Close to Home

This year, Close to Home is raising funds to support the integration of lived expertise into the homeless response system and Billy Bundle supplies. 

The Youth Action Board (YAB) and Lived Expertise Advisory Board (LEAB) are people who are currently or have previously experienced housing insecurity and/or homelessness that provide their personal perspective to improve the homeless response system in San Antonio/Bexar County. Your donation will empower them to lead and advocate for change by supporting their participation in meetings with stipends, transportation, dinner, and emergency funds. Your donation also supports their participation throughout the community and their annual "Self-Care Expo", an event to give back to homeless service providers.

By intentionally inviting people with lived expertise to the table where decisions are made, we ensure we don't overlook crucial aspects of our response system, misinterpret experiences, or inadvertently perpetuate inequities within the system. We live by the mantra "Nothing about us, without us!".

Billy Bundles help us make a difference when we encounter someone experiencing homelessness. By donating to Close to Home during the Big Give, you can provide a Billy Bundle and offer support to our neighbors experiencing homelessness. Each $5 bundle includes water, a granola bar, and a resource to connect unhoused individuals with essential services. Named in honor of Billy Mahone III, a beloved advocate and Close to Home team member who passed away in July 2023, these bundles are a simple yet impactful way to help those in need as well as honor his tradition and legacy. 

What it takes to support the inclusion of People with Lived Experience: 

Most LEAB and YAB meetings are scheduled at night to offer flexibility for those with daytime jobs. Providing dinner at a meeting relieves food insecurity or stress for one day, as well as providing bus passes, gas gift cards, and stipends to alleviate additional stressors or barriers to participating. Below is a breakdown of how your donation supports these programs and feedback for individuals currently enrolled in programs to provide their expertise. 

Donation Levels

$25 = A gift card for individuals experiencing homelessness as an incentive for providing their expertise and feedback on projects.

$50 = Transportation, help a Lived Expertise member attend events and meetings by paying for bus passes, gas, or an Uber ride.

$100 = Buy dinner for our Lived Expertise members for one meeting.

$500 = This will help pay for the Lived Expertise members to participate in community table events, purchase refreshments, print resources, and create supply kits to hand out.

$2,500 = Sponsor the Self-Care Expo. This expo provides homeless service professionals with activities like massages, yoga, acupuncture, haircuts, journaling, and more. The Lived Expertise Advisory Board, which comprises members who have experienced homelessness and housing insecurity, believes that healthy rest and care are integral to workers in the homeless response system.

Why the "Billy Bundle" movement and what it takes:

Billy Bundles are a community campaign that makes our city a more compassionate place to live. This movement ensures we treat our unhoused neighbors as our neighbors with the same dignity and respect as anyone else in our community. This kind gesture helps people get connected to resources and feel seen, encouraged, and supported during the journey out of homelessness. 

$25 = Supplies to assemble 5 Billy Bundles for distribution to 5 unhoused neighbors.

$50 = Supplies to assemble 10 Billy Bundles for distribution to 10 unhoused neighbors.

Who We Are

SARAH is 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.