Recovery resources in Austin: housing, food, jobs, IDs and legal help

If you need help now: call 911 in an emergency. In a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988, any time. In Travis County, Integral Care's 24/7 Helpline is 512-472-4357 (512-472-HELP). If you or someone you live with could overdose, keep naloxone in the house: see how to get free Narcan in Texas.

Who to call for what

You need	Start here	Contact
Treatment you can't pay for	The OSAR for Travis County, run by Bluebonnet Trails: a free screening and a referral to state-funded care	844-309-6385
A sober place to live	Chartered Oxford Houses: sober living homes in Austin on Find Care	Each listing has the house's phone
Food, or help applying for SNAP	Central Texas Food Bank: its Find Food tool and its SNAP Help Line	1-855-366-3401
A job or training	Workforce Solutions Capital Area career centers	512-454-9675
A Texas ID	Your birth certificate and Social Security card first, then Texas DPS	Steps below
Legal help, or a record sealed	Texas RioGrande Legal Aid; Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas	956-996-8752; apply online
A doctor without insurance	A community health center; Central Health's Medical Access Program (MAP)	Find a Health Center; 512-978-8130
Counseling	Our guide to free and low-cost therapy in Austin	Integral Care, health centers and training clinics
Help in a crisis	988; Integral Care's Helpline	988; 512-472-4357

Free screening and state-funded treatment (OSAR)

Texas pays for drug and alcohol treatment for people who can't afford it. The way in is an OSAR (Outreach, Screening, Assessment and Referral) program: it screens you for free and refers you to state-funded detox, outpatient or residential care. HHSC says the only requirement for an OSAR is living in Texas; the treatment itself is for adults whose income and resources qualify, and some pay part of the cost.

HHSC's OSAR list names Bluebonnet Trails Community Services as the OSAR for Travis County and the rest of HHSC's Region 7: 30 Central Texas counties, including Williamson, Hays, Bell and McLennan. Call 844-309-6385; you can ask for a virtual appointment. A counselor asks about your use and how it affects your daily life and mental health, then refers you to treatment and recovery support that fit.

Integral Care, Travis County's local mental health authority, also runs drug and alcohol treatment, including outpatient detox for adults. Start with its Helpline, 512-472-4357.

Live in another county near Austin? Call 2-1-1 (877-541-7905) and ask for the OSAR for your county. Who qualifies, who gets in first and what it costs are in our guide to free and state-funded rehab in Texas.

Sober housing

A sober living home (a recovery residence) is shared, alcohol- and drug-free housing with peer support. It isn't treatment, and Texas doesn't license these homes.

• Oxford Houses. Cima Find Care lists 48 chartered Oxford Houses in Austin, with who each house is for, its beds and its phone number: see sober living homes in Austin. Openings change daily, so each listing links to Oxford House's own live list. The residents run the house and split the bills; Oxford House of Texas puts the usual cost at about $120 to $140 a week, bills paid. There's no set length of stay: you can stay as long as you stay sober, pay your share and follow the house rules.
• Other homes set their own rules and rent. Texas accreditation is voluntary (Health and Safety Code chapter 469): ask a home for its TROHN certificate (TROHN is the Texas affiliate of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences) and check it with TROHN. Since September 1, 2025, only accredited recovery houses can receive state money.
• Get every fee in writing, with receipts. Free rent offered if you go to a particular treatment program is a warning sign: paying or receiving anything of value for referrals to recovery homes or treatment is a federal crime (EKRA, 18 U.S.C. 220), and Texas's Patient Solicitation Act bans it too. You choose your own treatment.
• Living in a sober home helps you get an ID. A group home or halfway house can give you a notarized letter confirming your address, which Texas DPS accepts in place of two proofs of residency (see IDs).

How to choose a home, what to ask about medication and drug testing, and your rights under fair housing law: sober living in Texas, explained.

