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The Sobering Center in Austin has provided an alternative to jail or hospitalization since 2018. Now, it’s looking to help folks build a new journey beyond a one-night respite.
After many delays, the HOPE Outdoor Gallery is finally back open. The new 6,000-foot space is working to maintain the try-anything vibe that made its original spot so very Austin.
Plus: Businesses in downtown Austin are looking to attract more shoppers and more dollars to their stores this holiday season – and one way they’re trying to do that is with half-priced Uber rides.
The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:09] The sobering center in Austin has provided an alternative to jail or hospitalization since 2018. And since then, they’ve been offering people one night to sober up and get on with their life. Well, now they’re looking to help folks build a new journey just beyond that one night of respite. And after many delays, the Hope Outdoor Gallery is finally back open. The new 6,000-foot space is working to maintain the try anything vibe that made its original spot so very Austin.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:40] The Austin Signal is a production of K UT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:46] Plus as we grow deeper into the holiday season, businesses in downtown Austin are looking to attract more shoppers. How are they doing that? Find out next. That’s coming up here on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, Austin. It is Monday, the first day of December 2025. About two percent of the way through the year. And you know, it’s not always the case here in Texas, but today it absolutely feels like the first day of December. Currently 43 degrees out at Camp Mabry as we’re recording this in the afternoon. And tonight here in Austin, we’re expecting lows right around 36 degrees and freezing temperatures up in the hill country. So have multiple ways to stay weather or where. And of course, keep it tuned in here to KUT News for the latest. This is Austin Signal. We’re glad you’re here with us. A quick headline from the KUT Newsroom. The city of Pflugerville will receive a $176 million loan from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for water and wastewater projects. City officials say the funding will be used for multiple projects to modernize drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. That includes a new wastewater treatment plant and expanding and consolidating current wastewater collection systems. Part of the loan will fund an ongoing project to address growth in the Wilbarger and Cottonwood basins. We’re gonna have more coming up this afternoon on all things considered. We’re glad you’re here with us. The Austin Sobering Center has expanded its services to folks who need more than just a place to sober up. For more about this story, we are bringing in Katy McAfee. She is K U T’s Travis County reporter and she’s here with us in the studio. Howdy, Katy.
Katy McAfee [00:02:40] Hey Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:41] We are glad you’re joining with joining here on the Austin Signal. Let’s talk about the Sobering Center. We chatted a little bit prior to the show, but I have an inkling of what it is, but just give lay it out. What is the Austin Sobering Center?
Katy McAfee [00:02:56] Yeah, so for folks who don’t know, the sobering center opened in twenty eighteen and at the time the idea was for the sobering center to be a place that publicly intoxicated people could go to. That wasn’t the emergency room or the jail. Those places historically have been really tight on resources, and what Austin Police and EMS found was people who are publicly intoxicated don’t always need to go there. So since then this has been a place where people can go and be dropped off. It’s centrally located downtown, have a snack, sober up under supervision, and then sort of leave the next day.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:31] And is this this is a collaboration between Travis County and the city of Austin?
Katy McAfee [00:03:36] Yeah, that’s correct. So this was kind of the brainchild of Travis County judge Andy Brown, but it really is like an all hands on deck kind of effort because we have EMS dropping people off, APD dropping people off, and Travis County working on it as well.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:50] Well, as you mentioned, they have been doing this since twenty eighteen and I know you got a chance to talk with some folks there. How have things been working out since then?
Katy McAfee [00:03:57] Yeah, so it’s been working out really well so far. But what people at the sobering center started to notice was they had a lot of people repeatedly coming in. Ashlyn Branscombe, she’s a licensed social worker at the Sobering Center, what told me about one man who came in in and out, in and out, seventy-five times in a one hundred and thirty-five day period. Okay. Yeah. And you know, toward the end of that he said, Okay, guys, he resolved to stop drinking. He said, This is the last time you’re gonna see me and folks at the sobering center said, Okay, well, if you’re serious about that, can we connect you with medical resources? Because you can die from alcohol withdrawal.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:04:39] Okay.
