The Planning and Community Development Committee received the City of San Antonio’s first FY2024 homelessness annual report during its Feb. 7 meeting. Patrick Steck, assistant director in the Human Services Department, presented system data, a budget overview and a set of accomplishments and priorities for the current fiscal year.

Steck said the city’s point‑in‑time snapshot in the presentation counted 888 people living unsheltered and about 2,484 people in emergency and temporary shelter on the night measured. He described a 6.8% year‑over‑year increase in the total point‑in‑time number and said the city’s per‑capita homelessness rate has remained relatively flat over the last decade, comparing favorably with growth seen in many other large Texas cities.

“Glad to present to you, this afternoon our first ever, homelessness annual report, which covers FY 2024,” Steck said as he opened the briefing. He described the city’s role coordinating with nonprofit partners, the county and federal funders and referenced Close to Home as the HUD‑designated lead continuum of care agency that operates the Homelink housing prioritization system and maintains the HMIS data platform.

Key findings and system flows: Steck told the committee the city’s HMIS data show system fluidity: in FY2024 roughly 2,200 people entered homelessness for the first time in the year, about 650 people re‑entered the system after prior engagement, and more than 2,000 people moved from unsheltered situations into emergency shelter or housing placements during the fiscal year. Steck said those flows produced a net of about 1,600 more individuals who were helped into improved living situations over the year.

Budget and costs: The report, Steck said, shows $32.3 million allocated in the FY2024 city budget for homelessness across multiple fund sources, with about $28.7 million in expenditures recorded for the fiscal year. Steck also said indirect public‑safety costs tied to responding to homelessness—an estimate that includes police and fire response—were about $20 million, yielding a total city‑organization estimate of roughly $48.8 million devoted to homelessness in FY2024.

Accomplishments and programs: Steck highlighted a series of FY2024 efforts and pilots. The city expanded the low‑barrier SAM hotel shelter from 45 rooms to 200 rooms and the site served roughly 330 individuals in the fiscal year. A centralized shelter coordination program with Haven for Hope helped outreach teams place more than 500 people into shelter quickly. The city and its partners coordinated roughly 1,300 encampment abatements last fiscal year and opened 41 housing units in FY2024 (124 units were opened or closed to date in the affordable housing pipeline since the post‑2020 bond era, according to the presentation). The report also described a skilled‑nursing pilot to place medically fragile people into nursing care and a “90 families in 90 days” pilot that housed 95 families in 95 days.

System priorities and concerns: Steck said Close to Home identified eight top priorities for the system in 2025; city staff listed complementary city objectives, including maintaining encampment response capacity, pursuing additional permanent supportive housing, maximizing opioid settlement dollars for treatment and considering a possible refresh of the city’s 2020 strategic plan on homelessness. Steck and committee members raised concern about the long‑term stability of federal funding streams and how the expiration of one‑time federal dollars or ARPA allocations could affect ongoing programs. Steck said some ARPA‑funded contracts are time‑limited and that HUD and other multi‑year federal grants play an important role.

Committee reaction and questions: Several council members thanked city staff and nonprofit partners and raised operational questions. Councilwoman Villagran and Councilman Pelaez emphasized the human dimensions of the work; Villagran recounted participating in the point‑in‑time count and said volunteers encountered people who had been homeless for many years. Councilman Courage asked that the report include metrics on how many people the city helped avoid becoming homeless through prevention programs; Steck said the HMIS and city dashboards track inflows, returns and prevention services and staff can look at additional reporting on prevention outcomes.

Capacity and municipal coordination: Committee members asked about coordination with county and neighboring municipalities, including outreach pilots described in the Haven for Hope newsletter in Leon Valley. Steck said county and municipal partners have funded and piloted outreach tied to Haven for Hope and that the city coordinates outreach coverage to avoid duplication. Councilmember Castillo asked for numbers on county contributions; Steck said he would provide details to the committee.

Next steps: Committee members asked that the presentation and its data go to a February B session for fuller council discussion; Steck confirmed the item is scheduled for the Feb. 26 B session and invited committee members to submit recommended clarifications for that packet.

Ending: The FY2024 homelessness annual report presents a mix of modest progress—particularly on unsheltered counts and shelter placements—and continued pressure on housing supply and grants. City staff and partners told committee members they will bring the report, supplementary maps and further budget and prevention metrics to the upcoming B session for broader council review.