Shelters Houston Texas

Our Living a Better Story begins in July 2008. Judy and I were preparing to be on Kairos Prison Ministry Team #1 at Hightower State Prison Ministry in Dayton, Texas. I was the Weekend Leader and needed a few more team members, especially ordained clergy. Rev. Marc Donaldson met Rev. Troy Williams at TDCJ Volunteer Training and put me in touch with Troy who was on staff at Star of Hope Mission in downtown Houston. Troy joined our team and Judy and I became impressed with Troy’s passion and dedication for serving the homeless of our community.

Judy and I assisted Troy and Star of Hope Mission yearly with some of their fundraisers so we are on their mail and email list. We received several emails and mailings from Star of Hope Mission recently requesting financial assistance; the Houston economy was sluggish and their contributions were lagging by about $700,000 from last year.

This is when Judy and I received our Living a Better Story packets.  Judy had a $5 bill in her packet; I had a $20 bill. We prayed for three days for God to show us where He wanted our multiplied money to be used. Confirming circumstances and prayer convinced me that Star of Hope Mission was where God wanted me to invest my fishes and loaves. During our three days of prayer, we received another mailing from Star of Hope Mission requesting financial assistance in providing back to school supplies for the homeless children that live in their shelters. Judy is a retired Second Grade teacher with a heart for helping school children get their required school supplies and back packs; she knew that God wanted her fishes and loaves to go toward school supplies for the homeless children at Star of Hope Mission.

Judy and I decided to pool our $25 rather than doing our projects separately. We came up with a list of friends, co-workers and family members who are not members here at Christ Church. We contacted them, shared our vision and the need at Star of Hope Mission and asked them to participate with us in multiplying God’s money. I sent an email to Rev. Troy Williams to let him know of our fishes and loaves project. He was intrigued and eager to see how God would work for Star of Hope Mission. 

The response was overwhelming! After three weeks of receiving numerous small contributions, our $25 had been multiplied by God into $950.00 with more expected. Judy and I visited Star of Hope with God’s multiplied money. Troy showed Judy and me all three of their facilities in downtown Houston. There is one men’s facility, one short term facility for parents with children and a long term facility for parents with children. The three facilities provide food and shelter for about 1,000 homeless members of the Houston community. All are very clean, well supervised and the spirit of love and compassion was evident everywhere we visited.

We were truly blessed by God in being able to work with Him in providing much needed operating funds and school supplies for some very deserving brothers and sisters.

Thank you Stoney and Judy!

People often ask me, “What causes homelessness?”   The answer is almost anything you can imagine, and sometime the unimaginable.   Case in point.   The other day, I met a woman who is living at our Women and Family Emergency Shelter, because she had quit her job.  Naturally, given the scarcity of jobs these days, she had my full attention.

As she began to unfold her story, it was clear she had not quit because of some egregious wrong in the workplace or a gross laxity in personal responsibility.   She quit in order to protect her 15-year old son from the perils of the street.  You’re probably thinking, what a desperate thing to do.  Well, it was.  Except that this woman was between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
 
Being a struggling, single parent, living in a rough neighborhood, she could not be both on the job and also at home monitoring her son’s activities and associates.  The hours between the close of school and the end of her work day were too many for her comfort.  There was evidence that the draw of the streets was stronger than the law of her household.  With her limited income, she could not afford a better neighborhood, and, as she said, “I had to get him out of there. The money I was making was not as important as his life.”  With nowhere else to go and homelessness as her option, Star of Hope was her only hope.

I have to tell you that I have great admiration for this mom.  She is a courageous, selfless woman who was willing to sacrifice everything she had to give her son an opportunity to live with honesty, decency, and purpose.  She took a leap of faith and found peace in the shelter, where she and he are receiving the help they need, now. and the preparation they need for the future.
 

Visit Star of Hope Mission and learn more about Shelters Houston Texas.

On any given night, nearly half of the homeless people in our Women’s & Family Emergency Shelter are children. Every afternoon, they gather with the Mission staff for “Daily Prayer Time”, where they write their prayer requests on little slips of paper. Then they sit in a circle, and a staff member leads them in prayer, reading each individual request.

Over the years, we have logged thousands of these prayer requests. Here are a few examples:

I want to pray for abused children everywhere.

I pray that my mom finds a house.