Katy McAfee [00:04:39] And Brandscombe told me i a light bulb just went off in her head at that point and she said, You know, the sobering center could be more than just a place where people sober up for a night, but it can be sort of the first touch point in someone’s journey to long term recovery.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:53] And now they’re looking to expand on what they’re doing. They’re trying to to fulfill that that idea. How are they doing so?
Katy McAfee [00:05:00] Yeah, so this expansion just wrapped up last week. What they did was the sobering center always had this second floor, but they weren’t utilizing it. So over this past year they renovated the second floor and they added 14 beds. This floor has lots of windows and natural light and it’s just a space that works better for long-term recovery compared to the downstairs area right now, which is really just the space where people hang out for a temporary amount of time. So now how this can work is if people are looking for long-term recovery, they can just take an elevator upstairs and folks at the sobering center can connect them to a rehabilitation center where they can go to get long-term help.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:41] And again, from what you’ve heard from the staff at the center, that’s g really gonna make a huge difference, right? For just having that one floor of separation is gonna allow people to just have a little bit more space to go through their process, right?
Katy McAfee [00:05:53] Yeah, exactly. Because this isn’t entirely new. The sobering center has been trying to connect people to long term rehabilitation centers for a while, but the issue they ran into was they didn’t have space to separate people who are starting their sort of long term recovery journey from people who are there sobering up initially. And it was really difficult for people to sort of get into this recovery headspace where in their they are in the same room as people who are actively intoxicated and in the process of sobering up. So just having a new floor and a new space where people can kind of get into a different headspace, they said has is going to be really helpful.
Jerry Quijano [00:06:35] As you mentioned, those renovations were completed last week.
Katy McAfee [00:06:37] That’s right.
Jerry Quijano [00:06:38] And I know they’re having an ongoing celebration for that and a fundraising event as part of Giving Tuesday. That is happening tomorrow. We’re gonna have a link to that in our show notes. That is KUT dot org slash Austin Signal. We have been speaking to Katy McAfee. She is KUT’s Travis County reporter. Thanks for the update, Katy.
Katy McAfee [00:06:57] Thanks for having me on, Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:07:07] As downtown restaurants and bars head into what is, you know, usually supposed to be one of their busiest times of the year, construction is not making things so very holly jolly. But KUT’s Nathan Bernier reports on a new incentive meant to lure people back downtown. Half priced Uber rides through the holidays.
Nathan Bernier [00:07:31] I-35 is expanding, skyscrapers are rising, but one construction project is proving to be the most disruptive of all to downtown restaurants and bars, the redevelopment of the Austin Convention Center.
Joe Nguyen [00:07:45] You can feel the vibration, the noise level is just freaking loud that it’s unbearable to even sit outside.
Nathan Bernier [00:07:51] Joe Nguyen is operations manager at Moonshine Grill on Red River Street. This restaurant’s been serving Southern Comfort Food for more than twenty years, directly across the street from the convention center.
Joe Nguyen [00:08:02] You know, I had a guest the other day. We were sitting next to the window inside and I mean they were drilling or doing something. I mean, you’re my our building shaking. I mean, this is a historical building. You know, it’s shaking and whatever they’re doing is just wow. I can’t believe it. It’s that as loud as it is.
Nathan Bernier [00:08:16] What they’re doing is virtually doubling the size of the Austin Convention Center. It’s a $1.6 billion project, paid for with the city’s hotel occupancy tax and convention center revenues. But it’s not scheduled to open until 2029. So that means Austin’s downtown bars and restaurants will have to go years without the hundreds of thousands of visitors drawn to the city each year for all the different conventions.
Joe Nguyen [00:08:40] I mean the lunch business is down seventy percent, right? Overall we’re down thirty to forty percent with the road closures, the fencing, reduced foot traffic. There’s some people just assume like this whole area is shut down.
Vanessa Olson [00:08:52] You know, our public agencies have been clear with us that this construction is only going to really intensify over the next decade. So we are entering a period of public infrastructure investments which are really needed for our city. However, there is a little bit of pain involved in that.
