The former head of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness who was booted from his post by the Trump administration in November may be tapped to help address ongoing efforts to end homelessness in Austin.

Matthew Doherty, who led the Council on Homelessness from 2015 through November 2019, oversaw the work of 19 federal agencies tasked with preventing homelessness throughout the United States, city documents show.

The Austin City Council next week will vote on a $95,000 contract for consulting services for Doherty through September.

"As part of the city’s holistic and communitywide approach to preventing and ending homelessness, we’re engaging with nationally recognized experts," said Assistant City Manager Chris Shorter. "To that end, we are pleased to bring forward for City Council’s consideration a contract with Mr. Matthew Doherty. Mr. Doherty’s experience and leadership will be a key component to helping Austin end homelessness."

In previous roles, Doherty served as the King County Housing Authority assistant director of resident services and as San Diego Housing Commission’s assistant manager. He also was the director of the Corporation for Supporting Housing, a consulting group, prior to his national agency roles.

Assistant City Manager Rodney Gonzales last week told council members that city staff were building out a new Homeless Services Division under Austin Public Health.

The division was created following the departure of former Homeless Strategy Officer Lori Pampilo Harris, who announced in the fall after one month on the job she would move to a part-time role.

Her responsibilities have been spread out to more people within the new division, a move that city officials hope will help projects and programs related to homelessness run more efficiently and have better access to support they need. She left the city in December.

If approved, his work in Austin will include advising division leaders, connecting with city leaders, partnering organizations that offer homelessness services and community members to build short- and long-term priorities to end homelessness.

Doherty, who was appointed to his federal post by the Obama administration, left in November at the request of the Trump administration. Trump named Robert Marbut, a controversial figure, to the post on Dec. 4. The Los Angeles Time reported in late December that Marbut spent years working as a consultant encouraging leaders to stop enabling homeless with programs like handing out food.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness issued a statement after Doherty’s resignation lauding his leadership and strategic vision.

"His work was never ideological or political. It was practical, based on evidence, and focused on outcomes," the alliance said. "Lowering barriers to assistance, prioritizing Housing First approaches, and promoting partnerships and innovation — these were some of the things he focused on."

Matthew Mollica, executive director of Austin’s Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, said Doherty’s experience on the federal level will be a huge benefit to the community, as will his understanding of policy and past successes.

"I think it’s a great opportunity for our community to work with someone who has that level of experience and understanding about how to organize and how to centralize the work that’s happening," Mollica said.

Doherty sent a series of tweets on Nov. 15 saying he did not know what was next for him, but "after a period of rest and decompression, I’ll be ready to try to do my best again to work in service of people experiencing homelessness."

The Washington Post reported in November that Doherty’s ouster came as the Trump administration prepared a crackdown on homelessness in California.

Less than a month after his departure, Doherty was named as a consultant on homelessness by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Newsom spokesman Nathan Click told the Sacramento Bee in December that Doherty was hired as a counter to the Trump administration, which had repeatedly targeted the state for not addressing homelessness and threatened federal action.

As a proponent of housing-first policies, or those that focus on getting people into permanent housing before addressing other challenges, like addiction, employment and budgeting, Doherty’s views are in line with Austin’s strategy. Right now, the city is close to purchasing a motel at Interstate 35 near Oltorf Drive to eventually convert into a long-term housing complex.

Council members also have made changes to city policies to allow camping in public spaces, with a few exceptions. That move has earned the ire of Gov. Greg Abbott, who has dedicated state resources to clearing encampments at underpasses throughout the city. Abbott repeatedly has blamed incidents of violence involving people who are homeless on Austin’s policies, including a stabbing at Freebirds on South Congress Avenue that left a man dead.

To track how the council votes on this item and other issues visit the American-Statesman’s VoteTracker website.