Voices de la Luna

 
One of the original missions of Voices de la Luna is to reach out into the community with poetry presentations and workshops. We at Voices are developing two poetry workshops for some very special audiences: one for homeless people at Haven for Hope, and one for visually impaired people at the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind. Both are unique institutions that prove the willingness of San Antonio’s community to offer a path toward self-realization and achievement to all segments of our city. It is with great pride that Voices de la Luna adds its support to these endeavors.
      On 2 June 2010, the co-editor and several staff members visited Haven for Hope and interviewed several members of this promising community. With the individual written permissions, two video interviews were conducted. A multi-million dollar campus offers a whole array of services tailored to the needs of homeless people. The idea grew out of the Community Council to End Homelessness, launched in 2006 by then San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger and civic leader Bill Greehey. The community council was chaired by both Bill Greehey and then-Councilwoman Patty Radle as Co-Chairs.
      Now open for business, Haven for Hope provides a safe and transforming place for citizens who are in trouble and have no place to go. Haven for Hope is a private non-profit establishment that aims to transform the lives of homeless men, women and children in the San Antonio/Bexar County area. Partnering with 78 governmental, non-profit, and faith-based agencies, Haven for Hope seeks to transform the lives of the homeless by addressing the root causes of homelessness through education, job training and behavioral health services. While most “shelters” feed, clothe and shelter the homeless, Haven for Hope and its Partners will provide critical social services to help the homeless become self-sufficient individuals on a long-term basis.
     Established in 1933, the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind began with the vision of one individual to train and educate blind and visually impaired people. From a place for five part-time workers sewing pillow cases, it has evolved into a 60,000 sq. foot facility on Roosevelt Avenue, which employs more than 250 people and manufactures more than 80 products for the general community. as well as most branches of the Armed Services.