“Transformation” is truly the perfect word to describe the work and mission of Haven for Hope. Haven offers a place of new beginnings to Bexar County’s homeless population. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has recognized the importance of the work done by Haven and once again offered assistance. This time, the assistance comes in the form of $60,000 of commodities specifically earmarked for those graduating from Haven and moving into a new home. The commodities will come from the Church’s local Bishop’s Storehouse.
Haven for Hope “graduates” between 20 to 30 individuals or families each month. Haven helps them get situated with a move in kit that ranges from furniture to silverware. The commodities, now available through the Storehouse, will allow those graduating to procure needed cleaning supplies, food and other staples.
(left to right) Elder Carlos Villarreal, Kenny Wilson and Celeste Eggert
Kenny Wilson, President and CEO of Haven, speaking about the commodities now available through the Storehouse said: “… this is critical. It is a big deal. To have cleaning supplies, and all of the staple items that they can get, provides a sense of ‘I’m kind of being normal now – I have a place.’”
Working with the graduate and their case worker an assigned local member of the Church, will help them fill out the needed Bishop’s Storehouse form. The graduate and the case worker will then go and pick up the much needed items to help them transition into their new home.
Gary Chance, Vice-President of Transformational Services at Haven said, “The heart and soul of every human being certainly is the spirit part of them. A lot of times when people are out in the streets they lose that. They don’t have connections, they feel hopeless, they feel that the rest of society has forgotten who they are…. They know how to survive, they’ve done it for years, but they don’t know how to live.”
Chance went on to say, “Until you have the Spirit of the Lord in you, you really can’t live. It’s so important to have that faith based community tied into what we’re doing here to help support them.” He said that as residents of Haven, they have a built-in community and they will continue to need a community when they leave. Chance said: “It’s so important to have our churches and our faith based communities here to help in the healing process. That’s why we like to make these connections.”
The desire to be able to provide commodities to those graduating from Haven stemmed from a conversation almost two years ago with Haven’s Chief Development Officer, Celeste Eggert. Eggert had worked in Salt Lake’s Road Home Shelter prior to coming to San Antonio. In her capacity there, she was able to fill out similar Bishop’s Storehouse forms for those leaving the shelter. Using this conversation as a starting point, local priesthood leaders began the process of securing the same opportunities for Haven graduates through the Church’s Humanitarian Department.
Area Authority, Elder Carlos Villarreal, along with San Antonio’s seven Stake Presidents have provided invaluable support to the ongoing relationship with Haven, not only through various donations, but also through volunteers and their support of JustServe.org.
Speaking of this support, and why this relationship is important, Elder Villarreal said, “In the Church of Jesus Christ, we try and treat others as Christ would have us treat them. And we use the title, ‘brother’ and ‘sister’. It’s not just something we say lightly, we literally believe that God is the Eternal Father. When we say that these are our brothers and our sisters we really try to look at them that way. That’s our goal – to treat everyone as if you are our brother and our sister.”