Corpus Christi awards nearly $204k to local nonprofits for homelessness services

When someone is already on the streets or one unexpected bill away from losing their home local nonprofits are often the ones people turn to.

Now, some of those organizations will have new funding to help answer that call.

Corpus Christi City Council has approved state funding to help local nonprofits provide housing and support services.

The funding comes through the state-funded Homeless Housing and Services Program, with the city helping select the organizations that will receive the money.

Four local organizations are each set to receive about $51,000:

Mother Teresa Shelter, The Salvation Army, Mission 911, Esperanza de Tejas

There was also funding designated for addressing youth homelessness.

Esperanza de Tejas is one of the organizations receiving funding.

Bridgette Vela says she sees firsthand how many families are struggling to afford basic necessities.

“Yes, I do see firsthand of families who are in need, um, for essentials… It’s a very big impact in our community where we do see a lot of families needing the help from us.”

Gabriel Longoria, also with Esperanza de Tejas, says his own experiences with financial hardship help him understand the barriers people face.

“My personal journey is that, just experiencing my own personal hardships… trying to make it through college was a barrier for me.”

Longoria says those experiences showed him both the gaps people can face and the resources that can help them move forward.

He says the new funding will allow Esperanza de Tejas to reach more people in Corpus Christi.

“This is gonna be able to provide more, to help more people… This will allow us to access more of those resources so that we can help more people within the city of Corpus Christi.”

Mission 911 is also receiving funding.

Lauren Cargill says the grant is particularly important because the organization relies heavily on community support.

“We’re grateful for anything that we’re able to do. And also I think there’s a positive in bringing the other agencies in is that we’re able to collaborate and work together a little bit more.”

The funding could also give the participating organizations more opportunities to coordinate their efforts and connect people with services.

While the Free Store Corpus Christi did not receive funding in this round, CEO and founder Marilena Garza says local nonprofits continue to see growing demand for assistance.

Garza says her organization has served thousands of people across the Coastal Bend since 2021.

She says requests for help with utilities, rent and food continue to increase.

“We are seeing increases in demands for utility relief, rental relief, food assistance. Food assistance is topping almost all of the categories.”

Garza believes the city could do more to coordinate the community’s response to homelessness.

She also says competition for limited funding can be difficult for nonprofits.

“It’s cutthroat. It’s the difference between an organization still being here or not.”

For the organizations receiving funding, the money means additional resources to help people who are already experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of losing their homes.

And as demand for basic necessities continues to grow, local nonprofits say the need for those resources isn’t going away.

The awards are contingent on the city receiving executed agreements from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. The funding will take effect Sept. 1, 2026, or when the state agreements become effective, whichever is later.

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