Haven for Hope
One Haven for Hope Way
San Antonio, Texas 78207
www.havenforhope.org
The Haven for Hope campus will be operational in 2010, and will have a
phased opening, beginning with the community dental clinic.
This campus for the San Antonio community’s homeless will bring together all
the necessary services to address the root causes of homelessness. The campus
will provide food, clothing, shelter and an array of social services including
but not limited to job training, medical and dental services and day care to
Haven for Hope members, prospective members and the surrounding community.
PURPOSES
Haven for Hope proposes to reintegrate San Antonio’s homeless
population back into the community through a structured transformation process.
Haven for Hope seeks to:
- Provide a wide array of social services to combat the root causes of
homelessness in a convenient central location
- Provide open access to emergency shelter for families and individuals
experiencing a housing crisis
- To oversee the provision of such services to assist families and
individuals to resolve their housing crisis
- Develop and implement a strategy to increase community awareness about
the causes of and solutions to homelessness
- Advocate and coordinate community planning for low income housing and
other homelessness-related issues
- Reduce homelessness by providing homeless people the resources, skills
and assistance necessary to become self-sufficient in a manner that is
humane, efficient and cost-effective
BACKGROUND
In early 2006, San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger and business and civic
leader Bill Greehey met to discuss the serious and growing problem of
homelessness in Bexar County. The mayor then established the Community
Council to End Homelessness, naming Greehey as chairman of the effort and
then District 5 City Councilwoman Radle Co-Chair. Greehey, Radle, and the rest
of the council, which is composed of community and business leaders, were
charged with developing a plan to reduce homelessness in San Antonio. The group
conducted extensive research on homelessness, and visited and studied successful
homeless centers around the country. From their research the following lessons
were identified:
- Treating the root causes of homelessness with a wide array of social
services, (education, job training, day care, substance abuse treatment,
medical care, identification recovery, case management, etc.) in a single,
central location resulted in a 60% success rate (defined as a year of
totally self-sufficient living) in San Diego – Haven for Hope's goal for San
Antonio.
- A single facility hosting of all key service providers in a campus-style
environment is more effective than having services spread throughout the
community.
- It is imperative that the facility be managed by an independent board,
free of political red tape.
Goals
Combining the best practices of each facility with a significant amount of
research, the group set a vision for Haven for Hope to become an
innovative facility that will provide a wide range of social services to meet
the needs of San Antonio’s homeless community in a "one-stop" setting. Far
beyond shelter, food and clothing, Haven for Hope’s services will be
geared to combat the root causes of homelessness, with dozens of partner
agencies providing the services.
Plans call for a large campus to be built near downtown, close to existing
social service facilities. The project will be funded through a combination of
public funds (city, county and federal) as well as private donations.
Once complete, this center will immediately improve lives in Bexar County. It
will also represent tremendous cost savings, since it is much less expensive to
treat the homeless in a center of this kind than it is through publicly funded
emergency rooms or other care facilities. Effective treatment also keeps the
homeless out of the legal system and jail, and additional research shows that up
to 80 percent of people who become homeless within a given year can exit
homelessness quickly – if they get the assistance they need.
Services
Haven for Hope will provide homeless people with the resources, skills
and assistance necessary to become self sufficient. To make this happen, the
organization will work with a wide range of third-party providers to provide
their services in a single, central location that will be a campus that will
include approximately 800 beds. And while the list will continue to change and
grow based on the needs of our city’s homeless population, following is a
summary of the many services that will be available at Haven for Hope:
Residential areas for families and individuals
- Includes emergency and long-term shelter
- Designated areas for veterans
- Designated areas for long-term supportive care for senior citizens and
the sick & disabled.
Health Services
- Medical clinic
- Dental clinic
- Vision clinic
- Podiatry clinic
- Mental health and substance abuse treatment clinic
- Immunizations and other preventative healthcare
Transformational Services
- Shared classrooms and conference rooms for job skills and life skills
training
- Library and learning center
- Legal services
- Housing services
- Public benefits (food stamps, social security income, etc.)
- Childcare center, after-school program, and education
- Outreach services
- Veterans’ services
- Case management services
- Identification recovery
- Pet shelter services
Other Services
- Food services (includes culinary training)
- Mail center
- Barber shop
- Exercise and recreational areas
- Banking services
- Chapel
- Clothing closet/store area
- Telephone areas
- Central transportation desk
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
- Safe indoor and outdoor sleeping zones for those who are engaged in the
transformation process (members)
- Safe indoor and outdoor sleeping zone for those who have not yet chosen
to engage in the transformation process (prospects)
- Dining Facilities
- Medical, dental and mental health services
- Education, job training, employment, and life skills
- An array of services for both members of Haven for Hope, prospects and
the community at large
PROJECT LOCATION
Haven for Hope’s campus will be located 1.2 miles west of San
Antonio’s Central Business District. It is bounded by Ruiz Street to the north,
North Frio and Salado streets to the east, and the Union Pacific Railroad to the
south and west. The heart of the campus lies at the intersection of Perez and
Comal streets.
Map
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