WHAT IT IS

FVPS’s Community-Based Counseling Program (CBCP)provides individual professional counseling services by Master’s level staff to residents of 13 San Antonio homeless shelters, to include the Haven for Hope campus. Services are provided on-site at each homeless shelter, and are available for both English and Spanish speaking clients. All services are provided free of charge.

HISTORY

The program began in 1995, when 16 San Antonio area agencies collaborated to apply for federal funding which would support the cost of providing mental health counseling services for the homeless. Prior to that time, because of varying eligibility criteria, thousands of homeless individuals in Bexar County were unable to receive such services, even though many were diagnosed with mental health disorders and substance abuse problems. People experiencing the extreme adversity and despair of being without a home were unable to access professional mental health services needed to cope with personal trauma, grief, anxiety, and depression. The need to assist the homeless population in addressing mental health concerns while building personal coping skills was dire, and recognition of this fact by a group of partnering agencies resulted in what is now the Community-Based Counseling Program.

TODAY

The Community-Based Counseling Program now serves more than 1,000 homeless persons each year, with each client being afforded the confidentiality and quality of service that any person receiving private counseling services would expect. Individual counselors meet homeless persons in places convenient to each client and at times that fit into the clients’ schedules. There is no charge for the counseling services provided.

CONFIDENTIALITY

What is shared in counseling stays between the client and his/her counselor. This is our professional obligation and it is each client’s right to expect this.

HOW CAN I RECEIVE SERVICES?

Just call us. You don’t need to fill out any forms before you come to see us. Simply call

210-220-2525 to set an appointment, or come by our office located at One Haven for Hope, Bldg. 3,

San Antonio, TX 78207. Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM.