As a frigid air mass takes aim at San Antonio, Haven for Hope is at the front lines, spearheading a donation drive to help the city’s homeless population weather the freeze. With an average of about 1,700 clients in their care, the organization's first-ever "share the warmth" drive is a bid to keep items like coats, gloves, hats, and scarves in ready supply. "We’re having an average of about 1700 clients here at Haven for Hope, so our donation warehouse is constantly having to restock our items,” Haven for Hope's Director of Communications Terri Behling told FOX San Antonio. "Everything is free of charge they come in and pick out what they want and with the upcoming cold snap we are going to be handing out a lot of jackets blankets gloves scarves so it’s so important to keep that supply stocked up."
In response to the forthcoming cold, Haven has also been forced to finely adjust their sheltering priorities, given that they've been operating over capacity for the past couple of years. "This the first time that we have had to make the decision to prioritize a certain population. And that’s simply because we have been operating over capacity for the last couple of years and for our low-barrier shelter, we’re limited to the number of mats and spaces that we have available so we are having to make that decision to prioritize families," Behling explained in a statement obtained by KENS 5. Haven for Hope, designed to shelter some 1,450 people, has seen numbers swell to between 1,650 and 1,720 people seeking refuge from the streets.
As part of the city-collective Homeless Response System, Haven for Hope is adapting various spaces within their campus to accommodate the overflow of individuals, with families taking precedence for the available mats and spaces. Some families have to bed down in unconventional spaces like the chapel or the lobby of administrative offices. The local organization, Corazon San Antonio, has also stepped up to provide additional overnight shelter and meals at locations such as the Travis Park Church and Grace Lutheran Church, according to Erika Borrego, president and CEO of Corazon San Antonio, who told KENS 5.
Much-needed donations of winter wear are still being accepted at Haven for Hope's address at 1 Haven for Hope Way. In a parallel call for aid, San Antonio Pets Alive is seeking blankets to keep animals in their care stay warm, which can be dropped off at their SAPA's Medical Care and Adoption Center on Marbach Rd.
