SAN ANTONIO – Haven For Hope recently announced Keven Bergner as its new interim CEO.
Former president and CEO Kim Jeffries left the nonprofit organization last month to build and run a facility like Haven for Hope outside of Texas.
Bergner, a graduate of Cole High School, spoke with KSAT 12 about his military background and his top priorities for Haven For Hope. The quotes have been edited for brevity.
On Bergner’s background
Bergner: “I was blessed to serve 31 years as a soldier. I was a field artilleryman. And I served three tours in Iraq. I went to Bosnia. We lived in Germany as a family. The Army doesn’t always say join the Army and see the world. But we did, and it was really a blessing for me. To come back here was absolutely a joy to come to Military City. I am honored to be back here. It just feels so natural.”
On transitioning into a new role
Bergner: “Picture a fire hose flowing at full speed and I’m drinking from the fire hose because there is so much to learn at Haven For Hope. So much good work in the way of wraparound services for our clients. The complexity with which we serve them, the complexity with which they come to us. So I would tell you, I’m still drinking large volumes of water to figure it all out. But a couple of things I have figured out. First of all, we have a terrific team at Haven, and many people here have been here since the beginning. Because they have a passion for our mission and for the people we serve. And we are beneficiaries of some great generosity from this community. The donors and friends of Haven for Hope who support us. Really, they equip us to do the kind of work that we’re called to do. And the city and the county are our great partners in this as well. And so it’s a collaborative between our donors, the city and the county, and just a great workforce that are helping people who are our neighbors. I mean, these are people we should be helping because they are our neighbors.”
On his top priorities
Bergner: “I am blessed because my predecessor, Kim Jeffries, established a tremendous culture at Haven For Hope in the three-plus years she was here. So my first and number one priority is to sustain that culture. That is a great blend of compassion, competence and caring for the people we serve and achieving important outcomes for them. So stability in the culture, stability in the process with which we serve our clients, I think is the most important thing during a transition so that we continue doing what we’re doing, which is so important without missing a beat. We’re helping our neighbors who are in the most vulnerable circumstances in life. They have no place to go. They have other things going on in their lives that have contributed to that, and we really want to get that right. About 64% of the people who come to Haven for help our first first-time homeless. So that should get people’s attention that says, these really are our neighbors. These are people who are in a really unfortunate circumstance, and we should do everything we can to help them.”
On helping veterans
Bergner: “I have a special place in my heart for someone who has served because I’ve walked in their boots. I know the sacrifices they’ve made. I know the commitment they made to step up and go do the hard things our country asked. And so we owe them a special debt of responsibility and taking care of them, especially when they’re in this circumstance. So yes, I’m really honored that we have a great veteran’s services program here. We work closely with the VA, and we work closely with a number of other veterans service providers that help us do the best we can for our vets.”
Read also: