UT San Antonio students are collaborating with a local nonprofit organization to help identify housing barriers and find solutions for veterans in San Antonio.
Rowdy Corps Community Scholars Wael Albakri, Ameerah Babs-Kazeem and Katlyn Hinkle worked with the American GI Forum of My City Is My Home to analyze local rental listings and strengthen online tools that help community members find housing options. Five additional Rowdy Corps members supported data collection: David Simon, Kevin Hadley, Angienelly Lerma, Najom Sweet and Oghenekome Odharo.
The American GI Forum of My City Is My Home is a San Antonio-based nonprofit focused on housing access and education for renters and homeowners. The organization develops free tools and community programs to help residents understand their housing options, overcome barriers and connect with resources.
The team evaluated more than 1,200 apartment records and 1,600 single-family rental listings to better understand the barriers residents face when searching for housing. They examined whether families have realistic access to housing by analyzing application costs, screening requirements, voucher acceptance and navigation challenges that often prevent residents from securing stable residences.
“I believe the work we’re doing with My City Is My Home helps people feel a little less lost when they’re trying to find housing,” Babs-Kazeem said. “There are so many people who want a safe and stable place to live but may not know where to start or what resources are available to them. Having information about renting, housing vouchers, affordable housing, and other resources all in one place can help people understand their options and feel more confident taking that next step. I also hope this work reaches people who really need it and makes finding a place to call home feel a little more possible.”
The students also strengthened My City Is My Home’s Housing Finder, a searchable rental-housing database containing information on more than 1,200 apartment communities in the San Antonio area. They researched and verified housing information, identified inconsistencies and developed standardized data practices to improve the tool’s accuracy and transparency.
The students also tested and refined Housing Helper, a free AI-powered tool that helps San Antonio and Bexar County residents navigate housing challenges. The tool provides educational resources for renters, homeowners, veterans, seniors, voucher holders and families, helping users identify next steps and connect with community resources.
“The students did more than help us clean up data,” said Rich Acosta, treasurer of My City Is My Home. “They helped us look at housing from the renter’s perspective — whether someone can actually use the information to find a place they can qualify for and afford. That work strengthened both the Housing Finder and Housing Helper and gives us a better foundation for future housing research.”
The students’ research contributed to the San Antonio Housing Access Report, developed in partnership with My City Is My Home.
Among its findings, the report identified significant barriers for renters using housing vouchers. Of the 1,637 single-family and duplex rental records analyzed, 92% were advertised as not accepting Section 8 vouchers.
“The central idea of this report is simple: an advertised unit is not necessarily an accessible unit,” Albakri said.
Acosta believes the work of the Rowdy Corps students will directly help with the issues identified in the report.
“For many families, the challenge is not simply whether a rental unit exists,” he said. “The challenge is whether they can realistically access it after application fees, credit requirements, eviction history, voucher policies and other screening barriers are considered. The Rowdy Corps students helped us turn that problem into better data and more practical tools for the community.”
Building community-engaged Roadrunners
Rowdy Corps Community Scholars, part of the UT San Antonio Center for Civic and Community-Engaged Leadership, is a community-based experiential learning federal work-study program that engages students at the university with the broader San Antonio community. The program gives work-study-eligible students opportunities to gain professional experience through paid internships at more than 45 nonprofit organizations and public-serving agencies across San Antonio.
The center is part of UT San Antonio’s Career-Engaged Learning unit, which advances the university’s Classroom to Career Initiative by connecting students with experiential learning opportunities that develop professional skills and strengthen community partnerships.
“Partnering with local nonprofit organizations provides students with the opportunity to gain an understanding of real-world challenges, apply their academic studies and develop social responsibility while further developing career-ready skills,” said Maria Alejandro, director of the Center for Civic and Community-Engaged Leadership.
