Verónica García outlines effort to expand housing for veterans, people with disabilities, unhoused residents and LGBTQ San Antonioans

Verónica García, identified in the meeting as director of community housing services, told the Community and Development/Planning panel that a new workforce and outreach effort will target housing for veterans, people with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness and LGBTQ residents.

“Lo 1º de esta fuerza de trabajo... estará dándose a conocer el 15 de enero y se va a llevar una discusión el enero 24 que nos va a ayudar a dar un reporte final,” García said, outlining a schedule of panels, community surveys and field visits intended to shape a five-year housing plan. She said the team will consult local and national models, hold panels (the first focused on people with disabilities was held Oct. 23, 2023) and include people with lived experience in events.

The presentation listed several approaches the workforce will use: focused panels with subject-matter panelists, outreach to service providers to identify concrete barriers, field visits to housing models across the city, and targeted surveys to reach affected populations. García cited Viller Hill Apartments as an example of an accessible, veteran-focused housing development and noted that the team is consulting with multiple local organizations and consultants to compile data for a five-year plan.

Councilmembers pressed for details on timeline, funding and design standards. Councilmember Castillo argued the city must move “with urgency more allá de los estándares de ADA” and suggested pursuing unconventional funding streams—including federal opportunities he described as coming through the Department of Justice—to serve veterans and people with criminal records. Castillo also asked that staff coordinate with Steven Huerta and review the work of the housing trust as part of those efforts.

Councilmember Cor described planned community events in December and January and urged the department to select diverse panelists, including university and youth-council representatives, to ensure outreach reaches the intended populations. Councilmember Galván emphasized the need for updated data on LGBTQ youth homelessness and voucher usage and requested earlier access to metrics as the workforce drafts standards.

García said the team will include representation from service providers and people with lived experience and that the final report will incorporate local research and national models. Next steps identified during the meeting included distributing the targeted survey, holding the Jan. 15 release and convening the Jan. 24 discussion that will inform the final report for the five-year plan.