SAN ANTONIO – The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office is getting involved in helping clean up city streets of homeless camps.
Deputies recently cleared out camps at Walzem Road and Parkcrest Drive and another at Northwest Military Drive and Wurzbach Parkway, where deputies also found drugs.
Sgt. Elizabeth Gonzalez said the Sheriff's Office was alerted by concerned citizens through its social media page on Nextdoor.
“In this instance, that’s something we find very concerning, that there's needles in this area very close to a residential community,” Gonzalez said.
Deputies don’t always make arrests. They offer resources to help those people and also call the Bexar County Environmental Services team to clear the area.
“Some individuals may have some mental issues. They maybe disoriented, and obviously, that’s a concern we want to go out and we want to assess them and make sure they have the resources available to them,” she said.
Larry Easley is a business owner and resident who lives near Northwest Military and Wurzbach Parkway. He said law enforcement officers are doing their part to help with the problem, but his fellow taxpayers also need to do their part.
“Stop giving them money,” he said.
He deals with the daily problems of the panhandlers littering his streets and his backyard.
“I see these people on a daily basis. They sleep on my property. I found needles on my property,” Easley said.
District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez and Prue San Antonio Fear Free Environment put out a message on social media urging the community not to give panhandlers food or money, but instead to donate to organizations that help the homeless.