BEYONCÉ AND KELLY ROWLAND TEAM UP TO BUILD HOUSING UNITS IN HOUSTON TO HELP THE UNHOUSED EPIDEMIC
By Rashad Grove
This may not be the Destiny’s Child link up we initially envisioned, but we’re certainly here for it. Mega stars Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland are partnering to build permanent housing to address the unhoused in their hometown of Houston, reports the Houston Chronicle.
The project announcement was made by Harris County officials stating that the Knowles-Rowland House would include 31 permanent housing units in the city and the initiative will use $7.2 million in American Rescue Plan funds to build the complex.
Judge Lina Hildago spoke about the importance of having the former Destiny’s Child singers attached to the project.
“Harris County and the city of Houston, jointly with the coalition for the homeless, have reduced homelessness in the middle of the pandemic by 20 percent, and we’ve been able to hold that reduction,” Hidalgo said. “We just did the homeless count again, so it’s initiatives like this one I certainly will be supportive of, no matter whose behind it. But it’s especially interesting, I think, because there are these names of Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland, who, of course, have been supportive of the community for a very long time.”
Rudy Rasmus, an executive director of Bread of Life Rudy and a local pastor, said he was “grateful” for the county’s collaboration with the Knowles-Rowland Project.
“This will be our fifth housing development in downtown in Precinct 1 over the last 17 years, and just really grateful to continue to help end homeless in our county,” Rasmus said
In addition to the 31 housing units, the Knowles-Rowland House will provide other support services such as case managers, transportation, mental health, physical and behavioral health support.
The project is slated to begin construction in October 2023. Rice University and several other organizations have signed on to help fund the initiative.
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