SAN ANTONIO — Community-wide efforts to address homelessness have been amplified with the help of historic federal funding.
The South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless (SARAH) announced Wednesday San Antonio-Bexar County’s annual Continuum of Care (CoC)funding increased by $2.9 million for the 2022 fiscal year, amounting to over $17 million.
“This will be to renew our high performing projects that are already operating in San Antonio and then to create some additional programming for people fleeing domestic violence and also to expand permanent supportive housing,” said SARAH Executive Director Katie Vela, who was in Washington D.C. when she learned about the awarded funds.
“We attended SA to DC this year as part of the largest housing team coalition we’ve ever sent up to D.C. It had 20 people and so we met with different representatives to talk about some key issues to help address homelessness and housing issues in San Antonio,” Vela said.
Funding has more than doubled since the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) selected SARAH to serve as the CoC Lead Agency for San Antonio-Bexar County in 2016.
The money will be distributed to various organizations that work every day with the houseless community.
More than $7 million will go toward permanent supportive housing while $2.75 million will assist individuals escaping domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking, among other dangerous situations.
“It’s important for us to have programming and the right supportive services so that people with severe mental health, substance use, severe trauma, have treatment options. We really want to emphasize that you need enough housing that people can afford or there will always be people that will be left behind,” Vela said.
Among the many projects includes expanding the Salvation Army’s domestic violence rapid rehousing program.
SAMMinistries will also use funds to create permanent supportive housing through the acquired Hudson apartments.
Vela is also looking forward to the Housing First Community Coalition’s upcoming Towne Twin Village, which will feature apartments, tiny home and RV trailers to accommodate 200 people.
“This gives them the opportunity to live in a community for our aging population. Everyone there will be over the age of 50, but it gives them a safe place to be and maintain that sense of community."
Opportunity Home officials (formerly the San Antonio Housing Authority) noted the waitlist for people needing affordable housing ballooned to 70,000, which doubled since the beginning of the pandemic.
In December, the San Antonio City Council approved the first round of funding for affordable housing projects as part of the $150 million five-year housing bond.