Haven for Hope provides a “one-stop-shop” for services for homeless people and vagrants in San Antonio, but getting people to accept those services often requires building relationships with those living on the street.
Pete Barrera, an outreach coordinator for the organization, said most homeless people and vagrants he encounters resist joining a structured program. Still, it is his job to persuade them to accept the services offered by Haven for Hope.
“It can be tough out here. They may not like it when someone walks up to them and starts asking questions,” Barrera told Texas Public Radio. “They don’t know who you are and where you’re from or if you’re the police.”
“On the first encounter, I just give them the hook up with the water, and I don’t even ask their name,” he explained. “Then next time, maybe you get a name or maybe not.”
Barrera is a former heroin addict and knows firsthand how difficult the road to recovery can be. He said he has been able to develop relationships with San Antonio’s homeless population.
“They know me already,” he said. “They recognize [my] truck.”
Barrera noted that while he has developed relationships with many of the homeless, he sometimes does not know their legal names. Some reportedly reject using the name associated with their lives off the street.
“There’s a guy down there that I only know … as ‘Monster,'” he said. “I don’t even know his real name or I forgot it.”
Another man living in the same encampment as Monster goes by the name Frenchie. Frenchie told TPR that other vagrants often steal his tents. He is currently living under a tarp draped over some shopping carts.
“It’s rough, man. I had a tent, and three times they stole my whole tent from me,” said Frenchie.
Homelessness and vagrancy are major issues in Dallas too, with residents registering concern over the severity of the problem in a City poll.
Through its partnership with the City of San Antonio, Haven for Hope offers housing and supportive services on a single campus to avoid the challenges of having several facilities scattered throughout the city, as is the case in Dallas.
“Per capita, homelessness is down 4% since Haven opened. During that same time, [San Antonio’s] population increased by 39%,” Terri Behling, director of communications for Haven for Hope, told The Dallas Express in a previous interview.
Haven for Hope’s “one-stop-shop” strategy has polled favorably among Dallas voters, but the City of Dallas has yet to pursue an approach.