SAN ANTONIO — Some of San Antonio’s most vulnerable homeless residents could start moving into Towne Twin Village on the east side as soon as October. It will be the community’s first residential campus built for single-site permanent supportive housing needs.
Towne Twin Village has been in the works for the past three years under the leadership of the Housing First Community Coalition. But the non-profit’s vision for such a project goes back even further.
The 17-acre plot of land off Dietrich road (formerly a drive-in theater) is the eventual campus of more than 200 units consisting of tiny homes, RVs and on-site resources for residents in the process of recovering from homelessness.
The Housing First Community Coalition’s inspiration for the project comes from a similar venture in Austin known as the Community First Village.
“Our model is not to house somebody and then come check on them in a month or two months or three months to see how they’re doing in their home. We are here to provide support as they’re transitioning out of homelessness and as they’re coming into their new residence,” said Edward Gonzales, executive director of the Housing First Community Coalition.
Towne Twin Village utilizes the Housing First permanent supportive housing model of care for the community’s most at-risk homeless residents.
“They’re going to be individuals that are 50 years of age or older that have a disabling condition and have been homeless for more than a year, some of them of which have been homeless for 10 years,” Gonzales said.
Phase one of the project, which features 25 new RV units and 36 tiny homes, is expected to wrap up by the end of the year, although residents could start moving in starting in October.
“This is the cluster, the first cluster of tiny homes for phase one so not every home in the cluster is going to look the same. I think the major thing is providing something that’s your own, that’s different from everybody else,” Gonzales said.
The first of three phases of construction also includes a transportation pavilion, chapel and multi-purpose complex. Unlike other permanent supportive
“If a resident is needing dental service or medical needs or if they have a need for mental health or behavior health services, those services are here on site,” Gonzales said.
Towne Twin Village is being funded by the city, Bexar County, the San Antonio Housing Trust and through donations. Capital funding for phase one amounted to just over $12 million.
“I think what’s especially magical about Towne Twin Village is the sense of community that they’re going to cultivate there,” said Katie Vela, executive director of the South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless.
Vela noted many of the unsheltered community members she’s heard from want to move out of homelessness but they’re unable to find a permanent option that’s also going to help them address all of that trauma.
One of the big challenges of replicating single-site permanent supportive housing is finding the proper location and enough land.
But Vela stressed it’s crucial that another critical funding source be considered.
“The voters approved the housing bond, which included $25 million for permanent supportive housing, so I think there a lot of compassionate San Antonians that want to see people have options to move out of homelessness,” Vela said.