At its May 20 meeting, the San Marcos City Council received a presentation on the Point-In-Time (PIT) count on the city’s population experiencing homelessness.
On Jan. 23 the Hays County Homeless Coalition (HCHC) in partnership with the Texas Homeless Network and volunteers conducted the annual one-day census in hopes to help shape future housing programs and resources for these individuals.
Nationally mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the PIT is a count of sheltered and unsheltered individuals and families that aims to collect data on homelessness in communities across the country.
The data presented a decrease in recorded unsheltered individuals from 2020-25, from 76 to 55 individuals in San Marcos. The count showed an equal distribution of sheltered and unsheltered individuals in San Marcos, however nearly two times as many men were unsheltered as women.
Although the count does not provide the exact number of individuals experiencing homelessness, the Rev. Joshua Sutherlun, co-chair of the HCHC, said the approximate data allows insights into the effectiveness of current housing programs and services in Hays County.
Sutherlun asked city council members for continued support toward better Hays County Emergency Response efforts throughout the homeless and overall communities.
“From our [HCHC] perspective, the county response is poor and since y’all are helping to lead, in my opinion, through COAD [Community Organizations Active in Disasters], you are leading that charge and we need y’all to help us get the rest of the county into the room so that we can have a county-wide response.” Sutherman said.
San Marcos City Council also approved a contract with Matrix Consulting Group to conduct a departmental staffing study for the San Marcos Police Department not exceeding an amount of $116,000.
According to the Matrix Consulting Group website, the consulting group focuses on providing detailed analysis on the needs and structure for local and state governments.
The 5 month-long study will conduct interviews and other analysis on the departments planning, budget styles, community engagement and more.
The contract was approved in a 6-to-1 vote.
The San Marcos City Council meets at 6 p.m. every first and third Tuesday of each month. For more information, visit its website.
