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JCB Donates Scissor Lift to Haven

JCB, a global manufacturing company, is expanding into San Antonio. Its 720,000-square-foot factory open in 2026. JCB’s leadership and staff are making an impact in our community.

Their team members volunteered at Haven and installed netting to help reduce the number of pigeons on our campus. During that project, they noticed that Haven was missing a key piece of machinery.

Over the years, when a project required a scissor lift, we set it aside until we had enough projects to warrant renting the lift for a few days.

JCB decided to help out by donating a new lift. “This generous gift from JCB will significantly enhance our Facilities team’s efficiency, as we have numerous projects that require a lift,” said Kim Jefferies, President and CEO of Haven. “Previously, we had to rent the equipment, which added time and cost to our efforts.” From installing signage to changing light bulbs and painting projects, the lift will be beneficial.

“JCB’s collaboration with Haven reflects our longstanding commitment to giving back to communities. This value is ingrained in our family-owned legacy,” says David Carver, operations director for JCB San Antonio. “Our involvement in local outreach programs aligns with our core values, ensuring that those who are most vulnerable receive the support and resources they need.”

JCB is a family company founded on October 23, 1945, and is now one of the world’s largest privately owned manufacturers of construction, agricultural, and defense equipment, with 22 factories worldwide. JCB recently began work on a new $500 million factory in San Antonio, Texas, the biggest investment in its history.

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Valero Alamo Bowl – More than Just a Football Game

 

On Saturday, December 28, the #17 BYU Cougars will face off against the #20 Colorado Buffalos in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Both teams are in town this week and enjoying fun activities around the city.

Both teams are also making an impact! Earlier this week, players from Colorado packed hygiene kits for Haven and gave away 100 bikes for disadvantaged youth in San Antonio. On Saturday, the BYU Alumni will host CougCares, a tailgate where attendees are asked to bring donations for Haven.

It will be a good football game; tune in at 6:30 PM on ABC.

The picture above is of Colorado Buffalo players preparing the hygiene kits. Below is a story about the tailgate event that aired on KSAT.

KSAT Story

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North Park Subaru Gives Back to Haven During “Share the Love” Campaign

North Park Subaru in San Antonio has chosen Haven for Hope as one of its Hometown Charities during the Subaru Share the Love Event. Now through January 2, 2025, North Park Subaru will donate $75 to Haven for every vehicle leased or sold at its location.

Subaru conducts its Share the Love campaign nationally to give back to four national charities, and each dealership has the opportunity to choose local nonprofits in their communities. The national charities include the ASPCA, Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, Melas On Wheels Association of America, and the National Park Foundation.

“We are honored North Park Subaru chose us as one of their Hometown Charities this year,” said Kim Jefferies, Haven’s president and CEO. “We are grateful for strong community support as we continue to assist nearly 1,700 individuals who are experiencing homelessness daily.”

This past spring, North Park Subaru partnered with the University of Texas San Antonio’s (UTSA) baseball team for a “Strikeout Homelessness” promotion and donated more than $5,000 to Haven for Hope.

Click here to learn more about North Park Subaru’s Share the Love event and Hometown Charities.

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Haven Announces Trauma-Informed Care Certification

Haven for Hope Earns Trauma-Informed Care Designation

Haven for Hope is proud to announce that it has officially earned its designation as a Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) agency. This distinction underscores Haven for Hope’s unwavering commitment to providing holistic, compassionate, and effective services to individuals experiencing homelessness.
Becoming TIC certified is a rigorous, lengthy process involving internal assessments and evaluations, client and staff surveys, and training provided by the Institute for Trauma-Informed Care at University Health. The journey culminates with a desk review conducted by The Ecumenical Center. Certification requires a thorough review of an organization’s practices, procedures, facilities, and staff support across five key areas: safety (physical and interpersonal), transparency and trustworthiness, respect and empowerment, collaboration and policy, and skill-building and emotional intelligence.
“Achieving Trauma-Informed Care certification is a transformative milestone for Haven for Hope, our staff, and our clients,” said Kim Jefferies, President and CEO of Haven for Hope. “Trauma impacts everyone, whether directly or indirectly. This designation ensures that our team is equipped to recognize and respond to trauma in ways that foster trust, resilience, and healing. It’s about creating an environment where we avoid retraumatizing individuals and actively empower them to rebuild and thrive.”
Trauma-Informed Care builds a foundation of understanding that everyone carries experiences of trauma, which can manifest in unexpected ways. By applying TIC principles, Haven for Hope strengthens its ability to foster a culture of safety, transparency, and empowerment—ultimately improving outcomes for the thousands of people it serves annually.

