SAN ANTONIO – Many people experiencing homelessness make a significant effort to find jobs and living arrangements, but small legal expenses or access to documents can hold them back. That’s why SAMMinistries, which provides services to families experiencing homelessness, received a new grant to help eliminate those financial hurdles.
Homelessness is a complicated, multi-faceted experience -- and working hard to get back on your feet can be easily derailed by the simplest of things.
“It may be a traffic ticket. And, you know, 10 years later, it’s they owe $5000 and you kind of feel like they can’t move beyond that,” said Gay Lynn, chief operations officer of SAMMinsitries.
The organization received a grant of $17,500 from the Texas Bar Foundation to help clients pay specific pre-approved, legal-related costs that are obstacles to getting and keeping housing.
Those costs include:
- Court fines, probation fees, vehicle registration, traffic tickets
- Court ordered classes for DWI, anger management, drug offenses
- Fees and physicals associated with immigration cases
- Obtaining birth certificates and other official ID cards
“It will prevent someone, who otherwise is employed, to obtain and maintain their housing. But they just can’t get that sum of money together,” Lynn said.
Lynn said these small fees that add up over time create money loss, cause people to lose employment and ultimately fall back into homelessness.
The grant helps break that cycle.
The people who benefit from the grant have to be SAMMinistries clients, either living in the shelter or enrolled in their housing programs.
For more information, call 210-340-0302 or visit -SAMMinistries’ website.
