Students at Clark High School collected 800 pairs of socks for people undergoing chemotherapy at the Start Center. (The chemo rooms are pretty cold, we hear.) And in Washington DC, The Ecumenical Center for Religion and Health was presented with a prestigious national award by The American Psychiatric Association Foundation for increasing public awareness about mental health and providing increased access to comprehensive mental health care for underserved minorities.
Every Wednesday we bring you a news roundup of compassionate stories. Want to see them sooner? Follow us on Twitter, @compassionNET1. Use the hashtag #compassionateSA to be found on social media.
Seen in the Rivard Report, 2 May, 2018
Day of Reflection Kicks Off Commemorative Week with Songs And Prayer for Unity
“Here is a huge metropolis that is celebrating its diversity, its unique culture, and it embraces it beautifully.”
Seen on KSAT 12, 2 May, 2018
750 special-needs students, adults visit SA Zoo
Bexar Caravan No. 56 The Order of Alahambra also provided a free lunch to the participants and chaperones.
Seen in the Express-News, 2 May, 2018
New report shows role of drug use in San Antonio child neglect or abuse deaths
“Three things bring children into foster care, and the primary one is substance abuse. The second one is a lack of mental health services. The third is domestic violence. Oftentimes it’s all three, and now you’ve got a recipe for disaster.”
Seen on FOX 29, 3 May, 2018
Children’s Hospital patients make jewelry for Mother’s Day
“They can get out of their room, and they can do something fun and have a distraction from what ever procedures or diagnosis they have going on.”
Found on News4SA, 3 May, 2018
New mental health services for kids removed from homes
“Children that are hurt as children and don’t get what they need, they’re going to be hurt and damaged adults who are not going to be able to be fully productive.”
Found on Spectrum News, 3 May, 2018
SA Animal Care Services to offer free microchips
Take your fur babies to the San Juan Community Center on May 4 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. No appointments,needed but animal must be leashed or in a carrier.
Found in the Rivard Report, 3 May, 2018
One-Night Count Finds Increase Unsheltered Homeless People in SA
San Antonio’s homeless rate per capita, which looks at the number of homeless people per 10,000 people, is currently at 15.42 percent, below the national per capita rate of 17.
Also found in the Express-News, 3 May, 2018
Number of people living on the streets of San Antonio up dramatically
The count results will be used in continuing efforts by the city, county and various community agencies and faith-based groups to better address homelessness and increase outreach efforts.
También visto en Univision 41, 3 May, 2018
Las organizaciones activistas informan un aumento en la población indigente [Activist organizations report an increase in the homeless population]
La organización SARAH presentó alarmantes estadísticas de aumento en la población sin hogar, especialmente los jóvenes. [The nonprofit SARAH presented alarming statistics of increases in the homeless population, especially young people.]
Seen on KENS 5, 3 May, 2018
Organization rallies to stop to high rate of domestic violence in Bexar County
“If we, each one of us community members, did our thing to stop the generational impact of domestic violence, to explore what traditions, what attitudes, what ideas and thinking drive people to do these things, then we would be ahead.”
Found in the Rivard Report, 3 May, 2018
Eastside Tricentennial Celebration Reveres Past, Looks to Next 300 Years
“One cannot imagine … what this country would have become without compassionate, civil-minded men and women [coming forward] to provide education for the disenfranchised.”
Found in the Rivard Report, 3 May, 2018
Advancing the Arts in San Antonio Will Provide Value for the Next 300 Years
By engaging with the arts and one another and by challenging our perceptions and biases, we grow – together as a city.
Seen on KSAT 12, 4 May, 2018
Local group helps perpetrators of domestic violence get to root of anger
“When men and women commit violent acts, she wonders, “What happened to you? What did you experience as a kid? And, how did that affect you?”
Seen on KENS 5, 6 May, 2018
Volunteers visit seniors, raise awareness of Elder Abuse Prevention Month
“This one-on-one interaction really helps combat the isolation they face.”
Also seen on FOX 29, 6 May, 2018
Adopt-A-Senior program aims to keep the elderly in Bexar County out of isolation</strong>
“We have an opportunity to give back to a generation that gave so much.”
Seen on KSAT 12, 5 May, 2018
As people gawked at suicidal man, one woman stopped to pray for him
While she prayed for the man on the sign, she also prayed for the men and women working to get him down, unsure if he was dangerous.
Maria Anglin’s column in the Express News, 5 May, 2018
The secret to S.A.’s 300 years — we’re nice
“Around here, we get along…That’s not to say we don’t disagree on the things that matter…And we’re not pushovers, either…But we’re really, really nice.”
Found in the Express-News, 6 May, 2018
CRIT a god-send for this new S.A. family
CRIT-USA is a state-of-the-art pediatric rehabilitation facility in San Antonio that offers high-quality physical, occupational, speech and aquatic therapies at a low cost to children with special needs.
