‘The end goal is to help:’ county leaders push new pilot program for homeless outreach in Leon Valley
A new deal is being drafted to help an age-old dilemma, and it’s coming at a pivotal time for homelessness in Bexar County.
“It’s key that we’re able to regularly engage with people and check on them,” said Katie Wilson, the executive director for Close to Home SA. “We’re starting to see that more people, especially families, are struggling with staying in housing and are falling into homelessness.”
The city of Leon Valley is partnering with Bexar County and Haven for Hope to launch a new pilot program focused on building connections and a community for those without shelter. They plan to walk the city streets and get to know people. The program is an outreach initiative, and Close to Home SA helps set these standards.
“You want to prevent homelessness wherever possible so that you don’t have an overwhelming number of people coming in in need of service,” Wilson said. “We expanded our outreach capacity within the city of San Antonio. But what we’ve seen is that the smaller municipalities haven’t had dedicated outreach.”
Terri Behling, the director of communications at Haven for Hope, said this would be another tool for the county to help people in need.
“It’s building that trust,” Behling said. “I think that is the key, meeting people where they are and slowly building that relationship to where they start looking at housing options and potential income options or whatever it is to get them to transform their lives.”
Behling said thus far in 2023, Haven’s outreach team had interacted with more than 430 people, and more than 200 of those individuals entered services with Havne. While this program is in the very early stages, Behling said the goal is to bridge the gap.
“This is just another tool in the toolbox to get people the help they need,” Behling said.
So, why Leon Valley? Robert H. Reyna, the community development director for Bexar County, said the city has reported issues.
“They were dealing with some issues pertaining to encampments and litter and living here and also in some grass fires,” Reyna said. “Homelessness is an issue countywide.”
In June, the Leon Valley City Council approved an ordinance that essentially bans homelessness or makes it illegal within city limits. The ordinance bans camping, lodging, or erecting a tent between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. at any public park or other recreational spaces. The ordinance also bans people from sleeping in a vehicle that is parked on a city street for more than 24 hours or more than two hours on a highway in the city limits.
Motor vehicles, campers and trailer coaches are not permitted to be used for “home habitation,” according to the ordinance.
As of early December, the program was still in the contract stage. Reyna said he hopes to see it implemented in the first couple of months of 2024.
“The end goal here is to help people who need it most,” Reyna said.
