SAN ANTONIO —San Antonio’s budget survey revealed encampment cleanups were a top 2024 priority for residents. City Council approved funding for more homeless outreach in hopes of getting more people into shelters.
“I started just as regular outreach worker,” said Pete Barrera. “Now I’m the senior manager of outreach.”
Barrera has worked at Haven for Hope for five years, helping the unhoused in San Antonio survive while living on the streets.
“People that’ve been in jail,” Barrera said. “People with mental health, substance use, old, young, veterans.”
He drives around to drainage tunnels where folks have set up camp, giving them the essentials off the back of his truck.
“We’re supposed to get cold tonight mom,” Barrera said. “They’re like mini sleeping bags.”
Although Haven for Hope is the largest homeless shelter in San Antonio, Barrera says he can’t force people to take his help.
“It takes time,” Barrera said. “Just us right here. We don’t trust everybody, right? Can you imagine people in the tunnels?”
But six days a week, Barrera is building that trust, hitting the streets, letting them know he can connect them to services.
“We’re not going to send someone homeless here to go be homeless somewhere else,” Barrera said. “You have to be going somewhere.”
As a former heroin addict, he’s been in their shoes. It was an experience he doesn’t want to relive.
“I’ve been in tents and things like that,” Barrera said. “Incarceration, of course, comes hand in hand with substance use. So yeah, it was rough, but someone finally reached out like I’m doing now and offered me help, and I took it.”
Recently, Bexar County commissioners approved about $5 million to increase homeless outreach. They're also funding housing efforts through a new pilot program on the Northwest Side.
“Getting a whole dorm with up to 85 beds is going to be strictly for outreach,” Barrera said. “Not just for me, but it’s also going to be for our partners.”
Smiles Behind Goods is partnering with Haven to collect winter donations. As temperatures drop, they want to make sure there are enough gloves, ponchos and socks for the outreach team.
“There’s so many people out on the streets struggling with homelessness that are in need of winter items,” said Chanel Williams, Smiles Behind Goods CEO. “January is the coldest month.”
Outreach is what Barrera loves. It's a chance to give others hope.
“Be safe, mama,” Barrera said. “I’ll talk to you later. Alrighty, that’s what we do.”
Share the Warmth is a drive-thru event at Haven for Hope on Jan. 13, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.. The Spurs coyote will be there as volunteers collect donations from vehicles.