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The New Village

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Housing First Community Broke Ground on 17-Acre Towne Twin Village200+ Seniors Will Soon Find Homes, Support Service, and Community on the East Side. $15 Million was Raised to Fund the Effort.

On May 12, 2021 HFCC, Inc. (Housing First Community Coalition) broke ground on its new 17-acre Towne Twin Village, providing housing and support services for seniors in San Antonio experiencing long-term homelessness. Mayor Ron Nirenberg, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, Commissioner Tommy Calvert, District 2 Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan, Gordan Hartman, Patti Radle, and HFCC Board Members and Coalition Partners formally recognized the beginning of construction at the site at 4711 Dietrich Road.

Named after the beloved Towne Twin Drive-In theater that once occupied the site, Towne Twin Village is designed to house 200+ seniors vulnerable due to homelessness, disability, and no or very low income. Patterned after Austin’s successful “tiny house” Community First! Village, Towne Twin Village is San Antonio’s first Single-Site Housing First-Permanent Supportive Housing Property. It will feature 100 tiny houses (~450 sq. ft. and each with ADA bathrooms and kitchenettes), 80 apartments, 25 RV trailers, a clinic with physical, mental, and dental health professional services, a new Catholic Worker House of Hospitality (for healthy meals, barber, nail hygiene, and laundry services), an interfaith chapel, hospice and respite units, hospitality and food truck pavilion, a community garden, gazebo-style grill and picnic areas, art studio, pet park, and an outdoor amphitheater for community-wide movies and musical, theatrical, and educational events.

Mark Wittig, HFCC Board President, stated, “For forty years this land has been waiting to find its purpose. The wait is over. With the help of a coalition of caring, it is being transformed into an oasis of goodness for all to experience.”

HFCC’s partners include Catholic Worker House (CWH), Traveling Loaves and Fishes (TLF) of St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, Center for Health Care Services (CHCS), SAMMinistries, Street Medicine San Antonio, WestCare Foundation, South Alamo Regional Alliance for Homeless (SARAH), city-wide SARAH member organizations and others.

Towne Twin Village is not a shelter. Residents will abide by lease policies typical of any apartment community. They will be supported by on-site community partners providing case management, professional counseling, health care, training, and social supports to help residents pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life.

Upon completion, Towne Twine will include 205 units, some of which are set aside for Peer volunteers (residents with former lived experience of homelessness who already transitioned successfully to housing) who want to move into the Village an serve as mentors to help new residents settle-in and navigate services, and PAL volunteers (Please Alleviate Loneliness….be a PAL), residents without lived history of homelessness but who wish to live on-site in solidarity to be a friend and help whenever needed.

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)

For more information about the Towne Twin Village or Housing First Community Coalition, visit http://townetwinevillage.com.

Business

Bexar County Couple Offers Counseling & Mentorship Program

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Community-based counseling is happening at Ken-Lyn Consultants and Associates, a vision Dr. Kenneth Brown and Dr. Lynda Brown had years ago. The couple is now considered a family counselor and life coach duo. 

Ken-Lyn has been serving Bexar County since 2017 and has grown almost immediately from serving 3-5 clients weekly to serving 50-70 globally. One of their greatest accomplishments is their continuous “5-Star” ratings. Amazingly, of the thousands of clients that have chosen to write a review, they all have shared the same sentiment.  

Dr. Lynda Brown is a product of the East Side, where her father, Dr. Walter Duncan, served as one of the leading dentists to Black clients. Her mom, Dr. Joan Duncan, spent 40 years as an educator and professor. Dr. Kenneth Brown’s mom was an office manager, church leader, and pianist in Southern Maryland. 

The Brown’s services have taken them to faraway places such as Australia, Dubai, Italy, Hawaii, and Alaska. They travel to perform workshops and officiate weddings all over the country. The Brown’s business partner, Tiana Hill, is an Air Force veteran like Dr. Kenneth Brown. A University of Texas at San Antonio graduate, Hill develops all website and software programming, mentors the youth, and is also a parent in the program. Ken-Lyn’s associates and partners are specialists in their fields, such as nurse practitioners, military human resources, special education professionals, attorneys, doctors, pharmacists, information technology specialists, movers, mechanics, realtors, credit recovery, insurance brokers, and many more. 

Ken-Lyn’s vast array of services is “everything family.” Their youngest client is four years old, and their oldest is 86. They have assisted over 110 students to get into four-year universities, helping them earn over $5.2 million in scholarships. Their clientele is diverse, from local families simply trying to keep their child in school to West Coast entertainers, East Coast politicians, doctors, lawyers, police officers, active military and veterans. They also serve as educational advocates during 504/IEP meetings from the school conference room to the Texas Education Agency and the Office of Civil Rights as needed.  

Ken-Lyn Consultants and Associates has been where undergraduate psychology students come to “cut their teeth” and learn how to run a practice and market their services. As of spring 2023, 80% of their undergraduate interns have come from UTSA. Interns serve in the tradition of “camp counselors” as they aid students within the Ken-Lyn mentorship program. 

They say, “We monitor grades. We aid them with everything from hygiene, makeup application, grooming, and college prep to cleaning and organizing backpacks. We help our mentees to discover themselves, despite the possible odds and misunderstandings they may face daily.”