Food and SNAP

• Find food today. The Central Texas Food Bank's Find Food tool shows food resources near a ZIP code, with their days, times and rules. Call the pantry before you go to confirm its hours. The food bank says you'll never be asked to pay for food, and its mobile pantries don't require registration or ID.
• Get help applying for SNAP. The food bank's Benefits and Emergency Services team helps with new applications and renewals for SNAP (food benefits), Medicaid, CHIP, TANF, Healthy Texas Women and the Medicare Savings Program. It explains who qualifies and which documents you need, with appointments in person or virtually. Call its SNAP Help Line, 1-855-366-3401, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or email [email protected]. Have ID, Social Security numbers, proof of income and utility bills ready for everyone in your household.
• Or apply yourself at YourTexasBenefits.com, the state's site for applying for SNAP, Medicaid and other benefits. For changes to a case you already have, use your account there or call 2-1-1.

A drug felony doesn't by itself keep you off SNAP in Texas. The state ended its lifetime ban on September 1, 2015. Under the current rule (Texas Works Handbook A-230 and 1 TAC 372.501), a person with a felony drug conviction from that date on loses SNAP for two years for violating a condition of parole or community supervision, and for good after another felony drug conviction while getting SNAP. Deferred adjudication isn't a conviction for this rule. If the rule applies to you, HHSC checks that you're following your parole or probation conditions when you apply and when you renew, using Form H1806, Parole or Community Supervision Report, when there's no other proof.

Jobs and job training

• Workforce Solutions Capital Area is the public workforce board for Austin and Travis County. Its career centers help for free: one-on-one job search help, résumés, interview practice, hiring events and a profile on WorkInTexas.com, the state's free job-matching site. Training may be free if you qualify. Veterans have dedicated staff at every center.
• Career centers (locations): the North Career Center, 9001 N. IH-35, Suite 110 (512-454-9675), open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the East Career Center at Austin Community College's Eastview Campus, 3401 Webberville Rd., Building 1000 (512-381-4200). If you live outside Travis County, you can still use a center's self-service tools, but you enroll in programs through your own county's workforce board.
• Fidelity bonding. The Texas Workforce Commission gives employers a free bond for a new hire's first six months, which covers the employer against theft, forgery or embezzlement by that employee. It's meant for people employers see as a risk, including people with an arrest or conviction record, people with a history of substance use and people on public assistance. You or the employer can ask for it at any Workforce Solutions office. It doesn't cover poor work or injuries. See TWC: Fidelity Bonding.
• Your record and job applications. After an expunction, and in most cases after an order of nondisclosure, you generally don't have to list the offense on a job application. See clearing or sealing a record.

IDs and vital records

Housing, jobs, benefits and many clinics ask for ID. If you've lost yours, get the documents in this order:

1. Birth certificate (born in Texas). Texas DSHS Vital Statistics charges $22 for a certified copy. Ordering online through Texas.gov needs a mailing address that matches your current Texas driver license or ID; if you don't have one, order by mail or in person. Fees aren't refunded, even if the record isn't found. Foster youth and homeless youth (as federal law defines them) get a birth certificate free, with a certification of homeless status, by mail or in person (Health and Safety Code 191.0049).
2. Social Security card. A replacement card is free from Social Security; don't pay a website to get one. Many adults can request it online with a my Social Security account; otherwise apply with Form SS-5 and one proof of identity. Social Security: 1-800-772-1213. Often you only need to know your number, not the card.
3. Texas ID card from the Department of Public Safety. It's $16 if you're 59 or younger and $6 at 60 or older, good for six years; a replacement is $11. Bring proof of identity (DPS form DL-17 lists what counts) and two documents that show you live in Texas. If you live in a homeless shelter, a group home or halfway house, or get services from a nonprofit, a government agency or a transitional service provider, someone there can instead give you a notarized letter or DPS form DL-5 confirming the address and that they get mail for you. They don't have to come with you (DPS residency rules).

Fee waivers that exist: a Texas ID is free for foster youth and homeless youth, for victims of family or dating violence and their children, and for veterans with a service-connected disability of 60% or more who meet DPS's rules (DPS services and waivers). We found no fee waiver for other adults.

