Hospice house care, temporary shelters and tiny homes are all potential solutions coming to Dallas as the city looks for short- and long-term solutions to address homelessness.
On Tuesday, the City Council’s homeless solutions committee held a special-called meeting to hear from three different organizations on their efforts to provide housing for the homeless in other cities and how this approach could be applied in Dallas.
The meeting was held two weeks after two council members accused four of their counterparts of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act by discussing proposals related to the city’s homelessness efforts, including an idea to relocate The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center from downtown to Dallas Executive Airport, in a closed-door meeting. The issue has not been discussed publicly.
One of the city’s main challenges is its overflowing shelters. Dallas is seeking ways to provide more beds, but opening new shelters or facilities for the homeless population has faced pushback from some communities.
Here are three options discussed this week:
Hospice care
Chris Kulac, CEO of the Visiting Nurse Association, presented plans for the new hospice house for homeless individuals in Dallas.
Dallas is the largest city in the country without the program, and homeless services providers have discussed the need for over 10 years, said Kulac.
The hospice house will be a small, licensed assisted-living facility in the Wilson Historic District of Old East Dallas, offering five rooms for individuals requiring end-of-life care who have no home.
“It is a place for people that need a place to live when they’re seeking or needing end-of-life care when they do not have a place to call home. And so it is mostly our homeless neighbors,” Kulac said.
The project is a partnership with the Meadows Foundation, which is providing the house rent-free. The Visiting Nurse Association is fundraising $5 million for renovations and operational costs.
Renovations are scheduled to begin in January 2026, and the association plans to admit the first patients in winter 2027.
The facility will offer 24/7 staff, hospice care, meals and wraparound social services, partnering with other agencies as needed.
Referrals will come from clinicians, hospitals, shelters and community partners and it will be free for residents.
The expected length of stay is typically less than 30 days, and the facility is designed to meet current demand but may expand if needed.