Housing First Community Coalition Raises $2.0 Million to Fund New 17-Acre Towne Twin Village Community

The Towne Twin Village preliminary site plan (Graphic: Business Wire)

SAN ANTONIO--()--The Housing First Community Coalition, Inc. (HFCC) today announced it has raised $2.0 million in donor gifts for its new 17-acre Towne Twin Village community that will provide housing and support services for seniors in San Antonio experiencing long-term homelessness. The community will house 200 individuals who are 50 years or older and be the city’s first single-site Housing First – Permanent Supportive Housing property. The Towne Twin Village community is located at 4701 Dietrich Road in San Antonio’s east side and will feature apartments, 350-400 square foot tiny houses, RV park, community garden, picnic areas, art studio, pet park, pet rescue facility, chapel, and an outdoor amphitheater for movies, musical performances, and theatrical events.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Annual Point-In-Time and Housing Inventory Count evidentially supports that Housing First is a proven model that has helped reduce homelessness nationwide by 13% between 2010 and 2017. According to the Interagency Council on Homelessness, providing supportive housing opportunities to people with the most intense needs, communities spent much less on preventable costs for public programs as well as on shelters, jails, ambulances, and emergency rooms. Other benefits to the San Antonio community will include the redevelopment of a 17-acre vacant property into a beautiful community asset, employing dozens of construction workers for months, and creating multiple jobs long-term.

The Housing First model employs evidence-based practices to streamline connections to housing opportunities and to provide people with the appropriate level of services to support their long-term housing stability.

Mark Wittig, HFCC chairman, stated, “Our vision is to develop a housing community where everyone is cherished. The community will provide permanent housing and assistance to meet the needs of seniors experiencing long-term homelessness in San Antonio and develop a community that offers safety, stability, dignity, and purpose. Our coalition partners include Traveling Loaves and Fishes, St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, the South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless (SARAH), and city-wide SARAH member organizations.”

In addition to housing, the community and its partners will provide concentrated support services including case management, job training, professional counseling, legal advocacy, and health care to help residents pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life. The community will include approximately 200 units (mostly efficiencies) and 25 units for peer volunteers. A low-barrier Housing First model will be used in selecting housing applicants and supporting residents. Applicants will be prioritized according to their vulnerability index (age, duration of homelessness, additional risk factors, disabilities, and high utilization of city services).

“HFCC aims to serve chronically homeless vulnerable people as they outnumber chronically homeless families by 36 to 1. Our goal is to restore dignity and to build a therapeutic community that will promote the flourishing of natural support systems through socialization and development of friendship with volunteers, neighbors, and other residents,” said Alice Salinas, senior program manager of San Antonio Local Initiative Support Corporation.

About Housing First Community Coalition:

Established in 2017, Housing First Community Coalition, Inc. (HFCC) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that works to address chronic homelessness in San Antonio. It targets highly vulnerable seniors (due to disability, homelessness, age, etc.) and uses Housing First principles combined with abundant, wrap-around, formal and informal supports to ensure that each person’s house becomes a home and each resident feel valued and a sense of belonging in a compassionate community. For more information, visit HFCC’s website.

Contacts

Monica Hildebrand, Ascension Public Relations, 972.742.2555

Tia Moen, HFCC, 210.361.4322

 

Release Summary

The Housing First Community Coalition today announced it has raised $2.0 million in donor gifts for its new 17-acre Towne Twin Village community.

Contacts

Monica Hildebrand, Ascension Public Relations, 972.742.2555

Tia Moen, HFCC, 210.361.4322