Leaving prison or state jail? Texas Department of Criminal Justice case managers help eligible people order a replacement Social Security card, a certified birth certificate and a DPS ID before release, and hand them over at release (TDCJ Reentry Program). DPS's list of identity documents includes a TDCJ-issued ID.

Legal help and clearing a record

Organization	Help	Who qualifies	Contact
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) Austin office, 4920 North I-35	Free civil legal help. Its reentry team handles expunctions and orders of nondisclosure, corrects wrong criminal records, helps with getting a driver license back and with occupational licenses, and refers people to housing and job training.	A legal problem TRLA handles, in its service area, and income, asset and other rules set by federal law and its funders, including immigration status rules. Some projects have their own limits.	Hotline 956-996-8752 (956-996-TRLA), Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; family law applications on Tuesdays and Thursdays only
Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas Austin's pro bono program	Free advice from volunteer lawyers at phone and in-person clinics, and help with civil matters, including expunctions and nondisclosures. It doesn't take criminal, immigration or civil rights cases.	Depends on household income and assets, where you live, the kind of legal problem and how many cases it can take	Apply online: it can't take applications by phone, email or in person. Phone clinic applications open Mondays at 9 a.m. and close when full. Main line 512-476-5550.

Clearing or sealing a record

Texas has two ways to keep an old arrest or case from following you. Which one fits depends on how the case ended.

	Expunction	Order of nondisclosure
What it does	Clears the arrest from your criminal history record. You generally don't have to mention it on a job application.	Seals the offense from the public. Courts, law enforcement, licensing agencies and some other government agencies can still see it.
Usually for	Arrests that didn't end in a conviction, such as an acquittal or charges that were never filed, and Class C misdemeanor deferred adjudication. A conviction can't be expunged.	Deferred adjudication you completed, and some misdemeanor convictions
The law	Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 55A (since January 1, 2025; it replaced chapter 55)	Government Code chapter 411, subchapter E-1

• Waiting periods for nondisclosure (Government Code 411.0725 and 411.0735): after deferred adjudication for a felony, five years from your discharge and dismissal; for a misdemeanor, none or two years, depending on the offense. After a misdemeanor conviction, a Class C can be sealed once you finish your sentence; other misdemeanors wait two years after the sentence ends.
• What blocks it (411.074): a new conviction or deferred adjudication during your supervision or waiting period, other than a fine-only traffic ticket, and some offenses, such as those involving family violence, which never qualify.
• Veterans treatment court graduates can ask for nondisclosure two years after finishing the program (411.0727), except where the case was for driving while intoxicated.
• Immigration: neither an expunction nor a nondisclosure takes away the duty to list the record on immigration forms.

The Texas courts publish model nondisclosure petitions, and TexasLawHelp.org explains how to clear an arrest from your record step by step; every county's clerk has its own procedures. A lawyer can tell you which one fits your case: ask TRLA or Volunteer Legal Services.

Health care on a sliding fee

Community health centers funded by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) see you with or without insurance, charge on a sliding scale by income and family size, and can't turn you away because you can't pay. Find the nearest ones by ZIP code with HRSA's Find a Health Center. HRSA's list of Texas health center grantees includes these in Austin, among others:

Health center	What to know	Call
CommUnityCare Health Centers (Travis County Healthcare District/Central Texas Community Health Centers on HRSA's list) Clinics across Travis County	Not a free clinic: care is discounted by income for people under 200% of the federal poverty level, with a sliding fee set by a financial eligibility specialist. Before your first visit, ask the financial screening and eligibility team which programs you qualify for. Bilingual call agents.	512-978-9015
People's Community Clinic 1101 Camino La Costa and other sites	A sliding fee by income and family size for uninsured patients, including for primary care, dental and behavioral health. Bring a photo ID, proof of address and a recent pay stub or other proof of income from the last 30 days, and reapply every year.	512-478-4939

• Central Health's Medical Access Program (MAP) helps uninsured Travis County residents with household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level who meet its other rules: MAP for the lowest incomes, MAP Basic above that. It goes by your income in the last 30 days. Apply online at apply4map.net or call 512-978-8130, option 1, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you don't qualify, Central Health says a medical visit can still cost less, based on income and family size.
• Medicaid covers children, pregnant women, some parents and caretakers with low income, people with disabilities and people 65 and older. Texas hasn't expanded Medicaid, so many adults without children don't qualify. See how to apply for Texas Medicaid.
• Rides: Texas Medicaid covers rides to health care appointments if you have no other way to get there. HHSC's Nonemergency Medical Transportation page explains how to set one up.
• Medication for opioid use disorder: see Suboxone doctors and clinics in Austin and our guide to getting Suboxone in Texas.

