Katie Hennessey
A person experiencing homelessness eats a meal obtained at San Antonio Church Under the Bridge, which provides emergency food services.
The number of individuals in the Alamo City suffering through chronic homelessness who also are diagnosed with a disabling condition is up 77% since 2020, according to the latest Homeless Point-in-Time Census, released last month by South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless (SARAH). The document is an annual count of people in Bexar County experiencing homelessness.
The total number of people without roofs over their heads in Bexar County was up just 2% since 2020, according to the report. However, adjusted for population growth, the amount remained essentially flat.
That stability runs counter to surging homelessness in other U.S. urban centers since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even so, the overall number of those in those in Bexar County experiencing chronic homelessness — or homeless for a year or more — is concerning. That total climbed by 4.5% since 2020.
Even more alarming to SARAH, though, is the spike in chronic homelessness among people with disabling conditions, said Katie Vela, the group's executive director.
“Even though the numbers are flat, the need level, that chronic homeless population — which means that they’ve been homeless longer than a year — [who] have some sort of disabling condition, we saw an increase there,” she said.
Vela said San Antonio's abundance of shelters such as Haven for Hope helps explain why the overall numbers haven't boomed. Even so, she said a lack of permanent supportive housing may explain the rise in chronic homelessness, especially among those with disabilities.
“There is a lot of traction with the city and county to develop more units where there are clinical case management services on site,” said Vela, who also co-chaired the Citizens Committee on Housing. “The housing bond will be part of that work. But that’s really what we need. The same 500 or so people continue to be left behind because we don’t have the long-term intervention that we need.”
San Antonio voters passed a $1.2 billion bond proposal in May — the largest in the city’s history. Around $150 million of that total goes to affordable housing, with $25 million exclusively for the permanent supportive housing Vela says the city needs to remedy chronic homelessness.
"When you think about this chronic homeless population that is using emergency services, emergency rooms, 911 calls, it's much cheaper to get someone into permanent supportive housing," Vela said. "It's better for the community."
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