Found in the Rivard Report, 5 May, 2018
UT Health SA President Henrich: When a Doctor Becomes a Patient
“The biggest benefit to me as a physician is that it has deepened my empathy for any individual that has anything wrong with them.”
Seen on KENS 5, 6 May, 2018
Heart recipient of fallen SAPD officer attends the 5th Annual Bobby Bowl
SAPD Officer Bobby Deckard was fatally shot during a high speed chase in 2013. His organs helped save four lives, his aunt says.
Seen on KSAT 12, 6 May, 2018
Hundreds run, bike, play, skate during Siclovia
“I feel like we’re all tight-knit, family-oriented city and willing to help each other out,” said Bunni Cruz. “I want it to continue on for another 300 years.”
Seen in the Express-News, May 3, 2018
Commitment fuels nursing mission
The Methodist core values, used in treating not only our patients but also ourselves, allow us to achieve a holistic balance needed in our lives.
Found in the Express-News, 6 May, 2018
Day of Reflection turned into perfect night
The more than 24 prayers, some of them sung and drummed, some of them chanted in languages unknown to the majority of us, still somehow were understood. They were all about hope, respect, cooperation and love.
Seen on KENS 5, 7 May, 2018
John Jay HS students organize prom for senior citizens
“We reached out to them and built relationships with those people. We didn’t just throw a prom for them.”
Seen on Fox 29, 7 May, 2018
Program that helps abused, neglected children through court system gets helping hand
“We are working toward a goal of providing a CASA volunteer to every child in State care to ensure they do not fall through the cracks of an overburdened system.”
Seen on Fox 29, 7 May, 2018
Free 12-week program helps families develop healthy habits
“It is targeted towards the neighborhoods and the communities where we know we have the highest probability with issues with diabetes or heart stress cardiac problems,” District 4 Councilman Rey Saldaña said.
Seen on KENS 5, 8 May, 2018
‘Ghost shoes’ show the dangers of not wearing a seat belt
The 929 pairs of shoes on display at University Hospital represent the lives lost in Texas last year because people were not wearing seatbelts.
Seen on FOX 29, 8 May, 2018
Haven for Hope CEO speaks at Las Vegas forum to help combat homelessness nationwide
“It’s a big place, immense collaboration and they think, how do we accomplish that for our city,” said Haven CEO Kenny Wilson.
Found in the Washington Post, 8 May, 2018
Teacher: How my students helped me walk through the most devastating time in my life
Caring relationships are born out of a deep desire to understand another human being’s life experiences and perspectives.
Seen on KSAT 12, 8 May, 2018
San Antonio woman who is seen confronting strangers in dog dumping video receives award
PETA honors SA woman with Compassionate Action Award.
Seen on Spectrum News, 8 May, 2018
SA Clubhouse year-long project to culminate with 5K
With help from UT Health occupational therapy students, Clubhouse members are on a mission to get both their bodies and minds in top shape.
Found in the Rivard report, 8 May, 2018
New Education Pilot Program Seeks to Bridge Summer Learning Gap
The 10-week Super Summer Readers program will serve as a pilot for what could become a larger endeavor in future years.
Also read in in the Expres-News, 8 May, 2018
Reading program in San Antonio to fight “summer slide”
Children of low-income families are at greatest risk because their families can’t afford summer camps or educational vacations.
Seen on KSAT 12, 8 May, 2018
Olympic Gold Medalist Shares Positivity, Kindness with San Antonio
2016 Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez spoke at an event to help raise money for the Salvation Army.
Seen on FOX 29, 8 May, 2018
Centro Seguro, 24/7 drop-in center helps dozens of trafficked youth
Since October, 110 young people between 11-17 years old have been helped.
Seen on Univision 41, 7 May, 2018
Las caras de la violencia.- Part 1 [The faces of violence.- Part 1]
Una de cada tres mujeres es víctima de violencia doméstica en el condado Bexar, en muchas ocasiones las víctimas logran huir y en muchas otras terminan perdiendo la vida en manos de sus parejas. [One out of every three women is a victim of domestic violence in Bexar County, in many cases the victims manage to flee and in many others they end up losing their lives in the hands of their partners.]
Seen on Univision 41, 8 May, 2018
Especial: Las caras de la violencia – Part 2 [Special: The faces of violence – Part 2]
Monica Navarro nos habla sobre los esfuerzos que realizan las organizaciones que ayudan a las víctimas de violencia doméstica. [Monica Navarro talks to us about the efforts made by organizations that help victims of domestic violence.]
COMPASSIONATE SAN ANTONIO . . . is a grassroots movement that promotes, supports and celebrates San Antonio’s commitment to be a world-class compassionate city: one where the civic government, the religious and volunteer organizations, the businesses, the community and its educational institutions come together to recognize the importance and value of compassion in the life of a city and by doing so create an ethos of compassion and a safety net for its most vulnerable citizens. #compassionateSA