Nathan Bernier [00:09:10] Vanessa Olson is with the Downtown Austin Alliance. It’s a nonprofit that collects a tax from downtown property owners to improve and promote the district. Full disclosure, they also sponsor the KUT and KUTX Holiday Sing-Along, which is happening December 6th. But the Downtown Austin Alliance is experimenting with ways to help businesses affected by all the construction. And for December, they’re trying something new, paying for half the cost of anyone’s Uber rides to and from downtown within a 30-mile radius. The maximum subsidy is $40 per ride, not including tip.
Vanessa Olson [00:09:43] This is a pilot program, so we are testing this program and many others to see what works to make sure people can still get to downtown, can still support those downtown businesses, and whatever works we hope to be able to deploy in the future.
Nathan Bernier [00:09:58] So to claim a voucher good for up to six rides, go to XOXO downtown Austin.com and just scroll till you find the promotion. The Downtown Austin Alliance has 5,000 of these vouchers available. But Olsen says if people claim them all and then don’t use them or only take short trips, they might release more vouchers around the middle of December. And even for businesses blocks away from the convention center, it’s a welcome bit of help during a difficult time. Heather Potts is co-owner of Cedar Door and Foxy’s Proper Pub. Which are both at second in Brazzard.
Heather Potts [00:10:33] I would say our sales are off by probably about twenty to twenty five percent with the effects of the convention center being torn down.
Nathan Bernier [00:10:41] I mean I guess when the convention center is built, is there the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow if if your business is
Heather Potts [00:10:46] You know, I that’s definitely my hope. It’s not going to be fun to weather these years while the convention center is down. But yes, I’m super excited about when it will be finished. Definitely. And I need a countdown clock.
Nathan Bernier [00:10:59] Those vouchers to get half-off Uber rides to or from downtown are valid from December 1st till January 1st at 8 a.m. To allow for a trip home after New Year’s Eve, or until the Downtown Austin Alliance runs out of money for the program, whichever comes first. I’m Nathan Bernier in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:11:23] Coming up here on Austin Signal, we’re gonna take a look back at the UT AM football game from Friday. I’m sure you know, plenty of folks are happy with the bragging rides that they’ve got right now. KUT’s Jimmy Moss is gonna be with us. Plus, who remembers the Austin Graffiti Park that used to be off Lamar in downtown? Well, it’s back, just in a different location now, and just had its grand opening. We’ll hear more about the Hope Outdoor Gallery coming up after this. Stay with us. This is Austin Signal. Thanks for being with us today. The Hope Outdoor Gallery is back. After several delays at Open Friday in a new space near the airport, the property features curated pieces and a 6,000 square foot gallery and event space. Visitors can pick up a can of spray paint and unleash their creativity on the exterior walls. As KUT’s Stephanie Federico reports, the gallery owners are hoping to maintain that try anything vibe of its original location.
Stephanie Federico [00:12:32] Spray paint cans were once again rattling Friday at the Hope Outdoor Gallery. Visitors paint robots and band names, eyeballs and laboo-boos in all colors and sizes. People lift each other up to reach the tops of walls. Children gleefully spray purples and reds back and forth with wild abandons. Antonio Delgado watches as his family attacks the walls.
Antonio Delgado [00:12:56] I love that it’s like there’s different calibers of artists here, right? Like some new artists, some younger artists, you know, and then more formally trained artists.
Stephanie Federico [00:13:04] Delgado used to live three blocks away from the original location on Baylor Street in the Clarksville neighborhood.
Antonio Delgado [00:13:10] I would go and I’d sit with the song right there all the time.
Stephanie Federico [00:13:13] He said he was sad when the site closed in twenty nineteen, but he was excited to bring his family to the new spot.
Antonio Delgado [00:13:18] It’s great to see like inside that we have this space that’s like formal space that’s championing mural art, you know, and then outside we’ve got space where we can just play and have fun and practice and they can learn through new mediums, you know.
