The Homeless Aren't "One Size Fits All"

A 37-acre campus. Meals, health care, education, job training. Hot meals and a bed to sleep in for hundreds of homeless men, women and families. What could possibly be wrong with San Antonio's new $100 million venture to help the homeless, Haven for Hope?

Despite its triumphant beginning, with politicians declaring they were going to end homelessness in San Antonio's streets, Haven for Hope has gotten off to a rocky start. In fact, many homeless people are wary of the place, even saying that its presence has hurt homeless living in the city.

Take a look at homeless activist and Change.org blogger Mark Horvath's interview with Gus, a homeless man living in San Antonio.

How could a brand-new multi-million dollar facility end up hurting the homeless in San Antonio? By instituting some one-size-fits-all policies and a jail-like atmosphere.

To start, the officials at Haven for Hope wanted to shut down many of the city's soup kitchens and meal centers before it opened. Instead of feeding the homeless, they said, we should be encouraging them to move forward and engage in services that will lead to their recovery. So, they shut down many organizations that fed hot meals to homeless people each and every day, with the hope that those people would cross town and end up at Haven for Hope if there wasn't food available.

Then they made a two-tier system to the facility. If you come there, you can get a meal, but only a cold meal. You can stay there, but it's in an outdoor courtyard that many homeless say is hot, filled with bugs and doesn't feel safe. If you want a hot meal, you have to live at the center, signing up for one of their long-term programs. Those programs come with strict rules, like a 10 p.m. curfew. Even residents who have jobs that keep them out past 10 have reported having trouble staying at Haven for Hope because guards wouldn't make an exception for the employed. People complain that the place feels like a jail — not exactly the warm, homey environment they were promised.

As a result, many homeless people are wary of the place. The courtyard, which could house around 500 people a night, has only been about half full. Meanwhile, the city's other shelters and services have been shut down, making this the only place people can go.

In theory, it's a wonderful idea. Consolidate services so everything is under one roof. Make an incentive program so that people want to move forward.

But the monolithic facility overlooked one important detail: "homeless people" are not some big group with all the same problems and reasons for being on the streets. They're individuals, and a one-size-fits-all program isn't going to fit a lot of people out there who still need help.

While San Antonio's former patchwork quilt of providers and nonprofits may have looked rickety, it provided personalized service. Volunteers who served meals under a bridge knew the people who came for dinner each day. They took the time to learn who they were and what they wanted. And they provided them the most essential of services — a hot meal to fill their stomach.

Ellen Ott, the leader of a local organization that feeds the homeless in the streets says Haven for Hope is a great idea, but it won't work for everyone.

"They want to force everyone to go to Haven for Hope. That's not practical," she said. "They don't want to see people in the streets. Well, it's a fact of life."

Photo credit: angusf