InfuseSA in the Community: Towne Twin Village

Homelessness.   Would you agree that this is a problem of great concern to probably a majority of our citizens?  If you do, please read on.  

We’d like to introduce you to a remarkable effort to address chronic homelessness in a very productive way, an effort that has been and continues to be supported by many private organizations as well as by our city government.     

Towne Twin Village is the fulfillment of the combined mission of many to be a place where the most marginalized and vulnerable individuals in the San Antonio area can now be sheltered.    This complex, on the east side of town, is on 17.4 acres of land purchased in 2019.  In April of this year, the first residents moved into their own permanent support housing. 

Selection of who will be offered a home here is carefully done. 

Those who qualify as “most vulnerable” are: people over 50; those with a disability, chronic medical or mental health challenges; a high user of expensive public services such as the ER (emergency room), EMS (emergency medical services), medical or psychiatric care, or the justice system; and, those with much time spent unhoused.   

The goal of this complex is to ultimately house 200+ seniors in either tiny homes, RVs (recreational vehicles) or apartments.

We met with Dr. Anna Downey, their Community Outreach Director.  She was a delight.  Her love for every resident, and her passion for the mission to offer meaningful help for the extremely vulnerable, was obvious.  She gave me a tour, and several aspects of Towne Twin stood out. 

The tiny homes are being built in clusters of 11-15, all of which face each other with the express purpose of building community.  Of the first residents who have moved in, Dr. Downey said there are 3 amputees, one person over 90 years-old who is blind, and people who have been on the street for 20 years, including one 58 year-old man had been for 40 years!

In addition to providing housing, each resident has a designated Care Coordinator (i.e. case manager) to help with whatever resources are needed.  And there will be what Dr. Downey referred to as “wraparound services.” 

There will be two major support buildings on the property:  one to offer services such as medical, dental, hospice and respite care, and another which will be called the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality.  This house will offer three meals a day, have a convenience store, a community room, and an opportunity to shower, do laundry, and get a haircut from a barber.  This building will eventually open for unhoused guests across the city.  

Towne Twin Village is the city’s first example of a housing project where people experiencing homelessness can “come as they are” (Housing First). The goal of Housing First is to give people a safe place to live and work on their mental and physical health needs, at the individual resident’s pace.

A lot of love and careful thought have gone into this project and all those who have and are involved should rightfully be proud.  While this may not be a “one size fits all” solution for the entire unhoused population, InfuseSA celebrates this intense, coordinated effort to help and to serve the least among us.