About Us | South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless

Who We Are & What We Do

We are responsible for collaborating with, listening to and collecting data from the
housing and homeless community to ensure everyone has a place to call home.

Who We Are & What We Do

The SARAH Story

In 2015, the South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless (SARAH) was designated as the lead Continuum of Care (CoC) agency for San Antonio and Bexar County. As the CoC, SARAH secures and distributes funding for direct service providers in the housing and homeless community and provides guidance to strengthen policies and programs. SARAH is responsible for collaborating with, listening to, and collecting data from the housing and homeless community to ensure everyone has a place to call home.

Our Mission

We exist to ensure everyone has a place to call home in San Antonio and Bexar County.

Our Vision

We envision a San Antonio and Bexar County community where everyone has a safe place to call home. We achieve this vision by strengthening our coordinated system of care, promoting sustainable strategies, and focusing on measurable impact.

Our Values

Inclusion – We embrace differences, recognize the inherent value of diverse perspectives, and create spaces for authentic collaboration.

Empowerment – We see the potential in people, lead with trust, and elevate strengths.

Diligence – We are rigorous in our analysis, strategic with our solutions and disciplined with our implementation and continuous refinement.

Learning – We are students of impact, strive to be subject matter experts, and recognize setbacks as opportunities for growth.

System Leadership – We nurture the health of the whole by catalyzing and supporting the process of systems-level change to collaboratively build the vision for our Continuum of Care.

CoC Lead Agency

SARAH is designated by the federal department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as the Continuum of Care (CoC) Lead Agency for San Antonio and Bexar County (TX-500). As the CoC Lead, SARAH oversees the CoC Program, which has HUD funding dedicated to housing with services to prevent and end homelessness in our community. On an annual basis, SARAH conducts a funding competition and submits a collaborative application on behalf of our community. CoC Program Grantees use Homelink, our community’s Coordinated Entry System, to connect clients with available housing resources.

HUD CoC Resources

Local Policies

We’re proud to work together with service providers and partner agencies across San Antonio and Bexar County to end homelessness.

Alamo Colleges District

American GI Forum – National Veterans Outreach Program

Bexar County

Bexar County Health Collaborative

Catholic Charities

Catholic Worker House

Center for Healthcare Services

CentroMed

City of San Antonio, Department of Human Services

Corazon Ministries

Crosspoint, Inc.

Daughters of Charity Services

Our Board of Directors & Leadership

SARAH Leadership

Katie Vela

Executive
Director

Richard Huron

Director of Finance and Administration

Chelsey Viger

Director of Policy and Planning

TBD

Director of Evaluation
and Research

Eboni Jett

Director of Systems

Billy Mahone

Director of
Community Engagement

SARAH Board of Directors

Leilah Powell,
Board President

CEO, Local Initiatives Support Corporation

Lori Stinson,
Vice President

Program Director, San Antonio Chamber of Commerce

Phil Beckett,
Treasurer

CEO, Healthcare Access San Antonio

Greg Zlotnick,
Secretary

Director of Pro Bono Programs, St. Mary’s University School of Law

Salena Santibanez
Consumer Seat
CEO, GPS Consulting
Kameron Rhys
Youth Action Board
Youth Action Board President
Melody Woosley
Director, Department of Human Services, City of San Antonio
Greg Matula
Director of Corporate Communications, NuStar Energy, L.P.
Scott Ackerson
Membership Council Chair
Executive Vice President at Prospera Housing Community Services
Craig Hopkins
Chief Information Officer, City of San Antonio
Javier Salazar
County Sheriff, Bexar County
Leslie Komet
President/CEO, Komet Marketing Communications, Inc.
Nikisha Baker
Membership Council Service Director At-Large
President and CEO of SAMMinistries

Tyler Shoesmith
School District Seat
Senior Director, North East ISD
William McManus
Chief of Police, San Antonio Police Department
Heather Summers
Manager, Bexar County Economic and Community Development
Dr. Jack Tsai
Campus Dean and Professor, UTHealth School of Public Health

CoC Board Meeting Minutes

Board Committees

Board committees are chaired by CoC Board members and composed of professionals with expertise in various sectors related to homelessness. The role of committees is to recommend policy and planning decisions to the CoC Board of Directors. To view the bylaws of the committees, click here to read our Nonprofit Bylaws and Governance.

If you are interested in applying for a committee, please email contactsarah@sarahomeless.org for more information.

HMIS Advisory
Committee

Members of this committee are responsible for reviewing and recommending policies, procedures, customization, and plans for the local Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). To learn more, click here.

Committee Chair: Phillip Beckett
Co-Chair: Dr. Jack Tsai
SARAH Staff Lead: Madeline Carrola

Point-in-Time Count Committee

Members of this committee oversee planning and implementation of the Point-in-Time Count, an annual census of people experiencing homelessness in our community. To learn more about the PIT Count, click here.

Committee Chair: Leslie Komet
Co-Chair: Gregory Zlotnick
SARAH Staff Lead: Chelsey Viger

Coordinated Entry
Advisory Committee

Members of this committee are focused on managing the strategic direction, implementation, and administration of San Antonio and Bexar County’s local Coordinated Entry System, Homelink. Click here to learn more.

Committee Chair: Melody Woosley
Co-Chair: Jo Estrada
SARAH Staff Lead: Eboni Jett

Youth Action Board

Members of this governing board represent the youth/young adult voice in the Continuum of Care and oversee planning and implementation of the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP). 2/3 of members must have lived experience of homelessness and be under 25 years old. To learn more, click here.

Board Liaison: Salena Santibañez
SARAH Staff Lead: Suyapa Muñoz