CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — It's unfortunate, but just like any metropolitan area, Mayor of Corpus Christi Paulette Guajardo said we have a large homeless population.
"Our homeless population is in the high hundreds," said Mayor Guajardo. "Probably right under a thousand."
Some of those experiencing homelessness are veterans. Carrie Myers is with the VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System. She said they always step in with there's a veteran in need, especially now if they're wanting to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
"We actually had one day where we would go and we would pick them up in the community," said Myers. "And we would bring them in the clinic to get their vaccination and then we would take them back."
To locate these folks, the city partnered with local shelters and outreach programs like the Salvation Army and Mission 911.
"We compile a list of all the veterans that are literally homeless, on the streets or in the shelters, and then we work as a team to get them the services they need," said Myers.
While veterans are being taken care of, Mayor Guajardo said soon, the 'Help our Homeless' program will kick start.
"We're doing it actually today to find out what the numbers look like at the different organizations," said Mayor Guajardo. "The J&J vaccine has been identified as the ideal vaccination for homeless populations or hard to reach populations."
The HOH program will start as soon as they get a Johnson and Johnson distribution.
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the Coastal Bend, click here.
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