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City Hall Takes a Field Trip to Haven For Hope
By Edmond Ortiz | June 18, 2015
Mayor Ivy Taylor and members of City Council and staff visit the Haven For Hope in June. Photo by Scott Ball
It was City Hall Day at the Haven for Hope on Wednesday, the near-Westside shelter and comprehensive service center for the homeless that first opened just off Frio Street in 2010.
It was the first field trip for newly-elected Mayor Ivy Taylor and eight members of the City Council. City Manager Sheryl Sculley, senior staff, and Police Chief Anthony Treviño and Fire Chief Charles Hood were among those in attendance. Haven for Hope quickly gained recognition as a national and international model, yet concerns have been voiced about the campus and its impact on the neighborhood.
Individuals associated with the Haven for Hope's beginnings, including its founding Chairman Bill Greehey, gathered on campus Wednesday to brief the City Council and staff on the facility's progress over its first five years.
Bill Greehey
The City is a major funder of the Haven for Hope and Sculley serves as an Ex Officio member of the board of directors. Greehey, chairman of NuStar Energy, was a driving force behind the creation of the Haven for Hope, and donated several millions of dollars to help fund it. NuStar employees have since raised more than $23 million more for the shelter and its programs.
Haven for Hope is basically two things: the Courtyard is a low-barrier, safe-sleeping program that offers overnight shelter and meets basic food and hygiene needs. The Transformational Campus is a "one stop" center that offers shelter and a broad array of services addressing the root causes of homelessness. The goal is to help individuals to transition back to self-sufficiency and productive, healthy lives.
One former client, Valerie Salas, told Mayor Taylor, Council members and staff how the Haven for Hope changed her life. Salas talked of struggles that began in childhood with an abusive father that led to alcoholism and drug addiction, overdoses and hospitalizations, and suicide attempts. Salas, a mother, saw incidents of domestic violence lead to intervention by Child Protection Services. Eventually, she found herself on the streets.
"It was really a dark series of ugly events," Salas said, until she was introduced to Haven for Hope two years ago. She met a recovering addict during Intake who made her feel welcome.
Valerie Salas speaks to the council. Photo by Scott Ball.
"It made me feel hopeful," Salas said. "At Haven, I was given every resource to grow and be successful," including medical attention, counseling and learning coping skills, among other tools.
Salas has been sober since October 2013 and has regained custody of her children. She now works for a local law firm, is studying to earn her GED, and planning to continue her education, hoping it eventually positions her to help other addicts enter into recovery programs at Haven for Hope.
"This transformation that Haven offers is very real," she said.
Salas is among the 2,200 "transformational graduates", as Haven officials call them, who have exited the facility to permanent housing and after one year, have stayed sober and not slipped back into homelessness.
Council members Joe Krier-D9, Mike Gallagher-D10, and Alan E. Warrick, II D-2 speak while Bill Greehey passes at Haven for Hope. Photo by Scott Ball.
Some homeless people in San Antonio will not go to Haven for Hope. Entry into its Transformational Campus requires sobriety or an individual's willingness to enroll in a 90-day recovery program. Some homeless people are unwilling to undergo detoxification and counseling programs. Police and City officials oppose panhandling and street feeding programs, however well intended, because they enable addicts to survive on the street without entering self-help programs. Critics of those policies believe individuals should be free to extend a helping hand to vulnerable individuals. It's a complex debate.
What is not open to debate is the transformational change the Haven for Hope has offered so many formerly homeless people. That places San Antonio at the forefront of cities seeking innovative ways to address homelessness, and countless delegations for U.S. cities and foreign cities have visited the Haven For Hope to study its structure and methods.
Greehey cited the graduation rate as a major milestone for Haven in its first five years. He also talked about San Antonio before Haven for Hope existed, and how he wanted to give back to the community after stepping down as chairman and CEO of Valero Energy 10 years ago. The Greehey Family Foundation has since awarded tens of millions of dollars in charitable contributions throughout the city.
Greehey said then-Mayor Phil Hardberger challenged business and civic leaders to establish a 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness. Until then, he recalled, the solution was to jail them for petty misdemeanors such as urination in public or loitering, or offering them temporarily shelter without addressing their long-term needs.
"We were feeding, clothing and sheltering the homeless, but we weren't getting at the root cause to help these individuals achieve productive, independent lives," Greehey said. " We were just recycling."
Greehey thanked current and former city leaders — especially former District 5 Councilwoman Patti Radle, co-founder with her husband Rod of Inner City Development, a Westside non-profit that serves area residents in need — who were instrumental in helping to transform an abandoned 22-acre site into a facility that can house more than 1,500 homeless people daily.
