10. New outreach success. 

In 2024, things changed in outreach! We learned some new patterns and best ways to attract clients. We modified our strategy to do outreach at many locations in the community during the week that already attract crowds so as to maximize the likelihood of finding homeless young adults. And it worked! When we serve 20 people on outreach, an average of 3.2 will be in our age range focus! People go there because there is already something happening that attracts them (e.g., another homeless service event, a food pantry). People stop to talk with us because we have brought extra resources to compliment whatever is already going on, like clothing, food, or outreach bags. We handed out 2,616 outreach bags and more than 120 coolers of high nutrition food donations! Hunger and poor nutrition are still common in Austin after the pandemic and financial pressures, so this is a big draw! Our outreach served 1,292 unique people regardless of age in Austin but among them were a whopping 270 clients, many of whom are new to us or reside in the area where we moved from. In San Marcos, we served 221 unique people with 64 different clients in that group. All outreach numbers grew by more than 30% in 2024. The outreach bags cost $5 each and were funded by independent sources specific to this cause so as not to detract from our main ministry focus. Outreach and Help Line are the only options we offer for serving people outside our age range of focus. This is a strategic choice, so we get the newest clients among the young people.