As reported by The Houston Chronicle, Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child are giving back to shape the destiny of those in need of housing.
In collaboration with Harris County, the duo are creating a permanent housing complex in the midtown area of Houston,Texas fittingly named the Knowles-Rowland House. The development will provide 31 units of housing to people seeking to exit homelessness. After successfully receiving the Commissioners Court’s vote to approve the plan, Harris County will now be investing $7.2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to bring this project to fruition. The announcement from Judge Lina Hidalgo can also be seen here: https://twitter.com/urbanreformorg/status/1673708897285074945
According to Houston Chronicle’s Chron.com, Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis stated that the project plans to break ground in October and will total around $8.4 million in estimated costs, with the additional funds coming from outside entities, including Rice University. In addition to the 31 housing units, the Knowles-Rowland House permanent housing project will have case managers, peer specialists, service specialists, and support services, like transportation, mental health, physical and behavioral health support, county records note.
Houston nonprofit Bread of Life will allocate the funds to redevelop an existing gymnasium on its campus into Knowles-Rowland House.
Rudy Rasmus, senior pastor of St. John’s Downtown Church and the executive director of Bread of Life, told the court about his organization's long-standing philanthropic ties with the former Destiny's Child singers.
"Destiny's Child, with the proceeds from their first hit song 'No, no, no' built a youth center in downtown on the St. John's campus," Rasmus said. "That building, over the years, has housed 150 un-housed people every night for about seven years." Rasmus went on to further express his gratitude and highlighted the progress being made in the battle against homelessness in Houston, "We are just grateful for the opportunity to serve. This will be our fifth housing development in downtown in Precinct 1 over these last 17 years, and just really grateful to continue to help end homelessness in our county.”
According to the Houston Chronicle, Judge Lina Hidalgo stated, "We're going to do a bigger initiative and launch of this later in September around the time we know Beyoncé is going to be in town for her concerts." Beyoncé is scheduled to perform in Houston on September 23rd and 24th at NRG Stadium for her Renaissance World Tour dates.
Bey and Kel, we salute you!
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