Here are some other milestones cited by Greehey:
*More than 4,000 people have been taken off the streets, and moved from the Haven's Courtyard into higher levels of care.
*The facility's Restoration Center has provided more than 35,000 detoxification, sobering and medical services, resulting in $50 million in documented "cost avoidance".
*More than 40,000 people have received medical, dental and vision care yearly, with such care going to mostly working poor residents in the surrounding neighborhoods;
*The jail recidivism rate for residents of the Transformational Campus is 24%, and 32% in the Courtyard. The average Bexar County Jail recidivism rate is 80%. Haven CEO and President Mark Carmona said not one "life-threatening" event has occurred on campus, adding that police help maintain security on campus and in the neighborhood.
Melody Woolsey addresses the council at Haven for Hope. Photo by Scott Ball.
Melody Woolsey, director for the city's Human Services Department, said people often become homeless after being released from prison or losing government-provided subsidies. Many veterans have a hard time finding housing immediately after leaving military service, she added.
"We find that 10% of our homeless are veterans and another 10% are families," she said, noting that the lack of affordable housing is another problem.
What does help, according to Haven officials, is keeping tabs on the local homeless population. That's why the annual point-in-time count matters. It's an effort by city and county departments, state and federal agencies, and relevant non-profits and churches, to determine a more exact number of homeless in shelters and on the streets.
There are less than 3,000 homeless people in the city, according to the point-in-time count held in January, and of 2,871 homeless people counted, 1,158 were being sheltered. Approximately 566 were categorized as "severely mentally ill" and 284 were listed as veterans. Approximately 452 were counted as chronic substance abuse issues, 367 were victims of domestic violence, and 264 families were counted in shelters. The downtown homeless count tallied 175, up from 120 recorded in 2014 but down from 738 in 2010 before Haven opened.
"This is why the point-in-time count is so important," Acting Police Chief Anthony Treviño told City Council. " It's to see how many homeless people are out there and what resources they need."
He echoed Carmona's sentiments that the police department works to maintain safety levels inside and outside of the Haven for Hope.
Police Chief Anthony Treviño addresses the council at Haven for Hope. Photo by Scott Ball.
"We also know public safety fosters economic development," Treviño said, referring to commerce and new residential developments in the area.
Operating on a 60-year ground lease and agreement with the City, Haven for Hope officials remain committed to increase efficiency in feeding the homeless, ending veteran homelessness, and bolstering outreach to downtown homeless individuals. Woolsey said Haven's partnership with city departments, including as San Antonio Public Library and San Antonio Animal Care Services help staff to raise literacy rates and to protect pets of homeless members, respectively.
Haven for Hope continues to fine tune its services and outreach and treatment approaches. Current programs include in-house recovery and mental health wellness, jail outreach, use of peer support specialists, and caring for people who attribute homelessness to some other trauma, such as coming from a home with divorced parents.
Haven residents, in turn, volunteer on community projects, and some learn to give back to the community through a fourth-year residency at the San Antonio Christian Dental Clinic on campus.
"We see community dentistry as a big need," said Carmona. Also, the Haven is working with the Thrive Youth Center to dedicate dorm space for homeless members of the LGBTQ community.
The facility is growing, thanks to the purchase and current renovation of a building at 1231 W. Martin St. That's where the Culture Service Growth call center, already on site, plans to expand and hire more Haven residents
Roberto Treviño (D1) holds up his Haven for Hope Prospect Courtyard ID card which he used to spend a night with the homeless. Photo by Scott Ball.
1231 W. Martin Street. Photo by Scott Ball.
Construction workers look at their project. Photo by Scott Ball.
Council members walk through Prospects Courtyard at Haven for Hope. Photo by Scott Ball.
Other plans call for an integrated courtyard health care clinic, due to open in July, working with a Subway food franchise to hire some Haven residents, and creating an on-site pediatric dental clinic.
"One of our greatest strengths is that we're a learning organization," Carmona said. "We look over data qualitatively and quantitatively to determine if we're hitting our marks to address the root cause of homelessness."
Mayor Taylor joined her colleagues in lauding the work that has made Haven for Hope a success.
"But we also step back and see how we can ramp things up here," she said, joining council members in a tour of the facilities.
Mayor Ivy Taylor walks with members of city council and Haven for Hope staff during a tour of the facilities. Photo by Scott Ball.
