Every summer, youth groups from all over the state and country travel to San Marcos — not to vacation or float the river — but to renovate and repair the homes of local families in need.
The Southside Community Center’s Summer Work Camp program has been a well-known staple of the San Marcos community for over 20 years, and is still going strong. Youth groups from all over the country with anywhere between five to 55 volunteers sign up for a week-long trip to San Marcos to work on homes of people who have applied for home renovations through the center.
The Southside Community Center takes new applications for home renovations every year. Applicants have to meet certain criteria to participate in the program, including applicants cannot have received help from any Community Development Block Grant rehab program in the past 5 years; the home can not be a mobile home, rental property or have renters that pay rent living in it; the home cannot have damage to the foundation; homes located in a flood plain must have flood insurance; and homeowners must be considered "low or very-low income," as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
