HAVEN FOR HOPE OF BEXAR COUNTY

To help individuals and families experiencing homelessness to find income and housing through comprehensive transformational services.

FIVE TENETS OF MEMBER ENGAGEMENT WITH HAVEN FOR HOPE

STRIVING FOR RECOVERY AND HEALING
Health and wellness (mental, physical, spiritual) are center and forefront for people at Haven for Hope who are striving to reach their full potential and live a self-directed life. Every person engaged in services with Haven for Hope has the strength to heal from the past and overcome the obstacles keeping them from a full, healthy life in the community.

PURSUING SUSTAINABLE INCOME
Sustainable income is essential in supporting permanent housing and all the household expenses a Graduate will incur when they leave Haven for Hope. For some, their income pursuit will be employment. For others, the primary income source will be social security. Some may receive income from both social security and part-time employment.

ENGAGED IN A HOME PLAN
Taking steps toward permanent housing is key difference in expectation between Haven for Hope and traditional shelter services. Haven's focus is on both meeting basic emergency needs and guiding Members toward through a plan toward stable and sustainable housing. Some examples of housing include market rate apartments, subsidized apartments, permanent supportive housing, group/multi-person housing, family re-integration, home ownership and permanent residential care. Members are expected to engage in the following:
 Readiness or clear interest in taking steps toward housing, and,
 Active engagement with the H4H Housing Team toward sustainable permanent housing.

IMPROVING FINANCIAL LITERACY
Financial literacy is the ability to make smart and informed decisions regarding money, a skill that is essential to maintain a home and create a plan to pay household expenses. Every Member is expected to engage in literacy lessons as a critical skill needed to break the cycle of poverty. At Haven for Hope, focus on these skills includes:
 Addressing the values that play a key role in making financial decisions
 Understanding how to differentiate between needs and wants
 Looking at issues that are unique to low-income households (i.e. impact of opening a savings account on public assistance)
 Applying learned skills to their own household budgets in classroom time
 Working to improve money management, household budgeting, saving money, paying off debt and credit scores

BUILDING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
Community provides the needed relationships and resources (social capital) that sustain an independent and interdependent future. Every Member is expected to engage in service offerings that will build a healthy community at Haven and also in their new home and neighborhood. At Haven for Hope, these are the modalities utilized with and among those served at Haven to prepare for (re)integration within the San Antonio Community at-large:
 Shared Living Responsibilities
 Independent Living/Life Skills
 Faith Home Connections
 Volunteer Opportunities
 Relationships and Resources

It would be nearly impossible as well as inefficient for one organization to provide all of the direct services that are needed by individuals and families experiencing homelessness to achieve long-term self-sufficiency. With a common goal in mind, Haven for Hope and our Partner organizations provide a comprehensive constellation of services to meet the needs of our residents.

In FY23 Haven for Hope had the following results:

-9,457individual clients served. This includes 491 Veterans and 1,085 Children.
-51 days is the average length of stay on our South Campus and 122 days is the average length of stay on our North Campus.
-An average of 1,700 clients served per day.
-92% housing retention after one year.
-610 unemployed clients placed in jobs in 2023.
-85% of San Antonio's homeless population is served by Haven.
-Hundreds of cities have visited the campus from various states in search of best practices. We openly share lessons learned with other agencies in order to potentially impact homelessness across the country.