City announces ten-year plan end hunger and homelessness

The Mayor’s Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness announced today a ten-year plan to end hunger and chronic homelessness in San Antonio. The plan is the result of a 16-month process. Click here to see the plan

The Task Force, which is co-chaired by District 5 Councilwoman Patti Radle and District 7 Councilman Julian Castro was charged with developing short and long-term strategies to address hunger and homelessness. 

“The plan will assert the compassionate face of the San Antonio community – a face that says it is not enough to simply provide more emergency shelters and food. It speaks of a community that says we must provide services that get to the root cause of homelessness and will truly help the homeless to find a way off the street, a way to job, a way to family stability,” said Radle.

Some of the plan’s recommendations include the creation of 800 new permanent housing units for persons with disabilities; increasing access to public restroom facilities; increasing food stamp enrollment and expanding the San Antonio Food Bank storage facility. 

For FY 2005, $1,183,039 was allocated to hunger and homelessness initiatives, which included an additional $250,000 approved by City Council for a Day Center and/or Mobile Canteen that will serve homeless individuals and families. Services for this new initiative are anticipated to begin in March of this year.

"There is no acceptable reason, in the year 2005, that a single San Antonian should go hungry. This plan offers a practical blueprint to drastically reduce hunger," said Castro.

The plans draws on data from the 2003 U.S. Conference of Mayor’s Report, San Antonio/Bexar County Continuum of Care (CoC), the 2003 Census Report, as well as substantial input by CoC members and other key community stakeholders.
The Task Force was established in July 2003 and is comprised of representatives of the community as well as agencies that serve homeless individuals and provide food assistance.

“The homeless are not social misfits. The homeless are our brothers and sisters who, for one reason or other, simply do not have a home. This plan, prepared by many people from the San Antonio community who have been dealing with issues of homelessness for decades, connects us as a family to those who struggle for the very basics in the pursuit of happiness,” said Radle.

The Hunger and Homelessness Ten-Year Plan was presented to City Council on January 13. The Council will discuss funding options for the plans within the next two weeks.