We believe that together, we can make Austin more vibrant for all.
What We Believe
Caritas of Austin believes that when every person has a stable place to call home, they can realize their full potential and contribute to our community. We build wellbeing by making sure that people have a safe home, access to healthy groceries, jobs that provide a reliable living wage, and educational opportunities to learn life skills. All of us need a sturdy foundation and layers of support in our lives to thrive; that’s what creates a strong community. Our innovative, personalized and proven approach to building wellbeing and ending homelessness creates a more vibrant Austin for everyone.
Our Name and Logo
Caritas of Austin (pronounced CARE – it – ahs) means love or charity in Latin. It is with this humility and commitment that we serve people daily. The first thing you’ll notice about our logo is a house. That’s because, regardless of who we are serving, our work begins with a stable home. Our approach is multi-layered and builds a strong foundation as we work to build holistic wellbeing for hundreds of people each year. And our services for people are as unique as their thumbprint, personalized in a way that helps them achieve their life goals.
Our Mission
We prevent and end homelessness for people in Greater Austin.
Our Values
Respect
We believe in the inherent dignity of all people, and we celebrate every person’s uniqueness and contributions to our work.
Equity
We are committed to fairness and impartiality in the way we provide services and opportunities for service.
Commitment
We are resolute in our mission to build wellbeing and end homelessness for the people we serve.
Excellence
We have high standards for every aspect of our work, continuously raising the bar to provide the best experience and outcomes for everyone we serve.
Innovation
We are leaders in meeting the most pressing needs of the Austin community, continually learning and improving to affect positive change.
Our Vision
We aim to make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring in Central Texas.
History
Monsignor Richard McCabe founded Caritas of Austin in 1964 with the belief that all people deserve to have their basic needs met. Even in its earliest days, this organization focused on ensuring people had a stable place to call home. Since its inception, Caritas of Austin has operated independent of any religious affiliation but has been generously supported by all faith groups over the past five decades. While our organization and services have grown tremendously, our core work to restore dignity, respect, and stability for people remains unchanged. Our inspirational founder passed away in 2009, but his vision to relentlessly pursue better ways to support our most vulnerable community members lives on today.
Statement of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
Caritas of Austin is committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. With a focus on fairness and impartiality in the way we provide services, we embrace the power of lived experience and equity to inform our work.
Our human capital is the most valuable asset we have. The collective sum of the individual differences, unique capabilities and talent that our employees invest in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and company’s achievement.
