Neli Vazquez-Rowland and Brian Rowland | Photo: Chicago Street Wise
CHICAGO - Governor-elect Bruce Rauner announced the members of ten new transition teams Wednesday. Neli Vazquez-Rowland, President of "A Safe Haven Foundation," was named to Rauner's Health and Human Services Committee. Her husband, Brian Rowland, CEO of "A Safe Haven LLC," was named to the Veterans Committee.
"A Safe Haven" is a social service organization with a $16 million a year budget - much of it coming from state and federal government contracts with the Illinois Department of Human Services and the U.S. Veterans Administration, among others (see extended list below).
The organization also receives money as part of the Obamacare Navigator Program. In an October 8, 2014 press release, "A Safe Haven" announced it had "again been selected as enrollment, conveners and educators" for Get Covered Illinois and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Obamacare Navigator Programs. The taxpayer-funded grant would give A Safe Haven the "ability to enroll thousands more people" into Obamacare said Neli Vazquez-Rowland.
The foundation also received money from Quinn’s anti-violence initiative.
Rauner's relationship with the Rowlands goes back more than twenty years. At "A Safe Haven" 5k run this past summer, Rauner told ABC News that he was “one of the early angel investors in helping get A Safe Haven founded." He even featured the organization in one of his campaign ads.
Brian and Neli started "A Safe Haven" in 1994. The couple's background was not in social services, but in finance. She was in wealth management after having been a stockbroker. He worked in index arbitrage at the Chicago Board of Trade, profiting from market inefficiencies.
According to Chicago Street Wise, their reason for starting the lucrative non-profit was Brian’s alcohol addiction, which showed them how few services there were – especially for people whose health benefits packages were less generous than his. The Rowlands subsequently purchased and subsidized a 13-unit apartment building in Logan Square to provide services for people recovering from addictions. Their plan was to sell the building after a year for a profit.
As reported by the Illinois Herald, the corporation now boasts 500 apartments at 16 different sites, a 1,375-bed facility on Roosevelt Rd., 130 employees, a host of government contracts, and a $16 million annual budget.
As detailed by the company’s website, along with a second ‘Limited Liability Corporation’ called KMA Holdings V, LLC, the public-private social services enterprise is overseen by the Rowlands. Neli owns the charity, Brian owns the for-profit corporation that actually operates the multi-location rehab and short-term living complexes.
"A Safe Haven's" 16 facilities provide services to roughly 1,200 people per day. Its funding comes primarily from government agencies, including:
- Black United Fund of Illinois – Neighborhood Recovery Initiative
- Chicago Department of Family and Support Services
- Chicago Department of Public Health
- Department of Economic and Commerce Opportunity
- Illinois Department of Corrections
- Illinois Department of Human Services – Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse and Other Agencies
- Illinois Secretary of State
- Illinois Violence Prevention Authority
- Mayors Office of Workforce Development
- Organization of the Northeast – Neighborhood Recovery Initiative
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- U.S. Department of Justice
- U.S. Department of Labor
- U.S. Veterans Administration
