Subject: Hope for the Homeless
Thanks to Anna Pascal for forwarding this....Wynn
San Antonio Creates 37-Acre ‘Haven for Hope’ Campus for Homeless Residents
San Antonio, Texas has established a new 37-acre campus to provide the city's homeless population with shelter and comprehensive care.
Image by Haven for Hope.
Story by Darragh Worland, originally published April 2010 onTonic.com
Life is about to get a whole lot better for homeless men, women and children in San Antonio, Texas. In just a few short weeks,Haven For Hope, a brand new 37-acre campus, will begin accepting its first homeless residents, reports CNN.
The campus, designed to go beyond a typical shelter by offering social services, job training and education, will house thousands of homeless adults and kids in dorms. Residents will also get regular nutritious meals and mental health services. The program aims to help the homeless get back on their feet and prepare them to reintegrate into society by finding employment and stable housing.
If it works, the progressive program could become a new model for homeless services across the country and even around the world. Already, a local news station reports (watch the video below) that representatives from 45 countries have inquired about the project, some of whom have even visited in person.
The kind of services and care available at Haven for Hope are generally only available in state and federal prisons. “Spend it on the jail, or spend it here and help save a life,” Judge Nelson Wolff, Bexar County Texas, told local station KENS. “When we spend it on a jail, many times we make a person worse than he was before he went in.”
Haven for Hope begins accepting single men into the facility within a few weeks. Women and families will follow shortly thereafter. The facility will slowly ramp up to full capacity, adding just 10 new residents at a time. The campus is the result of a partnership between 78 governmental, nonprofit and faith-based agencies.
If all goes well, Haven for Hope is expected to help thousands of people get back on their feet. For many, it could be the difference between dying on the streets forgotten and alone and getting a second chance at a more satisfying life.