Fact sheet
Haven for Hope of Bexar County
Background
In 2006, San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger and civic leader Bill Greehey met to discuss the serious and growing problem of homelessness in Bexar County. Mayor Hardberger then established the Community Council to End Homelessness, naming Greehey as Chairman of the effort and the then District 5 City Councilwoman Pattie Radle as Co-Chair. Greehey, Radle and the rest of the council, which was 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 as well as visited and studied many successful homeless assistant centers and campuses around the country.
Treating the root causes of homelessness with a wide array of social services in a single and central location resulted in a 60% success rate (defined as a year of totally self-sufficient living). Campuses in San Diego, Miami, Phoenix and St. Louis were among some of the operations reviewed and analyzed to develop a set of operational best practices. Critical campus services include education, job training, day care, substance abuse treatment, medical care, identification recovery, case management, animal care services, hygiene, etc.
A single facility hosting all of the key service providers in a campus-style environment is more effective than having services spread throughout the community and operating independently.
It is imperative that the facility be managed by an independent board, free of political influence and red tape.
At the recommendation of the Community Council to End Homelessness and through the leadership of Bill Greehey, Haven for Hope of Bexar County was formed as a 501(c)3 in November 2006. Bill Greehey was selected as Founding Chairman and Patti Radle was selected as Vice-Chairwomen. In December 2006 the Haven for Hope Board hired Dr. Robert Marbut Jr. as the President/CEO.
Goals for Haven for Hope
Combining the national best practices found at over 150 facilities throughout the USA, we set a vision for Haven for Hope to provide a wide range of social services in order to meet the needs of San Antonio’s homeless community in a “single-multiservice-campus” setting. Far beyond shelter, food and clothing, Haven for Hope’s services are designed to address the root causes of homelessness, with over 70 Partner agencies providing a wide-array of critical services. For more information on our Partners and their services, please refer to the Campus Services page.
The Campus has already helped transform and save lives in Bexar County. The centralized and integrated Campus has created a much more effective and efficient way to help homeless families and individuals. Effective treatment reduces the number of homeless individuals in the criminal justice and public medical systems.
The Staff
Name |
Title |
|
| Robert Marbut Jr. | President | CEO@havenforhope.org |
| Ann Hutchinson-Meyers | VP of Transformational Services | VPT@havenforhope.org |
| Steve Oswald | Chief Financial Officer (CFO) | steve.oswald@havenforhope.org |
| George Block | Campus Partner Services VP & (COO) | george.block@havenforhope.org |
| Meghan Garza-Oswald | External Relations, Division Head | meghan.garza-oswald@havenforhope.org |
| Shaun Lee | Director of Outcomes and Performance Measures | shaun.lee@havenforhope.org |
| Harvey Mireles | IT Director | harvey.mireles@havenforhope.org |
| Gary P. Chance | Director of Skills Development | gary.chance@havenforhope.org |
| Vilma Pinto-Delgado | Director of Intake | vilma.pinto@havenforhope.org |
| Dan Salas | Director of Facilities and Maintanence | dan.salas@havenforhope.org |
| Art Vela | Director of Security | art.vela@havenforhope.org |
| Megan Legacy | Director of Strategic Inititatives and Grants | megan.legacy@havenforhope.org |
| Bryan Jones | Director of Case Management | bryan.jones@havenforhope.org |
| Jude Morin | Senior Application Analyst/ Programmer | jude.morin@havenforhope.org |
| Ronald K. Brown | Courtyard Liaison | ron.brown@havenforhope.prg |
| Christi Reyes | Executive Admin. to the President | christi.reyes@havenforhope.org |
| Kim Adams | Executive Admin. to the CFO | kim.adams@havenforhope.org |
| Kenneth Hebert | Maintenance Trainer | ken.hebert@havenforhope.org |
| Alice Hernandez | Custodial Trainer | |
| Yolanda Edwards | Director of Educational Services | Yolanda.Edwards@havenforhope.org |
The Facility
The 37-acre Haven for Hope Campus is located adjacent to the Central Business District, west of downtown San Antonio and will include approximately 440,000 square feet of space under roof, with 998 beds and a courtyard area with the capacity to sleep over 500 additional individuals.
The project has also served as a revitalization effort to the surrounding neighborhood through the addition of high quality new buildings and the renovation of several abandoned buildings.
How you can help
City, county, state and federal funding has played a critical role, but the majority of the funding has come from private donations. Your tax-deductible donation to Haven for Hope will help reduce homelessness in the San Antonio area and give our most vulnerable citizens the assistance they need. Please see the donations page for more information on how to make a donation to this important cause.
