San Antonio church may have to stop providing services to the homeless

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — A small church with a big mission is catching some heat from city hall.

Alex Fleming is the Pastor at Life Restored Church at 400 Arbor Place. He says they offer food and showers to hundreds of homeless people every week.

“About 180 showers a month and then 400 meals a week.”

Fleming tells KTSA’s Ware and Rima Show his church has been providing those services for about 4 years. In that time, they’ve also helped 20 people find jobs, get off the street and find their own home.

He says the church held a fundraiser to get money to build a shower facility and make sure there food Ministry meets the city’s specifications. Then he was told there is another issue.

The church is in an industrial zone and cannot provide those services.

Fleming says there is a need for his church in that area of town.

“There’s a lot of darkness here. These people need some light in their lives.”

He was told he would have to file a rezoning application which would cost him about $3,000. But when he asked if that would fix the problem, he was told “no”.

Fleming has been hit with about $1,800 in fines from the city for what he calls “false violations”.

“To have people fighting against us is just absurd. There are other pastors that as soon as they help the homeless, they get attacked. We are not gonna get bullied.”

Fleming is calling on the community to help him get past this latest hurdle. Either with a financial donation or with expertise in dealing with code compliance.

He believes the city is coming down so hard on his church and others for a number of factors including business expansion in the downtown area and that the city doesn’t want any competition for Haven for Hope, the campus for homeless that is located just a few blocks away.

If you would like to learn more about Life Restored Church or make a donation, you can check out their website .  You can also look them up on Facebook.