BOERNE, Texas — As it continues to grow outside the outskirts of of San Antonio, Boerne is now facing new issues that come with that progress.
A homeless camp has set up near the intersection of I-10 and Highway 46 near the spot where panhandlers are asking for money. David, who asked that we not use his last name, has been living in the camp for a year.
It was a year ago that his world fell apart when he lost his wife of two decades.
“Since I lost my wife, I cry a lot,” he said.
David said he had to sell everything to pay for her funeral.
“That just tore me all up,” he said.
He then came to Boerne and has been living in the camp ever since, but every day is a struggle.
“I don’t like sitting here panhandling and doing all that kind of stuff, begging. I’d rather sit here and work for my meal,” he said.
David’s is just one story out of the dozen who live in the camp.
It’s bringing big city issues to this small town.
“I think they need assistance and I think that our county is smaller," Boerne resident Denise Dever. "Our city is 16,000 and we don’t have any permanent services available to them. They need help though."
Mayor-elect and former City Councilman Tim Handren has been trying to find a solution.
“It’s not an epidemic, but it’s not something that is easily solved,” he said.
Handren said he’s working with the Boerne police chief to connect with larger agencies in San Antonio that have dealt with homelessness on a large scale.
“I think, from a city standpoint, we’re a very caring community," Handren said. "We’re trying to do everything we can to help, but you can only go so far, and people make their own choices."
He said city council hasn’t addressed the issue thus far, but he plans to add it to the agenda in the near future.
As for David, he just hopes he can get back on his feet.
“Maybe I can sit here and get a life again,” he said.
The Boerne Church of Christ and the Hill Country Daily Bread Ministries are helping David and the others in the homeless camp with resources like food, clothing and even a workforce job program.