 

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Request for Proposal – Renovation of a Wing in Haven’s Adult Dorm

Statement of Purpose & Background:

Haven for Hope of Bexar County (“Haven for Hope”) has operated its 22-acre Transformational Campus just west of downtown San Antonio, Texas for the last 14 years. Haven for Hope’s mission is to provide a place of hope and new beginnings by providing, coordinating, and delivering an efficient system of care for people experiencing homelessness in San Antonio, with a vision of ending homelessness by empowering individuals and families to transform their lives.

Haven is seeking proposals from qualified agencies for the renovation of a wing of our Adult Dorm located on the Haven for Hope campus, as detailed more thoroughly in the Scope of Work below. This renovation aims to improve the safety, overall living standards, and operations within this area of our operations. The selected agency will be responsible for executing the renovation as specified and negotiated, ensuring compliance with local regulations and codes, and completing the project within the proposed timeline and budget.

Scope of Work:

The specific updates, modifications, and work that is the subject of this renovation is as follows:

1. Installation of 17 new LED King 6” Downlights (D846-90-10) and 6 of those are emergency lights in the Adult Dorm hallway.

2. Replacement of 7 HVAC air return grills in the Adult Dorm hallway.

3. Installation of kickplates on doors throughout this wing of the Adult Dorm.

4. Installation of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) wall paneling in the Adult Dorm laundry room.

5. Cleaning, preparation, painting, and minor repairs of all rooms, including dorm rooms, laundry room, common areas, hallway, and storage space, in this wing of the Adult Dorm.

6. Polish and reseal concrete flooring throughout this wing of the Adult Dorm.

7. Installation of new door within hallway of the Adult Dorm, roughly bifurcating wing into two halves (location specified on attached floor plan).

8. Installation of cabinetry in Room 12.322 and a modified half door (future Med Room).

9. Updates to Bathroom located at Room 12.304 including updating of fixtures, installation of new countertops, LED lighting, repainting of restroom and new epoxy flooring. 210-220-2100 1 Haven for Hope Way, San Antonio, TX 78207

10. Conversion of two urinals in Bathroom located at Room 12.321 to an ADA accessible stall, as well as updates to this bathroom including updating of fixtures, installation of new countertops, repainting of restroom and new epoxy flooring.

11. Removal of one non-structural wall between two residential rooms on South Side of wing, to create consolidated living room for resident use. A detailed floorplan outlining the designated wing of Haven’s Adult Dorm is provided at Exhibit A.

The anticipated start date for this project is approximately February 3, 2025, although this projected start date may be modified within Haven’s discretion and based on business considerations.

Proposal Submission Guidelines:

Interested parties should submit their proposals by 5:00pm on January 3rd, 2025, via email to Earvin Reinhardt, Director of Logistics & Facilities Management (Earvin.reinhardt@havenforhope.org).

210-220-2100

1 Haven for Hope Way, San Antonio, TX 78207

Proposals should include:

  • Company profile, including an overview of your agency, including years of experience, areas of specialization, and relevant industry certifications
  • Detailed pricing information, including itemized prices for each element outlined within the Scope of Work, inclusive of labor, fees, permitting expenses, and any additional expenses or costs
  • References from prior clients
  • Certificate of Insurance (COI) and licensing

Site visits will be offered on December 9th, 2024, at 3 pm and December 12th, 2024, at 9:30 am for interested bidders to review the renovation space and gather additional information. All potential bidders are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the renovation and requirements before submitting their proposals.

Any other inquiries and/or requests for clarification should be directed to Earvin Reinhardt at the contact information listed in this RFP. 5. 6.

Contact Information: Earvin Reinhardt Director of Logistics and Facilities Management Email – Earvin.Reinhardt@havenforhope.org

Phone – 210-220-2112

Full RFP

 

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Haven for Hope Staff Member Running 1,800 Miles for Families in Recovery

Kenneth Anderlitch is running from Washington, D.C., to San Antonio, Texas, to raise awareness for a new program called Families in Recovery.

The Families in Recovery Program is a collaboration between Haven, Pay it Forward SA, and Lifetime Recovery. Families will have the ability to remain together while parents seek treatment for substance or alcohol use disorders.

He is more than 1,130 miles into his journey, and KSAT 12 recently caught up with him while running in Kentucky.

