The San Antonio Chamber of Commerce was excited to attend last Friday’s historic press conference informing the city and its citizens of a momentous milestone, the end of veteran homelessness in San Antonio. Last year, Mayor Ivy Taylor challenged the city to end homelessness for our veterans, and now, through a community-wide collaboration and effort, more than 1,335 homeless veterans have been placed or are currently being placed into permanent housing in San Antonio.
Reaching this important benchmark does not mean that there are no more homeless Veterans in the City. It means that systems are in place to ensure these Veterans will be supported quickly to resolve their current crisis and put them on the road to having a home and other important tools in order to live as productive members of our great city.
The City Hall event was attended by Julian Castro, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); City Manager, Sheryl Sculley; Shon Monasco, USAA’s Executive Vice President and Chief Administration Officer; as well as members of the City Council, formerly homeless Veterans, executives from non-profit organizations, and members of the San Antonio Police Department. USAA’s pledge of $2.1 million this past January helped to close the gap and was instrumental in meeting the mark of the Mayor’s Challenge.
Our very own Dave Petersen, Executive Vice President and Director of Military Affairs, attended as the Chamber’s representative on the South Alamo Regional Alliance for Homeless (SARAH) Board of Directors. Bill Hubbard, President of SARAH, applauded the City’s efforts toward ending homelessness. Other partners in the program include the American GI Forum National Veterans Outreach Program, Family Endeavors, San Antonio Housing Authority, Bexar County Housing Authority, SAMMinistries and Haven for Hope.
The Chamber is proud to count many of these organizations among our membership, and we aim to continue the work toward connecting our Business Members with this invaluable advocacy work for our Veterans and our Citizens.