Stephanie Federico [00:13:32] Yeah. The original Hope Outdoor Gallery was supposed to be temporary. The property had been vacant since the eighties. Founder Andy Skull got permission from the owners in 2009 for a graffiti park on the foundation of a failed condo development. She enlisted street artist Shepard Ferry for the first installation. He’s best known for the Obey Giant and Obama Hope posters. He had helped Skull launch a campaign called Helping Other People Everywhere, or Hope, that connects artists to humanitarian causes. The towering concrete slabs became a canvas for anyone with a spray paint can, regardless of talent. New murals were painted over old ones on a regular basis. It was a living art exhibit that drew locals and tourists alike. That exhibit lasted nearly a decade. CK Chin, the new gallery’s director of hospitality, says that’s because the site was about more than just graffiti.
C.K. Chin [00:14:25] On any given day you’ll have someone putting up a mural, a random tourist that pop by to just look at some art, somebody doing breakdancing on top of a piece of concrete, a proposal happening in the corner.
Stephanie Federico [00:14:40] Founder Andy Skull says it also gave people a space to try new things.
Andy Skull [00:14:44] The coolest part about what we really learned in the ten years of the project was like this is where people are feeling safe to try and try things big and try weird things. I mean, it was weird sometimes to see someone practicing tap dancing at hope.
Stephanie Federico [00:15:01] But the tourist destination was fenced off in 2019. Work began on a luxury condo building. Skull and Chin knew they needed a permanent home for the gallery.
C.K. Chin [00:15:11] It was really audacious and really kind of crazy to even consider, but like we said, you don’t know what you can do or can’t do until you try.
Stephanie Federico [00:15:21] Local artists and supporters pushed them to find a way for hope to live. They ultimately found the spot near the airport. The project stalled because of construction issues, permitting challenges, and the pandemic. But none of that mattered on Friday. The new site is part art park, part events center. There are curated murals outside and walls for the public to paint. Inside the gallery there’s more artwork, a coffee shop, and a store to buy t-shirts and well spray paint.
Antonio Delgado [00:15:50] ‘Cause we’re we’re not gonna use all that spray paper in one go. We have to be real careful how we use it.
Katy McAfee [00:15:55] So there’s blue, there’s kind of that pinkest.
Andy Skull [00:15:58] So we’re so excited the first day already we got here, people already waiting. We it was an hour till opening and we’re back.
Stephanie Federico [00:16:06] Skull is eager to bring back the old vibe too, one that’s all about creating safe places for the creative community to come together. But she and Chin are also excited about what this new space will become.
C.K. Chin [00:16:17] The coolest things about this park haven’t even begin, haven’t been thought of.
Stephanie Federico [00:16:23] Visitors Friday said they were inspired. Skull says she’s here for whatever new ideas they dream up. I’m Stephanie Federico in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:16:39] All right, now let’s do a little roundup of some Texas sports from the weekend. Here to help us out is KUT program director Jimmy Mass. Good afternoon, Jimmy.
Jimmy Maas [00:16:48] Good afternoon. Yeah, we’re cool like that. Especially today, where it’s a a very, very cold forty six degrees outside. Very good football weather.
Jerry Quijano [00:16:55] Very good, very cold. Exactly. The weekend provided some nice football weather and a nice result for the Texas football team.
Jimmy Maas [00:17:02] Yeah, Texas they they surprised some people. Certainly a lot of odds makers were not I giving the Longhorns good chances, but they you know, this was the number one team in the country preseason and they showed up in a big way on Friday night, beating Texas AM, ending Texas AM’s perfect perfect season. They were aiming for a a solid shot at at at a national championship. They still have that because of the playoff system, but they will not end the season at with zero losses.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:36] And they were t Texas A and M was actually looking for their first SEC championship game appearances.