For counseling, see our list of sliding-scale and free counseling in Austin: Integral Care and its Charity Care discounts, community health centers, the St. Edward's and UT Austin training clinics, and NAMI Central Texas's free groups.

Crisis lines

• Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: free, private and open 24/7, and you don't have to be suicidal to call. For Spanish, call and press 2. Veterans can press 1.
• Integral Care's 24/7 Helpline, 512-472-4357 (512-472-HELP), toll-free 844-398-8252: crisis support by phone around the clock, plus appointments and information about all of Integral Care's programs. For a mental health crisis, press 1 for English, then 1 (Integral Care Helpline).
• In person: Integral Care's Psychiatric Emergency Services, 1165 Airport Blvd., second floor, is an urgent care clinic for adults and children in a mental health crisis. No appointment is needed, you'll be seen whether or not you can pay, and Integral Care lists it as open 24/7.
• SAMHSA's National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357: free, confidential treatment referrals, 24/7, in English and Spanish.
• Call 911 for an overdose or a medical emergency.

For families

• Al-Anon is for family and friends of someone who drinks. There are no dues or fees and no sign-up. Find a meeting in person, by phone or online at al-anon.org or by calling 1-888-425-2666.
• NAMI Central Texas, the local NAMI for Bastrop, Burnet, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties, runs support groups and classes for families of people with a mental health condition, such as NAMI Family-to-Family, and groups for people living with one. NAMI's family support groups are free. Call 512-420-9810 (not a crisis line).
• Helping someone who isn't ready yet: see how to help an alcoholic, and whether you can make someone go to rehab in Texas.

Treatment and support on Cima Find Care

Cima Find Care is a free directory of addiction treatment in Texas. Cima is never paid for referrals, and you call programs directly (how listings work).

• Addiction treatment in Austin: every program, counselor and physician we list, with phone numbers.
• Outpatient programs in Austin with a sliding fee and outpatient programs in Austin that take Medicaid.
• Recovery coaches in Austin: peer support from someone with lived experience.
• Treatment for people in the justice system in Austin: programs with services for people involved with the courts.
• Find your fit: a few quick questions to narrow the list.

Helping someone in another Texas city? See recovery resources in San Antonio, recovery resources in Houston, recovery resources in Dallas, recovery resources in Fort Worth and recovery resources in El Paso, or recovery resources in Texas for what works statewide.

Questions people ask

Where can I find sober living in Austin?

Cima Find Care lists 48 chartered Oxford Houses in Austin, with each house's phone number and a link to Oxford House's live list of openings. For other homes, ask for a TROHN certificate: Texas doesn't license sober homes, and accreditation is voluntary.

Where can I get help applying for food stamps in Austin?

The Central Texas Food Bank's benefits team helps you apply for or renew SNAP, Medicaid, CHIP and TANF for free: call its Help Line, 1-855-366-3401, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also apply yourself at YourTexasBenefits.com.

Can I get food stamps with a drug felony in Texas?

Usually, yes. Texas ended its lifetime SNAP ban for drug felonies on September 1, 2015. A person with a felony drug conviction from that date on can lose SNAP for two years for violating parole or community supervision, and for good after another felony drug conviction while getting SNAP.

How do I get a Texas ID if I lost everything?

Start with a certified birth certificate ($22 from Texas DSHS) and a free replacement Social Security card, then apply for a Texas ID at DPS ($16, or $6 at 60 or older). If you live in a shelter, a sober home or a halfway house, a notarized letter from it can stand in for two proofs of residency.

