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Texas Public Radio Presents KSTX Town Hall on Homelessness

Texas Public Radio continues the KSTX Town Hall series with a solutions-based conversation on homelessness in Bexar County. TPR will convene a panel of policy and community experts to engage the community in a civil discussion on the issue. This free, open-to-the public forum takes place on Tuesday, December 21 at 7 p.m. at the San Antonio Central Library Auditorium.

According to a report by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, between 700,000 and 2 million men, women and children experience homelessness every night in the United States.

According to SAMMinistries, 4,000 men, women and children are homeless in San Antonio on any given day. Twenty-seven percent of the homeless in San Antonio are employed, but nearly half of the employed homeless earn a monthly income of less than $350.

According to Haven for Hope, 47  percent of the homeless are families with children.  In fact, there are so many homeless children that the average age of the homeless in Bexar County is 9 years old. Additionally, 30 percent of the homeless are U.S. Veterans.

The KSTX Town Hall on Homelessness will identify exactly who are Bexar County’s homeless and educate the public on how and why men, women and children end up living on the streets. The discussion will identify the numerous obstacles the homeless face in their struggle to become self-sustaining and identify ways everyone can help mitigate homelessness in our community.  

Texas Public Radio’s Terry Gidea will moderate a panel of community and government leaders dedicated to tackling this issue in San Antonio. Confirmed participants include Scott Ackerson, vice president of transformational services at Haven for Hope; Marta Pelaez, president and CEO of Family Violence Prevention Services; Taylor Boone, associate pastor for Travis Park United Methodist Church’s Corazon Ministries; and Melody Woosley, assistant director for Homeless Services in the City of San Antonio Community Initiatives Department.

The KSTX Town Hall will air on Texas Public Radio’s The Newsmaker Hour at a later date.