SAN ANTONIO — Wednesday morning, east-side community leaders walked into the new venue at the Red Berry Estate, hopeful for a better and safer future.
“It takes a village to raise a child,” San Antonio Police Deputy Chief Karen Falks said.
San Antonio For Growth on the Eastside, or SAGE, says it takes community conversations to start change.
“It was really important to have this event, especially right now. We’re talking about public safety and crime prevention,” SAGE President Tuesdae Knight said.
They brought in different government agency leaders like San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood and Deputy Chief Falks to start the conversations with local businesses.
“Business leaders coming together to get information about what they can do and what’s being done on the east side, but also around the city of San Antonio to improve the safety of our community,” Knight said.
The purpose was to focus on improving the east-side community.
Deputy Chief Falks says SAPD’s top priorities are mental health, domestic violence and homelessness.
“When we all start putting our minds together and coming up with solutions together, that’s much stronger and better than one agency or person coming up with ideas,” Deputy Chief Falks said.
They say the change doesn’t happen until the planning and work begins.
“As we work closer with DHS and it gets closer, it's budget time and we figure out exactly how we’re going to address and approach those. That’s going to be the next step,” Deputy Chief Falks said.
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