Check out the story here!

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Single Dad Receiving Help at Haven

A chance encounter gives Rene, a father of six, a chance to rebuild his life. 

Rene was driving to an appointment when he passed Haven for Hope’s 22-acre campus near downtown. He slowed down to ask people walking by about Haven and if they knew if Haven took families.

What Rene didn’t know was that the people who stopped when he pulled up were from Haven’s leadership team. “Yes, Haven does take in families,” they enthusiastically replied, and they told him what documents he would need to bring for enrollment.

Later that day, Rene returned to Haven with his children and enrolled in Haven’s Family Resource program, a 92-bed shelter that provides meals, clothing, necessities, and, most importantly, employment and housing resources.

To learn more about Rene’s story, click here!

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Spotlight on Crimes Against Unsheltered Individuals in San Antonio

From Kens 5 News: www.kens5.com

SAN ANTONIO — It is a crime category that nobody is tracking but some mutual aid workers say it would be a good idea.

In the last two months there have been a number of violent attacks against people who are homeless.

Susana Segura of Bread and Blankets Mutual Aid, who provides food and other types of assistance to the needy in her westside neighborhood, said “I keep hearing all these stories of violence from our houseless folks. Somebody needs to be keeping track of this.”

Terri Behling, of Haven For Hope, agrees.

“Any data that could be collected would show us trends and perhaps could identify some areas that our outreach teams and the community resources can kind of come in and target those areas where the most vulnerable are located,” Behling said.

Behling said it’s no surprise that more violent crimes are being noticed.

“We do know the unsheltered are the most vulnerable in our community and unfortunately are the victims of crimes that often go unreported,” Behling said.

One of the latest attacks happened just before midnight Wednesday in the downtown area.

San Antonio Police said a houseless woman with multiple stab wounds is hospitalized and the suspect is still on the streets.

The night before, on the west side on Zarzamora, a homeless man was stabbed during a fight, according to police.

The attacks are not confined to any one section of the city.

Earlier in July, on the northwest side near Fredericksburg Road people have been shot in two different incidents.

On De Chantle, police said a homeless man emerged from a drainage culvert with a gunshot wound to his foot.

On July 5, in the 3600 block of Fredericksburg, a man told police he was climbing a fence to get to a camp when someone shot him in the leg.

“And these are the ones that you are aware of,” Segura said, adding, there are other deaths that go unreported, like a homeless man who was reportedly washed into a westside creek.

“When we were getting rain and the creeks were flooded I got a call from a distraught family member who was told that their loved one was drowned in a creekway,” Segura said.

In east San Antonio in late June, EMS took a woman to the hospital with burns. The initial report from police on the scene on Rice Road is that the victim was in a car at a homeless camp and someone shattered her window and set the car on fire. A fire department spokesman said the victim went to the hospital in Priority One condition, which means the possibility of life threatening injuries.

Segura said the area is struggling under the burden of not having enough capacity to help everyone who needs it.

“There isn’t a lot of shelter available even though it seems like there is a lot of capacity, there are more homeless people than there are beds available,” Segura said.

Behling said “We are the largest shelter in our community and we have been operating over capacity for the past two years, so when it is hot like this we are encouraging folks to find shelter anywhere they can.”

Behling said compassion is a valuable gift now, adding “It is important for everyone in our community to know we are all human and we all have a story and not to make assumptions about the folks that they see on the streets.”

Segura added, “I urge people to be kind. If you see something say something.  If you think someone is having a medical emergency, try to get them help because people often call the cops on homeless people and people are unjustly criminalized not knowing what the situation is.”

Some homeless advocates say it is always safer to make donations through reputable mutual aid organizations. You can find the links to a few by clicking the link here.

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KSAT Story about Haven Partner – Family Violence Prevention Services

Courtney Friedman, reporter and anchor with KSAT 12 in San Antonio has been reporting on domestic violence for the past eight years. She recently came to Haven to Hope to feature one of Haven’s valuable partners, Family Violence Prevention Services (FVPS).

FVPS has been a Haven campus partner since we opened in 2010. They provide Community Based Counseling (CBC) at Haven’s campus. This program provides access to comprehensive mental health counseling and therapeutic services for adult and child clients of Haven. CBC offers individual and group counseling and supportive client engagement to clients residing on Haven’s low-barrier South Campus and clients participating in the recovery and sober living programs at Haven.

Click here to see the KSAT story.