SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The city of San Antonio and Corazon Ministries, a nonprofit, have launched a Sharps Collection Pilot Program that includes installing a drug needle disposal kiosk near downtown San Antonio. The city currently ranks number two in the state in terms of the number of people experiencing homelessness, second only to Dallas.
The pilot program was announced in a Wednesday press release by District One City Councilwoman Dr. Sukh Kaur. The latest harm reduction program in the Alamo City comes as the number of those experiencing homelessness in San Antonio surpassed the homeless population figures within the cities of Houston and Austin. The increase in the homeless population includes many who struggle with drug addiction and mental health issues.
Breitbart Texas visited the kiosk site located near several parks frequented by the city’s homeless population. Several blocks away from the newly installed drug needle disposal kiosk, members of the homeless community lined up on Thursday outside Corazon Ministries for services that included warm meals and health and wellness services.
The workload for Corazon Ministries and other non-profits serving the homeless community has risen significantly in recent years and is likely to continue to increase.
According to a Point in Time (PIT) survey in September 2025, the population of homeless citizens in San Antonio, both sheltered and unsheltered, increased by 7.5 percent from 2024 to 2025 and by 6.9 percent from 2023 to 2024. The 2020 PIT study estimated the population at nearly 3,000. The latest estimate shows that the population has grown to 3,625 in 2025, a 23 percent increase from 2020.
The latest harm reduction pilot program is part of a larger effort put forth by several nonprofit organizations that include Corazon Ministries and associates like the Bexar Area Harms Reduction Coalition. The groups operate the only legal syringe exchange programs in the state of Texas, authorized by the state legislature as a pilot program in 2007 for Bexar County only.
Federal funds made available through grants specifically aimed at harm reduction measures are no longer available. The measures, which include syringe exchanges, now run afoul of a July Executive Order signed by President Trump that bans federal funding for “so-called ‘harm reduction’ or ‘safe consumption’ efforts.
The order signed by President Trump in July, titled Ending Crime and Disorder On America’s Streets, compels the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take appropriate action to, among other things, “ensure that discretionary grants issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for substance use and disorder prevention, treatment, and recover fund evidence-based programs and do not fund programs that fail to achieve adequate outcomes, including so-called “harm reduction” or “safe consumption” efforts that only facilitate illegal drug use and its attendant harm.”
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X @RandyClarkBBTX.
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