Bonita House of Hope
The Bonita Hope Transitional Housing complex consists of eight buildings with 60 apartment units and two 16-bed dormitories. The facility provides a safe haven for up to 199 transitionally homeless men, women and children on any given night.
Hope is a state of mind. Hope, in a deep and powerful sense, inspires not only the desire to invest in enterprises that are headed for success, but makes possible the ability to work for something because it is good. Many companies and individuals in the Greater Houston Builders Association as well as in Houston's building industry are already involved in community service. By joining forces we have been able to create a bigger impact and harness the capabilities of our industry to help in significant ways. Because of you, tonight a child will have a homes, eat a meal and be with a family because HomeAid Houston built a shelter.
HomeAid's mission is to build and renovate shelters for the temporarily homeless. On any given night more than one million men, women and children find themselves without a home. In fact, women and children represent the fastest growing segment of the homeless populations. Sadly, the average age of a homeless person is only 9 years old! The future is in our children - the sound of laughter, a safe and dignified place to live, a new vocation, skills that create new opportunities, family bonds renewed, counseling for parents, a sense of belonging, self-esteem and determination will all thrive under the roof of Bonita House of Hope, because you made a difference.
More than 400 attended the May 19, 2005, Grand Opening and Dedication Ceremony of HomeAid Houston's first shelter project - Bonita Hope Transitional Housing Complex. Groundbreaking was held June 2004. The facility consists of eight buildings with 60 apartment units and two 16-bed dormitories. This $3.6 million project, the second largest in the nation since the inception of HomeAid, required substantial support from the builder community. Families will now have a safe place to call home because HomeAid Houston - along with its builder captains, Davis Brothers Construction, Lennar Homes and Beazer Homes and all their suppliers, vendors and a few friends along the way - built a shelter.
In fact, because of the HomeAid program, hundreds of women and children will not just survive, but thrive. HomeAid Houston, a 501(c)(3) sister organization of the Greater Houston Builders Association, entered into an agreement with the Bonita Street House of Hope to construct a $3.6 million facility to house up to 199 transitionally homeless individuals. HomeAid Houston's goal to provide in-kind labor and materials in excess of $800,000 to complete this much needed project was surpassed. Because of your generosity, HomeAid Houston's builder captains, Beazer and Lennar, along with Davis Brothers Construction and the Bonita team, gathered in-kind donations exceeding $1 million.
The Bonita Hope Transitional Living Center project was one of several potential programs evaluated by the HomeAid Houston's Board of Directors (with assistance from HomeAid America, a California 501(c)(3) organization serving the homeless nationally). Bonita Hope is an approved City of Houston care provider serving HIV-positive women and children and other populations of homeless persons that include drug and alcohol abusers. The mission of Bonita Hope is to provide shelter, education and job skills to help its clients become self-sufficient. The City of Houston provided a grant of $1 million from a federal contract with the Department of Housing and Urban Development for Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS. The grant was used to purchase 4.7 acres in northeast Houston and to help in the construction of the facility.
Your investment in HomeAid Houston is an investment in sustaining human lives through the incredible shelters like Bonita Hope that make the healing process possible. We measure our success by the people we are able to serve. Although you may never meet the people you help, a mom, a child, a family will have a life because of your support.
