SAN ANTONIO – Haven for Hope is marking nine years of serving the homeless population in San Antonio.

  • NuStar Energy hosted BBQ
  • Welcomed 1,600 residents
  • Nonprofit opened in 2010

On Tuesday, NuStar Energy hosted the nonprofit’s annual BBQ Bash at the West Side campus. Company employees plan, coordinate and work the event to entertain 1,600 residents. They also whip up the feast, which includes cooking thousands of pounds of barbeque meat.

It is a meal Mashaun Hirschel is grateful for.

“The food, the setup, everything is beautiful,” Hirschel said.

Hirschel and his family have been clients at Haven for Hope after becoming homeless in March. Hirschel said the nonprofit has helped provide a case manager, housing liaison and get his wife a job.

“Because of Haven, I’ve been able to build myself back as a man and kind of re-establish myself again,” Hirschel said.

A lot of the services Haven for Hope provides for their clients are funded by donations fundraised by NuStar. Each year, the oil and gas company hosts a golf classic, which raises about $3 million for the nonprofit.

Chairman Bill Greehey called the company a key player in Haven for Hope’s success since opening in 2010.