Jimmy Maas [00:17:41] They will not get to go that as either.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:44] That’s right. That’s right. And but you know,
Jimmy Maas [00:17:46] You know the interesting thing, I think the biggest difference between Texas this is my one joke for the thing. Go ahead. Let’s do it. The biggest difference between the A and M and Texas fans is A and M fans will be talking about this a long, long, long time.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:58] Well, you know, one of my A and M fans friend was t texting me and you know, constantly shoving it in my face that despite the fact that Texas A and M lost, they were still going to the playoffs, which doesn’t appear to be the case for Texas, right? Or is it still possible?
Jimmy Maas [00:18:14] So the the back end of the playoffs. So the the biggest problem with the playoff initially and why it was created was because the top four were such so subjectively decided and determined who was gonna make it. You know, the are you in a power five conference? Are you the champion of this and that? Are is second place in the SEC better than the champion of the ACC or whatever. So they eliminated that largely. It’s still not everybody gets in, just five champions of the five conferences. And then apparently there’s another rule that like basically everybody in the top tier, the SEC also gets in. That’s what it’s used to be. So and now who is on the back end of that top tier of the SEC is up for a sub another subjective debate by the committee. They will make a their second to last, the penultimate college football ranking tomorrow night, six o’clock. That that will come out. If Texas is in the top ten, and that’s a big if, if they are in the top ten of this last second to last ranking, there’s a reasonable shot that opinion in the committee is on their side. If it if it is not if they are not in the top ten, Texas really needs a lot of really strange things to occur this weekend, really bad showings in conference championship games, you know, just things that might sway someone. You know, the eye test will sway them to include Texas. Now, Texas has a good resume this year. Everyone is disappointed with the season, but you know, they beat three top ten teams. They did lose to two of them and they lost to Ohio State. The last team to beat three top ten teams when they were ranked at the time when they played them was LSU in 2019. LSU won the national championship that year. Texas happened to be one of those top ten teams that LSU beat. So there is a there is a resume there. They beat Oklahoma, they beat AM. Both of those teams are very likely to be in the playoff. There’s there’s a strong chance that Texas could get they could get a little bit of luck on their side. Only a not strong chance. There is a chance, strong chances.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:21] A chance exists, though.
Jimmy Maas [00:20:22] Yes, there is a chance. Now, betting odds, they don’t even include Texas in in this mix, but it was just a single touchdown loss to Ohio State in week one, and that is the closest that anyone has gotten to Ohio State this season. So, you know, there’s there’s something to be said about scheduling these preseason matches. And if Texas is not rewarded for this, look out for, you know, upstate university every week of the preseason or the pre-conference part of the schedule.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:51] The takes have been hot this weekend. It’s been a great weekend to just be online and read anything that’s been going on. Let’s say that that chaos doesn’t play out and the Texas football season ends with a bowl game, that isn’t a a prestigious one, one of these championship game ones. What do you think what have you seen in the last few weeks from the team that is a positive to build on going into next?
Jimmy Maas [00:21:15] Well I think that The difficult part of that is in modern college football, it’s so hard to figure out like who’s going to be around. If this if this young nucleus stays, assuming they do, let’s just let’s just pretend. If they stay, the line gets, you know, at least two games better, twelve games better by the end of next season. Arch Manning is twelve games better by the end of next season. There’s there’s a lot that they could build upon, mainly like missed opportunities, regrets, etc., that, you know, are just as much a part of building your future as you know, successes are. So this is a a chance for the Longhorns to sort of reassess and and plan for the future. Most people thought it could be a rebuilding year. Too many people thought Texas was going to be the best team ever. They’re they’re somewhere in between.
Jerry Quijano [00:22:12] Yeah, that seems like so long ago. That is K U T program Director Jimmy Mass with the update on the Texas football team. Jimmy, thanks for your time. Don’t forget about that volleyball match coming up. That’s right. I was looking at that right now. Number one C Texas volleyball team going up against Florida AM this Friday at seven o’clock. And coming up at one o’clock tomorrow afternoon, that is Austin Signal. Thank you for being with us. Kristen Cabrera is our managing producer. Rayna Sevilla is our technical director, and I’m Jerry Quijano, your host. We will talk to you tomorrow.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
