2026-08-27 · housing
San Antonio's new homeless camp strategy could end with fences, patrols and arrests
San Antonio is testing a "decommissioning" strategy for homeless encampments in which the city pauses sweeps of targeted campsites for up to six weeks while outreach workers help residents find housing or shelter, then uses fences, patrols or trespassing enforcement to keep the camps from re-forming. The Express-News reported the city plans to spend $9 million from the 2022 affordable housing bond on new facilities for the homeless, potentially an emergency shelter or transitional housing, to offset a loss of shelter beds.
The city's fiscal year 2025 budget allocated $44 million for homeless services, including the cleanup of 1,300 encampments.