SAN ANTONIO – Crumbled concrete sits at the bottom of a drainage ditch along U.S. Highway 281 North near Bitters Road, where forceful floodwaters rushed through on the evening of Aug. 31.
This week, the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office identified two people swept away in the flood as Robert Gaytan, 52, and Nicole Lynn Keller, 43. Gaytan and Keller drowned, and both were experiencing homelessness.
“They were known in the community of those experiencing homelessness,” said Nikisha Baker, the president and CEO of SAMMinistries.
Their deaths have sparked a bigger conversation in San Antonio about flood prevention projects for people without shelter. Nonprofits, such as SAMMinistries, are looking for solutions.
“The primary goal is to get folks off the street and into a safe place,” Baker said.
When discussing how outreach could change to better respond to weather-related events after this year’s flood-related deaths, Baker said, “We know what we do in the winter and we know what we do in extreme heat.” She added that flash flood response “is probably going to become a standard effort for our outreach teams.”
SAMMinistries is a part of San Antonio’s homeless response system. Close to Home, another nonprofit, focuses on addressing homelessness and housing insecurities.
“I think we all have a lot to learn from what’s happened over the last year,” Katie Wilson, executive director of Close to Home, said.
Wilson said Close to Home is working to have conversations with people experiencing homelessness about solutions that are needed.
“We have some ideas about alert systems, but this is where it’s really critical that we go get feedback,” Wilson said.
New yellow posters with the City of San Antonio branding have popped up near creeks and drainage channels, warning of the dangers of flooding. On Wednesday, KSAT spotted at least two posters near where the Aug. 31 flood happened.
Those posters link to San Antonio’s Community Connections Hotline. Those in need of help can call 210-207-1799 for assistance.
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