Who we are
In 2011, Austin Bonds founded Metro Relief in DFW after years of serving people experiencing homelessness in New York City. His vision to be a mobile-first ministry remains at the core of everything we do.
Homelessness is a bit like an iceberg: for every person visible under an overpass or on a sidewalk, countless others are hidden in wooded areas, vacant buildings, and other hard-to-find places. Our street outreach teams go into these places to build essential relationships and offer solutions.
We partner with local municipalities and law enforcement to find hidden locations and replace critical documents such as IDs that are often barriers to receiving social services. Every person matters, and we will always search for those who need help.
Mobile case management
Getting someone off the streets almost never happens overnight. Our case managers often spend months or years walking alongside our homeless friends to reach stable housing.
Instead of expecting clients to reach a single inner-city office, our case managers meet people in encampments, drive them to medical appointments and rehabilitation, and help them move into apartments after housing acceptance.
What we do
People become homeless for many reasons. Unemployment and poverty are major contributors, as are untreated mental illness, substance use, and the growing lack of affordable housing.
Rain or shine, our staff and volunteers take mobile resource buses out each week with food, clean water, socks, hygiene kits, clothing, and prayer. Consistency builds trust and creates opportunities for advice, assistance, advocacy, and long-term case management.
Our volunteers distribute more than 1,000 servings of soup in an average month. Serving on the Metro Relief bus is a practical way to meet needs in the community.