At its April 14 meeting, the Hays County Commissioners Court approved April as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, examined data on homelessness and began reshaping how the county reviews high-impact development projects.
The court issued a proclamation recognizing April 2026 as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, heard a presentation on the 2026 Point-in-Time Count (PIT Count) from the Hays County Homeless Coalition, and began the creation of a High Intensity Development Review Division following the recent Clear Water Summit.
The proclamation said that 6.3 million Texans have experienced some form of sexual assault in their lifetime, including two in five women and one in five men, affecting all races, ages, genders and economic situations. Locally, the Hays Caldwell Women’s Center (HCWC) provided direct services to 471 adult victims of sexual assault in Hays and Caldwell counties during 2025.
Melissa Rodriguez, CEO of HCWC, said the organization is working to rebrand and be more inclusive to better reflect the populations it serves. However, a new name for the organization has not been decided at this time.
Rodriguez said it’s important that the public to rethink common misconceptions about sexual violence.
“Sexual Assault Awareness Month isn’t something we really talk about, and I want to recognize that the root causes of sexual violence are often misperceived by being just about sex,” Rodriguez said. “It’s actually about power and control, and it touches every part of our community.”
The proclamation stated that preventing sexual assault requires broad community engagement and education, and that the safety of residents depends on collective action to end sexual violence.
The Hays County Homeless Coalition’s annual PIT Count, a one-day census used to guide policy and funding decisions, is a federally required snapshot of people experiencing homelessness conducted each January to determine how to allocate housing and support resources.
Nancy Heintz, a board member of the Hays County Homeless Coalition, said the coalition separates homeless individuals into two categories when conducting the PIT Count. Unsheltered individuals are anyone found sleeping in a car, on the streets, or anywhere outside of a home or designated shelter. Sheltered individuals are anyone actively staying at a homeless shelter during the time the PIT Count is conducted.
The data presented by Heintz from the Jan. 22, 2026, PIT Count identified 94 unsheltered, a significant increase from the 55 in 2025. Sheltered individuals decreased to 57 from 132 in 2025.
Heintz said the data may undercount the true number of people experiencing homelessness due to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity during that time.
”The presence of ICE in Hays County during that time was making people lay low, and that made it very difficult for us to locate people,” Heintz said. “Many people were reluctant to speak to us because of the activity.”
The coalition’s goal is to make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring by coordinating service providers and using data from the PIT Count to inform resource allocations according to Heintz.
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra introduced a proposal to create a High Intensity Development Review Division within the county’s Development Services Department.
Becerra said the move stems directly from discussion at the March 27 Clear Water Summit.
The proposed division would evaluate large-scale projects that place heavy demand on water, power, land and infrastructure. If approved, it would also prompt budget planning and staffing development to support the new review process.
”Water is not a future issue. It is a responsibility right now,” Becerra said. “The question is whether we shape it responsibly on the front end or wait until the pressure hits and try to clean it up after.”
According to Becerra, the new division would provide greater coordination, technical review and accountability before major projects move forward.
Becerra said planning is already underway for future Clear Water Summit meetings, with nearly 100 participants expressing interest in continuing the regional collaboration.
On a select amount of Tuesday’s the Hays County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. Find out more on their website.
