The recenter’s Hope Harbor Initiative is located in a highly distressed census tract that is part of a USDA food desert, a local economic development district, and adjacent to the expansion of public transportation. Hope Harbor is focused on providing affordable housing, wrap-around and health care services, and ensuring that Houston’s vulnerable homeless population obtains the skills necessary to access employment. The new building will include 62 single-occupancy efficiency residential units (300 SF each) with a bathroom and kitchenette (including refrigerator, sink, microwave, pre-wiring for two-burner electrical range top, and pre-wiring for recirculating vent hood), and shared laundry and living rooms on each floor. More than half of the units will be affordable. At least 1,440 clients annually will participate in one-on-one counseling and case management services through its LifeMap Program, as well as, family support services such as Anon, Alateen, Family After (family support and reunification programs), and Family Saturdays (allows residents to enjoy a free meal together in the new dining room, which will foster more open communication within the family to rebuild damaged relationships). The Hope Harbor will create 135 construction jobs (of which 100% will pay a Davis-Bacon wage); will retain 44 jobs (of which 35 employees are recenter residents); it will create 11 new positions that will be filled with recenter residents; and at least 19% of the construction subcontracting opportunities will be awarded to minority and women-owned businesses.
Urban Action Community Development (UACD) provided $3.5MM in NMTC allocation for The Men’s Center (d/b/a recenter) new Hope Harbor Initiative. The Houston, TX based nonprofit has a 67-year track record of providing transitional housing for the homeless recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction. Its clients are provided non-medical detox and rehab in safe transitional housing along with meals, 12-step meetings, peer-to-peer counseling, and workforce development opportunities. The recenter’s campus consists of five contiguous buildings that include 228 units of housing for men and women that are at least 18 years old. In an effort to increase the recenter’s capacity, the Hope Harbor Initiative will be the new construction of a five-story building that will include 62 single-occupancy efficiency residential units and will offer a host of wrap-around services for the homeless suffering with alcoholism and drug addiction. The Hope Harbor’s addition of 56 units of housing for the recenter’s overall portfolio will be the largest rehabilitation program of its kind in Houston. The recenter’s campus is in close proximity to many of the nonprofit organizations and service providers that the recenter collaborates with for services.
