STRUGGLE
STRUGGLE WITH SOLUTIONS TO HOMELESSNESS. . THERE'S A PLACE IN SAN ANTONIO
THAT CLAIMS IT'S
HELPED REDUCE HOMELESSNESS
DOWNTOWN THERE BY 80
PERCENT OVER THE YEARS.
KVUE'S MOLLY OAK JOINS US
TONIGHT.. AND MOLLY-- YOU GOT TO SEE THIS
PLACE- THAT'S
CONSIDERED ONE OF SAN ANTONIO'S
SUCCESS
STORIES.
SUCCESS STORIES.
STORIES.
STORIES. IT'S CALLED HAVEN FOR HOPE...
AND WHILE SAN ANTONIO HAS SHELTERS IN THE CITY FOR
HOMELESS PEOPLE TO STAY IN. THIS
PLACE IS FAR FROM A SHELTER...
IT LOOKS MORE LIKE A COLLEGE
CAMPUS.
THERE ARE PLACES FOR PEOPLE TO
STAY AND
RESOURCES TO HELP THE HOMELESS..
BUT HAVEN FOR HOPE GOES ABOVE
AND BEYOND WHAT
YOU'D SEE AT A TYPICAL SHELTER..
WITH A PLACE FOR KIDS TO PLAY
AND LEARN.. A
KENNEL FOR PEOPLE TO KEEP THEIR
PETS.. A GYM.. AND SO
MUCH MORE.
MUCH MORE. NATS
NATS
NATS WHEN
NATS WHEN YOU'RE AT YOUR LOWEST POINT..
HOPE CAN BE HARD TO FIND.
"EVERYBODY HAD BEEN TELLING ME
ABOUT HAVEN
FOR HOPE SO I FINALLY JUST
SHOWED UP ON THEIR
DOORSTEP."
LADONNA SMITH FOUND HER
POTENTIAL IN A PLACE WHERE
HOPE LIVES IN THE TITLE.
YOU MAY NOT THINK SOMEONE WHO
LIVED ON THE STREET FOR
THREE YEARS...
LADONNA LAUGHS
WOULD STILL HAVE A REASON TO
SMILE.
"FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE,
THIS IS A HOME."
THIS HOME ISN'T YOUR TYPICAL
HOUSE..
IT'S A 22-ACRE CAMPUS..
WITH 17 BUILDINGS..
250 EMPLOYEES..
AND 184 NONPROFITS THAT PROVIDE
SERVICE.
"NOT ONLY FOR PEOPLE
EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS,
THEY'RE FOR THE COMMUNITY AS
WELL."
THIS IS WHERE AROUND 1700 PEOPLE
CALL HOME.
THIS IS HAVEN FOR HOPE.
"AND THE HOPE IS HERE, IT IS.
YOU'VE GOTTA WANT IT AND DO
IT AND APPLY YOURSELF A LITTLE
BIT, THAT'S ALL THEY
ASK, AND IT'S ALL THERE FOR
YOU."
"ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I LOVE
ABOUT HAVEN IS ALL
THE LIVES THAT WE SAVE..."
THE TRANSFORMATIO NAL CAMPUS IS
ONE OF THE
MAIN PARTS OF HAVEN FOR HOPEA
PLACE IN SAN ANTONIO
THAT OFFERS HOUSING AND SUPPORT
SERVICES TO
THE HOMELESS POPULATION.
"ONE TIME A PERSON SAID TO ME,
'EVERYTHING I
NEEDED WAS HERE. INCLUDING
LOVE.' AND I
THOUGHT, WELL, THAT'S A GOOD
THING."
KENNY WILSON IS THE PRESIDENT
AND CEO OF HAVEN
FOR HOPE.
HE SAYS THEY'VE HOUSED...AND
HELPED.. THOUSANDS OF
PEOPLE.
"AND I'VE WATCHED A
METAMORPHOSIS TAKE PLACE
WHEN SOMEONE HAS LIVED ON THE
STREET OR HAS A MENTAL
IMBALANCE THAT CAN'T TAKE CARE
OF THEMSELVES GET NEW CLOTHES
AND IT CHANGES THEM NOT JUST THE
WAY THAT THEY LOOK TO ME OR
OTHERS,
OTHERS, BUT THE WAY THEY SEE THEMSELVES." AND HE'S SEEN THE IMPACT
FIRSTHAND ON THE STREETS.
"WE DO KNOW THAT SINCE HAVEN
OPENED IN 2010, HOMELESSNESS
DOWNTOWN HAS DECREASED A LITTLE
OVER
80%."
OVER 80%." WHILE DATA SHOWS AN OVERALL
DECLINE.. ONE
STATISTIC DOESN'T SIT RIGHT WITH
WILSON.
THE NUMBER OF HOMELESS FAMILIES
IN THE AREA
INCREASED BY 18 PERCENT.
