Close to Home began in 2006 as a volunteer-led effort to address homelessness in San Antonio and Bexar County. After nearly a decade of community-driven work, the organization hired its first full-time employee in 2015 and was designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2016 as the lead agency for the local Continuum of Care, now coordinated through the Alliance to House Everyone.
In 2023, the organization rebranded from South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless (SARAH) to Close to Home to better reflect its mission of ensuring everyone in the community has a place to call home and its person-centered approach to ending homelessness. Today, Close to Home serves as the backbone organization for the Alliance to House Everyone, working alongside partner organizations to strengthen and align the local homelessness response system. The organization leads system-wide strategic planning, manages coordinated entry through Homelink, and supports data, funding, and performance alignment across partners. Through this work, Close to Home helps drive a more coordinated, effective response that makes homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring.
We believe in the dignity and value of every human being. We work intentionally to create fair outcomes for everyone.
The Continuum of Care (CoC) is a coordinated, community-wide system that helps people at risk of or experiencing homelessness access prevention, outreach, shelter, housing, and supportive services. Close to Home is designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as the CoC lead for San Antonio and Bexar County, responsible for guiding and supporting this system.
Rather than providing services directly, Close to Home works with partner agencies that deliver these resources. Through this coordinated approach, households are connected to the support they need to prevent homelessness when possible, resolve crises quickly, and achieve long-term housing stability.
Close to Home began in 2006 as a volunteer-led effort to address homelessness in San Antonio and Bexar County. After nearly a decade of community-driven work, the organization hired its first full-time employee in 2015 and was designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2016 as the lead agency for the local Continuum of Care, now coordinated through the Alliance to House Everyone.
In 2023, the organization rebranded from South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless (SARAH) to Close to Home to better reflect its mission of ensuring everyone in the community has a place to call home and its person-centered approach to ending homelessness. Today, Close to Home serves as the backbone organization for the Alliance to House Everyone, working alongside partner organizations to strengthen and align the local homelessness response system. The organization leads system-wide strategic planning, manages coordinated entry through Homelink, and supports data, funding, and performance alignment across partners. Through this work, Close to Home helps drive a more coordinated, effective response that makes homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring.
