers make it clear that Manning will have to elevate his performance this season. With a revamped offensive line, the Longhorns quarterback may have the time to rival the numbers of Mendoza from this past season.
But another key piece to the Longhorns’ 2026 roster is a massive wide receiver addition.
It’s going to take the whole village, and Coach Sarkisian went out and got one of the most talented wide receivers in the transfer portal with Cam Coleman.
Coleman had two solid years with the Auburn Tigers and now will look to be the deep field threat for Manning and the Longhorns. The junior receiver’s addition to the roster could take this offensive unit to being one of the top units in the country.
All championship teams have a quarterback who could lead them to victory. Manning could very well be the next elite quarterback to hold a national championship trophy.
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