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RED, WHITE & BLUES 512
House Our Heroes Music Festival
Red, White & Blues 512 | House Our Heroes Music Festival, a fundraiser created to help veterans experiencing homelessness, was founded by a small group of friends who were inspired by the collaborative efforts happening in Austin to end veteran homelessness. Through the teamwork of the nonprofit groups including:
- CARITAS OF AUSTIN
- FRONT STEPS
- SAMARITAN CENTER
- ECHO (Ending Community Homelessness Organization)
- THE HOUSING HEROES FUND
Many nonprofits in Austin are working together to tackle housing our community’s most vulnerable veterans and to provide important services such as case management, medical and therapeutic services and job skills training to help the veterans get firmly back on their feet.
Motivated by this collaboration, the first Red, White & Blues 512 | House Our Heroes Music Festival was launched on Veterans Day Weekend in 2016 to help fund this critical work.
An effective structure is now in place to help our veterans, but ongoing financial funding is needed in order for the team’s success to be sustainable for the veterans already receiving support and for those yet to be identified.
As time goes on and more soldiers return from deployments, the need for services is expected to rise. The nonprofit groups providing the services are identifying 35 to 50 new veterans needing help each month in Austin.
This year Red, White & Blues 512 | House Our Heroes Music Festival continues to focus on helping veterans who have dedicated their lives to protecting our freedoms. While the festival is a celebration of Austin’s success, it is also a call to action to ensure that progress continues. Without steady financial support from the community, these programs will not be able to continue to provide the assistance our veterans need.
All proceeds and donations from Red, White & Blues 512 | House Our Heroes Music Festival will go directly to the nonprofits to improve the lives of our veterans with vital services such as treatment for returning soldiers with PTSD , housing for veterans who may only own the backpack on their backs, life skills and employment training to start a new life, therapy to heal emotional wounds from war, and even food bank support for daily survival.
No veteran should ever be homeless.
With your support of Red, White & Blues 512 | House Our Heroes Music Festival we can help our veterans build the futures they deserve.
Our History
Red, White & Blues 512 | House Our Heroes Music Festival, a fundraiser created to help veterans experiencing homelessness, was founded by a small group of friends who were inspired by the collaborative efforts happening in Austin to end veteran homelessness.
About Our Veterans
All proceeds and donations from Red, White & Blues 512 | House Our Heroes Music Festival go directly to the nonprofits to improve the lives of our veterans with vital services such as treatment for returning soldiers with PTSD, housing for veterans who may only own the backpack on their backs, life skills and employment training to start a new life, therapy to heal emotional wounds from war, and even food bank support for daily survival.
Meet The Team
Driven by the tragic reality that tens of thousands of United States veterans experience homelessness every year, five local women combined their skills and resources to help end veteran homelessness. From identifying the nonprofits to partnership development to curating the lineup for the festival, each team member plays an important role in the advancement of Red, White & Blues 512.

Tamsen Cohagan, Karen Ingram, Michelle Sunshine, Kelly Ostendorf, & Amy Rudy
