Housing & Opportunity for Foster Youth - Melissa Cabello Havrda for San Antonio

Let’s create Opportunities here at home

Housing + Opportunity

for foster youth

Every year, about 150 young people age out of foster care in San Antonio, too often with no home, no income, and no one to call.

Nationally, 50% of unhoused individuals report having experienced foster care. That’s not a coincidence. And the truth is, we can’t talk seriously about addressing homelessness without talking about foster youth, veterans, and others who’ve been failed by the very systems meant to protect them.

I’ve heard it too many times: that foster youth aren’t the city’s responsibility.

But let me be clear—you’ll never hear me say, “that’s not my job.” When it comes to protecting our most vulnerable, it’s all of our job.

That’s why I led the way in securing the largest municipal investment in foster youth in Texas—$7 million for housing, education, and support. But we have to go further.

As a city, we cannot ignore the root causes of our housing crisis or our public safety concerns. This plan is about preventing homelessness, breaking cycles of poverty, and creating opportunity. It builds on what I’ve already done—centering community voices and driving coordinated care—because we don’t just house people, we invest in them.

Create a Transitional Supportive Housing Campus for Foster Youth

This plan creates a coordinated, cross-sector model that provides housing, health, education, and career supports all in one place—an investment in human dignity and community well-being.

Identify and repurpose suitable public or nonprofit-owned properties (schools, motels, churches) into a campus-style facility.
Provide 20–30 units of transitional housing with wraparound services on-site.
On-site wraparound services, coordinated through trusted partners across the city and county like job training, GED prep, mental health counseling, and case management.
Communal spaces to foster connection, belonging, and a sense of home

Incorporate support for foster youth into affordable housing developments, homelessness outreach, housing bonds and public safety grant applications.
Set aside dedicated units or priority pathways in any city-funded shelter, including adding drop-in centers outside facilities like Haven for Hope and BCFS Preparation for Adult Living (PAL).
Work with existing community-based organizations to ensure trauma-informed, youth-centered support services are included alongside housing efforts.
Ensure coordination between SAPD, DHS, and service providers so outreach teams understand the needs of transition-age youth and can help them access long-term resources—not just temporary solutions.

Integrate Foster Youth Services into the City’s

Public Safety & Housing Strategies

Invest in Proven Educational

Success Models

Allocate annual city funding from the annual budget and housing bonds to BCFES to expand support services for college students with foster care history at UTSA, TAMUSA, and Alamo Colleges.
Expand citywide youth scholarships, workforce programs and emergency microgrants tied to college persistence and vocational training.
Ensure that foster alumni retention and graduation rates remain on par or above the general student population, as demonstrated in BCFES pilot results
Identify rapid rehousing to invest in and continue to develop drop-in or transitional options for target populations.

Establish a Foster Youth Navigator Program

Support and Strengthen a Regional

Foster Youth Resource Portal

Support and strengthen a central, publicly accessible portal that compiles all available programs, services, and eligibility criteria for foster youth and families seeking adoption opportunities in San Antonio and our region.
Tie in or integrate with SACRD for a holistic approach to providing resources, and build out content-specific portions for foster care.
Integrate city programs—like housing, education, and job training—into the platform.
Promote community awareness about the root causes of homelessness and the foster care-to-houselessness pipeline.

San Antonio has the heart. Now we need the infrastructure.

I believe every young person aging out of foster care deserves more than survival—they deserve a future.

This plan is about meeting people where they need us—before they end up on the streets and fall through the cracks. For too long, city leaders have said this isn’t our responsibility. But as mayor, I won’t be one of them. This plan puts our values into practice and turns community care into city policy. We don’t just house people—we invest in them.