Thriving TX homeless shelter a model contra disastrous Housing First doctrine, experts say
Haven for Hope, a headline-making shelter located in San Antonio, serves 85% of the city's homeless population, providing a bed and litany of social services to virtually anyone in need. CalMatters breaks down keys to the shelter's overwhelming success: sobriety requirements, all-inclusive services (not just a place to sleep), and proximity to mental health and substance abuse recovery facilities. Implications for California's homelessness response—take note, SJ Housing Dept—below.
Haven for Hope, a 22-acre, 1,600-person shelter in San Antonio addresses the homelessness crisis at a scale that’s unheard of in California. The facility serves 85% of the city’s total homeless population. It virtually guarantees that anybody who wants to sleep indoors, can, while accessing a plethora of on-site social services.
The model has fans in California. They say it can be recreated here to ease the suffering of people who have no other option but to sleep on the street – and to lessen the burden large homeless camps place on surrounding communities.
Residential buildings on the campus of Haven for Hope in San Antonio, Texas on May 10, 2023. Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar for CalMatters.
“Haven for Hope has not solved homelessness in San Antonio,” said Sacramento County Supervisor Rich Desmond, who visited the campus in 2021 and tried to incorporate parts of the model into programs in his own district. “But they have certainly done a much better job, I think, than most places in California.”
Scrambling for new solutions to a seemingly intractable problem, a handful of California politicians and nonprofit groups support replicating Haven for Hope (or at least copying pieces of it) here. A Placer County group recently pushed for a San Antonio-inspired project outside of Rocklin in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and a grassroots Sacramento group is trying to rally support and funding for a similar concept.
But some homelessness experts throughout the country are critical of the San Antonio model. In several ways, it would mark a shift away from some of California’s widely accepted best practices. Haven for Hope’s most robust program requires participants to be sober, for example, contradicting the prevailing belief in California that everyone should be offered housing before addressing their addictions and other issues. …
Aside from its sheer size, what draws Californians to Haven for Hope is the shelter’s all-inclusive model. The campus has medical, dental and eye-care clinics, a hair salon, a free clothing store, childcare and counseling services, as well as offices with staff who can help clients get a new ID, find housing, get a job or secure disability benefits, and more.
The idea is to make the labor-intensive, bureaucratic process of getting back on their feet as smooth as possible. Instead of trekking all over town to appointments at various departments – a challenging task for someone without a car – clients can do everything in one place.
For people who need extra help, there’s a facility with mental health crisis, detox and addiction recovery beds across the street.
This article originally appeared in CalMatters. Read the whole thing here.
Related:
Reform CA: Contra Housing First, having a roof over your head won't eradicate homelessness
Project Roomkey case study: Homeless housing sans behavioral requirements is just plain dangerous
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