Is there free legal help to clear my record in Austin?

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid's reentry team handles expunctions and orders of nondisclosure for people who qualify: apply through its hotline, 956-996-8752, on a weekday. Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas also helps with expunctions and nondisclosures for people who qualify by income; apply online at vlsoct.org.

How long until I can seal a record in Texas?

It depends on the case. After deferred adjudication for a felony, the wait is five years from your discharge; for a misdemeanor, none or two years. After a misdemeanor conviction, a Class C can be sealed once the sentence is done and others two years later. Some offenses never qualify.

What is an OSAR, and who is it in Austin?

Outreach, Screening, Assessment and Referral: the Texas program that screens you for free and refers you to state-funded detox, outpatient or residential treatment. For Travis County and 29 other Central Texas counties, it's Bluebonnet Trails Community Services: call 844-309-6385.

What is MAP, and who qualifies?

The Medical Access Program is Central Health's help paying for care for uninsured Travis County residents with household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level who meet its other rules. Apply at apply4map.net or call 512-978-8130, option 1.

Can I get help finding a job with a record?

Yes. Workforce Solutions Capital Area's career centers help with job searches, résumés, interviews and training, free: 512-454-9675. The Texas Workforce Commission's fidelity bonding program gives an employer a free six-month bond when it hires someone with a record or a history of substance use.

Sources

• Texas HHSC: Outreach, Screening, Assessment and Referral (OSAR) (Region 7, Bluebonnet Trails), Adult Substance Use Outpatient Treatment and Texas HHS: Contact (2-1-1 and 877-541-7905)
• Bluebonnet Trails Community Services: Substance Use Services
• Integral Care: 24/7 Helpline, Crisis Services, Contact, Drug and alcohol treatment and Outpatient detox
• Oxford House, Inc. and its list of Texas houses and openings; TROHN: Certification
• HB 299 (2023), adding Health and Safety Code chapter 469, and Texas HHSC: Adult substance use recovery residences
• 18 U.S.C. 220 (EKRA) and Texas Occupations Code chapter 102 (Patient Solicitation Act)
• Central Texas Food Bank: Get Help, Help with SNAP and Find Food
• YourTexasBenefits.com; Texas Works Handbook A-230 (SNAP, felony drug convictions); 1 TAC 372.501; Form H1806
• Workforce Solutions Capital Area: Job Seeker Services and Contact Us and Career Center Locations
• Texas Workforce Commission: Fidelity Bonding and Fidelity Bonding Program at a glance
• Texas DSHS Vital Statistics: Costs and Fees, Requirements for Online Orders and Certification of Homeless Status
• Social Security: Replace your Social Security card and SSA Office of the Inspector General: cards are free
• Texas DPS: Driver License Fees, Texas Residency Requirement, Services and Waivers, Form DL-5 and Form DL-17
• TDCJ: Reentry Program
• Texas RioGrande Legal Aid: Our Services, Offices, Preguntas Frecuentes and Economic & Social Justice
• Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas: Get Help, Legal Advice Phone Clinic and Contact Us
• Texas Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 55A (expunction); Texas Government Code chapter 411 (orders of nondisclosure, subchapter E-1); Texas Judicial Branch: Orders of Nondisclosure forms
• TexasLawHelp.org: Expunctions vs. nondisclosures, Nondisclosure orders and I need to clear an arrest from my record
• HRSA: Get Health Care, Find a Health Center and Texas Health Center Program awardees (UDS)
• CommUnityCare: Paying for Your Care, For Patients and Federal Health Center Program renewal; People's Community Clinic: Make an Appointment and What to Bring for Financial Assistance
• Central Health: MAP (Medical Access Program) and Central Health expands MAP membership
• Texas HHSC: Nonemergency Medical Transportation Program; KFF: Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions
• SAMHSA: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 988 Lifeline: Get help and SAMHSA: National Helpline
• Al-Anon Family Groups: FAQ and Find a meeting; NAMI Central Texas: Contact and NAMI Family-to-Family; NAMI: Family Support Group