Featured Top Image: Mayor Ivy Taylor along with the San Antonio City Council take a tour of the Haven For Hope Prospects Courtyard led by Mark Carmona CEO of Haven for Hope. Photo by Scott Ball.
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About Edmond Ortiz
Edmond Ortiz, a lifelong San Antonian, is a freelance reporter/editor who has worked with the San Antonio Express-News and Prime Time Newspapers.
More by Edmond
feeding the homeless
Greehey Family Foundation
Haven for Hope
15 thoughts on "City Hall Takes a Field Trip to Haven For Hope"
Walter Perry via Facebook on June 18, 2015 at 8:56 AM said:
I See Councilman Warrick is ON the phone AGAIN!
Mark Mann on June 18, 2015 at 9:08 AM said:
I was struck by the last photo, "Mayor Ivy Taylor walks with members of city council," as an odd choice to include with this very informative article. Analysis of the runoff results repeatedly mention that Mayor Ivy will be facing a city council majority that endorsed her opponent. Despite its caption, this photo eerily shows her _not_ walking with council members; it shows her isolated from them, head down. I'm not implying that there was active "snubbing" of the Mayor by councilmembers that day, but if indeed there is divisiveness within the council, this photo certainly depicts that. I realize that a photo captures only an instant in time, but I don't see that the photo depicted anything in support of the article. The other photos all did. If someone wanted to emphasize the possible separateness between Taylor and councilmembers, this photo does that. [Disclosure: I did not vote for Taylor in either election.]
Scott Ball on June 18, 2015 at 11:10 AM said:
Thanks for your comment on the photograph I took at yesterdays tour of the H4H facilities. I am and will always be a photographer first, so I would make the argument that it is up to you, the viewer to decide what's transpiring between the members of our council and the mayor. I believe the photograph should tell the story, not the caption.
Jeff McNeff via Facebook on June 18, 2015 at 10:25 AM said:
Did she say hello to Katie?
Jacob Jimenez on June 18, 2015 at 11:01 AM said:
It's great to see San Antonio taking pro-active steps in helping people who are disenfranchised and in need of the services provided by Haven. As always there is more to be done and improvements are needed but the awareness is there.
Joseph Carreon via Facebook on June 18, 2015 at 11:20 AM said:
i hope they walked in through the prospect court gate on Martin St- in between the two railroad tracks, next to the drainage ditch, across from the jail parking lot and right across from Medina Street where homeless gather during the day!!
Anna Moseley Osborn via Facebook on June 18, 2015 at 11:26 AM said:
But the Express News thinks we are interested in the Mayor's clothing choices, or those of her husband. Ill fitting jacket ,EN; make note of that.
Gabriel Cervera on June 18, 2015 at 1:51 PM said:
At the visit's time, the homeless were in the Computer Area of Central San Antonio Public Library as every day from open to close.
Thomas Miglis via Facebook on June 18, 2015 at 2:48 PM said:
Awesome! I love my Mayor Ivy Taylor! Nice report!
Allen Buck via Facebook on June 18, 2015 at 7:55 PM said:
I liked the piece but find the 3000 homeless stat puzzling. It was clarified as a realtime stat for a specific day but is that actually an accepted method for counting homelessness in a city? I ask because I would think the KPI would be how many in churches, couches, and how many fall in and out of homelessness in a year, like a real number would serve as the best KPI. Otherwise we are just measuring good vibes and feel great politics.
Andrea Lopez via Facebook on June 18, 2015 at 8:39 PM said:
Did they sit and observe the foot traffic on Medina? Did they take note of the abandoned properties that are unsecured because the transients that don't want to be sober keep breaking in? Did they sit at the nearest bus stops and get hassled by those same transients asking for change, or for the food in your hands? I deal with this every day. A rosy little field trip is nice, and makes great photos, but I'm holding out to see what great changes come with it.
robert on January 8, 2016 at 2:25 PM said:
I truly doubt they saw or experinced the real haven. Let them change clothes and go through the entire process incognito then wright the report
Leo Torrez via Facebook on June 19, 2015 at 4:27 AM said:
The real field trip. ..walk in that area alone…then do it again at night
Jane Gaitan via Facebook on June 19, 2015 at 7:39 AM said:
Mark Carmona on site,,,
J M on June 22, 2015 at 2:49 PM said:
The facility has turned downtown into junkie heaven. Walk around at lunch time and you will find packs of homeless drug addicts nodding off on every corner. You can't get a block without being accosted, harassed, begged, or panhandled. We need to update the laws to force more of them into treatment or buy them greyhound tickets to El Paso. Our downtown is becoming a filthy cesspool.