This spring, Ken-Lyn has a busy community schedule while serving clients daily:

  • Their office has recently expanded, and on March 23 at 6:30 pm, they will host a brief “Business Blessing Ceremony.” Dr. Otis Mitchell, pastor of Mt. Zion First Baptist Church, will officiate.  
  • On Thursday, March 30, the six-week “12 Steps Toward Communicating Better” workshop will conclude at the Windmill Ice House at 2769 Nacogdoches Rd, featuring artist Elizabeth Holmes and the Ken-Lyn Communicators Band.  
  • Their mentorship program will host female and minority pilots at the Boerne Stage Field, 100 Boerne Stage Airfield, on Sunday, March 26 at 5 pm. 
  • Other mentorship guest speakers this semester will include professionals in tech fields, professors, and adults who have turned their lives around for themselves and their families.  
  • Every semester, students in their program will tour at least two colleges. This semester, they will visit Our Lady of the Lake University and Texas A&M University at College Station.  

To learn more about Ken-Lyn’s services, visit (KenLynConsultants.com) or call 210-761-4345. 

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Community

Celebrating 100 Years – Saleta Rodgers

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On 26 February 1923, Saleta Wilson was born to Rev. Rufus and Odessa Wilson of San Antonio, TX. She was the second child of six siblings.

She attended pre-integration San Antonio Independent School District (schools: Cuney Elementary; Frederick Douglas Jr High and graduated from Phyllis Wheatly High School). Later she went to cosmetology school. Many San Antonians were grateful for her coiffeur skills. 

A lot of her early years were spent at church, where the Wilson children learned Biblical teaching and developed a love of singing. Saleta was a member of Mt. Zion First Baptist, Friendship Baptist, and Mt. Pleasant Baptist churches. Her father organized Antioch Baptist Church in 1935; she was a charter member. He later organized Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in 1952, where she is a charter member and still attends today.  

While serving in the military at Lackland AFB, Prince Rogers visited Antioch, where he met Saleta. In 1946 they united in matrimony. The union lasted until his death in 1989, almost 43 years. Upon completing his military service, the couple moved to Prince’s home, Mobile, Alabama, where two children were born, Kenneth and Jacqueline.  

Saleta was an active part of the church community in Mobile. Along with her duties as wife/mother/sewing for herself and others, she united with Mt Sinai of Whistler, Alabama, and was active in their Sunday school, choir, and Mission Circle. The family returned to San Antonio after four years.

Following her parents teaching, “Don’t send them, Bring Them,” she made sure her children had a spiritual base for their lives. While working in the beauty shop, she accompanied her children at church and their various activities. Wednesday night Bible Study was a routine family engagement. At any baseball/football/basketball game, she could be found in the bleachers or somewhere in the area. This chaperoning continued with her grandchildren. She was an active PTA member. She was involved in home, neighborhood, church, and community and even worked the polls on election days. 

Saleta is an excellent cook, but everyone’s favorite is her home-made  dinner rolls. There are many fond memories of fabulous dinners with family and friends. 

After retirement, Saleta worked as a substitute teacher for 14 years with SAISD. 

She has opened her home for some who needed a place to live. Through sickness, pain, agony,  headache, heartache, nursing, caring, and losses, Saleta has remained a devoted disciple of Christ. Through it, all of God’s business never suffered and was never cut short. As it gets late in her evening, her steps may be a little slower/shorter now, but she’s still about the Father’s business. She continues to believe “when praises go up, blessings come down.”

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Black Life Texas

A Crowded Mayor’s Race

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By Chris Dawkins

Feb. 17 was the deadline for candidates to file their intentions to run for an elected office. Election Day in San Antonio is Saturday, May 6, 2023

Below are the City of San Antonio Mayor and City Council candidates. In a later magazine issue, we will include other candidates for school boards and other municipalities.

If you are a candidate in Bexar County and would like to be included in future issues of Black Life Texas, please submit a (75 word) description of your candidacy to; (CandiCandidate@BlackLifeTexas.com).

Here are the San Antonio municipal candidates: 

Mayor (10) Candidates

Christopher Longoria, Ray Adam Basaldua, Diana Flores Uriegas, Ron Nirenberg*, Michael Idrogo, Armando Dominguez, Gary Allen, Christopher T. Schuchardt, Michael Samaiego

District 1 (10) Candidates

Sukh Kaur, Ernest Salinas, Jeremy Roberts, Lauro Bustamante, Mario Bravo*, Kaitlyn Folk, Roberto Rios Ortega, James Matthew Duerr, William T. Lamar-Boone

District 2 (10) Candidates

Carla Walker, Edward Earl Giles, Jalen McKee-Rodriguez*, James M. Guild, Denise Gutierez, Denise McVea, Wendell Carson, Patrick Jones, Rose Requeneq Hill, Michael John Good

District 3 (4) Candidates

Larry La Rose, Phyllis Viagran*, Jayden Munoz, Erin Gallegos Reid

District 4 (3) Candidates

Adrian Rocha Garcia*, Gregorio De La Paz

District 5 (3) Candidates

Teri Castillo*, Arturo Espinosa, Rudy Lopez

District 6 (2) Candidates

Irina Rudolph, Melissa Cabello Havrda*

District 7 (5) Candidates

Dan Rossiter, Marina Alderele Gavito, Jacob Chapa, Sandragrace Martinez, Andrew “AJ” Luck

District 8 (2) Candidates

Cessario Garcia, Manny Pelaez*

District 9 (5) Candidates

John Courage*, David Allan Lara, Jarrett Lipman, Dominque Lui, James Casey

District 10 (7) Candidates

Joel Scolis, Madison Gutierrez, Margaret Sherwood, Marc Whyte, Rick Otley, Robert Flores, Bryan R. Martin

* Indicates incumbent

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