"AND THIS IS WHAT KEEPS ME AWAKE
AT NIGHT ... BUT WHEN A
FAMILY COMES TO US WITH A CHILD,
CHILDREN, A
PARENT OR PARENTS AND THEY SAY
WE'RE LIVING IN THE
CAR, WE CAN'T DO IT ANYMORE
WE DO NOT SAY, I'M SORRY WE'RE
FULL, YOU CANNOT COME
HERE."
NATS
HERE." NATS PROVIDING HOUSING, EDUCATION,
AND SUPPORT
SERVICES TO ALL OF THESE PEOPLE
DOESN'T COME CHEAP..
"20 MILLION A YEAR." "THAT'S A
LOT OF MONEY." "A LOT OF
MONEY." "WORTH IT?" "ABSOLUTELY
WORTH IT.
THERE'S NO DOUBT, I DON'T EVEN
HESITATE. ABSOLUTELY
WORTH IT."
EVEN THOUGH WILSON SAYS HAVEN
FOR HOPE IS NOT A
SHELTER..
THERE IS A SHELTER-LIKE PORTION
OF THE CAMPUS CALLED
THE COURTYARD.
"WHICH IS MOSTLY PEOPLE FROM THE
STREET. IT'S
SAFE SLEEPING. THEY CAN COME AND
STAY AS LONG AS THEY
LIKE. AND WE PROVIDE SERVICES TO
THEM TOO. OUR
GOAL FOR THEM IS TO GET THEM TO
A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE."
PEOPLE LIKE LADONNA..
"I'M GETTING MY LIFE BACK"
SHE FIRST CAME TO HAVEN FOR HOPE
IN OCTOBER.
NOW.. SHE HAS A JOB. SHE'S
WORKING ON GETTING
PERMANENT HOUSING. SHE SAYS THIS
PLACE TURNED HER
LIFE AROUND.
"ALL THE RESOURCES ARE HERE,
ANYTHING THAT A PERSON
COULD NEED TO GET THEIRSELVES
BACK TOGETHER
IT IS RIGHT HERE AND IT'S JUST A
LOVING ATMOSPHERE."
AN ATMOSPHERE OF CHANGE.. FOR
THOSE WILLING TO
WORK FOR IT.
"MIRACLES ARE HAPPENING EVERY
DAY HERE.
I SEE TRANSFORMATIO NS OF PEOPLE
WHEN THEY
COME IN HERE. I SEE THEM,
THEY'RE ALL DOWN AND OUT
AND JUST LOSING HOPE,
AND THEY GET HERE AND IT'S HERE
FOR THEM AND I JUST SEE
COMPLETE TRANSFORMATIO NS IN SO
MANY PEOPLE
, INCLUDING MYSELF
."
IN SAN ANTONIO, THIS IS MORE
THAN JUST PROVIDING PEOPLE A
HOME...
1:01:52: "VERY HAPPY TEARS,
VERY HAPPY."
IT'S HELPING THEM FIND HOPE.
HOPE.
HOPE. VERY HAPPY."
VERY HAPPY." IT'S HELPING THEM FIND HOPE.
WILSON SAYS HAVEN FOR HOPE IS
FULL.. BUT THE STAFF IS RENOVATING A
BUILDING, AND THAT WILL ADD
ABOUT 200 BEDS TO THE CAMPUS.
CITY LEADERS FROM HERE IN AUSTIN
TOURED HAVEN FOR
HOPE..
COUNCIL MEMBER 'KATHIE TOVO'
SPOKE ABOUT IT--
DURING ONE OF THE HOMELESS
FORUMS A FEW WEEKS AGO.
"WE'VE CERTAINLY BEEN THINKING
ABOUT IN AUSTIN IS THAT THEY DO PROVIDE AN OUTDOOR SPACE WHERE
INDIVIDUALS CAN
BE IN THEIR COURTYARD.".."I
THINK IS A VERY IMPORTANT NEW
DIRECTION TO GO INTO PROVIDE
SOME KIND OF OUTDOOR SPACE
WHERE INDIVIDUALS CAN BE DURING
THE DAY WHO DON'T
NECESSARILY WANT TO COME INSIDE
ONE OF THE BUILDINGS."
SO
SO I
SO I SAT
SO I SAT DOWN WITH TOVO TO TALK ABOUT THE LIKELIHOOD OF SEEING SOMETHING SIMILAR IN
AUSTIN..
YOU'LL HEAR MORE FROM HER ABOUT
THAT-- TOMORROW
NIGHT AT -10-.
THANKS,
THANKS, MOLLY... AND AS WE CONTINUE OUR SERIES
THIS WEEK-- KVUE'S COMPILED ALL OUR STORIES
ABOUT
HOMELESSNESS ON A PAGE CALLED
"OUR HOMELESS:
STRUGGLE ON THE STREETS."
YOU CAN FIND THAT ON KVUE - DOT-
COM --SLASH--