Thank you, Lord for a home.

I pray to go to the NBA.

I pray for good health, a job and a home.

I pray for everybody to get a place to stay.

Thank you God for giving me life!

I pray that I go to the NFL.

I pray that I get a house with a dog.

I pray I pass the TAKS test and become a lawyer.

I pray for a home and a car and a second chance. 

I pray that a homeless person gets a job.

I pray to God to help me stop having nightmares.

I pray to God to help me find my purpose in life.

I pray for my sister and my mom.

I want to ask you God for a home and a father.

I pray for my family to be ok.

I love you God!

“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

Yesterday, I was entering a CVS store to purchase batteries when I noticed sitting down away from the front entrance a homeless person. In all my years I had never seen someone so affected by the streets , she was covered in dirt, torn dirty clothing, barefoot and both her arms were in casts. Someone had bought her an ice cream which she was frantically trying to eat as the Houston heat melted it away, I was crushed at the site.

I have been in similar situations where I was preoccupied, disconnected and maybe thought my giving a dollar or two would provide help, but not this time.  I approached her and told her that I was torn up on the inside and that I wanted to help her anyway I could .  She turned and looked at me with the biggest eyes I have ever seen and said "Mr., I am just waiting on God to get me out of this mess. If He is real I know He will save me." Obviously, that response spoke to me and put the responsibility back on me as a child of God to be the hands of Christ. I sat down and had a conversation with this sweet soul and found out about her journey from cheerleader in Jacksonville Florida where she grew up. “I was pretty back then,” she exclaimed several times as she reflected on a life of tragedy and brokenness. She told me the way I could help her was to get her to the Star of Hope where they had helped her in the past. This blessed me to no end because I had not told her that I worked for Star of Hope and it confirmed in my heart that the Good Shepherd was still actively protecting and growing the flock.

I called the Star of Hope Women and Family Emergency Shelter where I made arrangements to get Robin to the shelter and as soon as we walked in the door the attendant at the desk  made immediate arrangements for shower, food and fresh clothing. I left her in good hands and said my goodbyes to Robin who is forever etched into my heart.

Please join with me and pray for Robin and the thousands just like her all over Houston. They aren’t a group of people called "The Homeless",  they are individuals, consciously or unconsciously waiting for God to get them out of this mess.

"We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield." Psalm 33:20

This week we have all been bombarded with advertisements from greeting card companies, florists and jewelers enticing us to find the perfect gift for Mother’s Day.  We’ve seen images of adoring children gathered around mom, sharing moments of fun and laughter. But instead of those perfect family portraits captured by Kodak, just for a moment, imagine being a homeless mom with several small children. You don’t know how you’re going to feed your children or where you will find a safe place for them to curl up and sleep. Stressed and exhausted, you feel like a failure. You have little hope for a better tomorrow until, somehow, you arrive at the Star of Hope Women & Family Emergency Shelter. There, in the midst of your pain and struggles, you find people eager to help you and your children. Not only are needs of your family met, but there is a special Mother’s Day surprise just for you!

Last year, Sue Clark of Houston Gift Rep Group, wanted to honor the moms at our shelter with special Mother’s Day flowers. She found beautiful cream-colored vases trimmed in gold and ordered enough flowers to fill all the vases. Sue even found a florist who allowed her to use their workroom from 9 AM until noon on Saturday. Sue, along with helper Sharon Reese, a tiny lady with a Texas-size heart, worked at a feverish pace all morning. But at noon, there were still many arrangements to be made. It’s so amazing how God works! Business was so good the florist had to stay open. Throngs of customers kept coming until the last arrangement was assembled!

Sue delivered more than 200 beautiful, fragrant, ribbon-tied arrangements to the shelter for the staff to distribute Sunday morning. There were tears of joy and big, happy smiles from all the moms. Some of our moms had never before received flowers from anyone. This was their very first time! Here are some of the comments made by our moms:

·         This is so beautiful, I love it!”

·         “Oh, my, thank you so much!”

·         “Oooh!  You don’t know how much this means to me!  Thank you so much!”

·         “This is lovely, so I get to celebrate Mother’s Day!”

·         “Thank you for the flowers.”

·         “Thank you for making us feel special!”

However, this Mother’s Day story doesn’t end on Sunday. On Monday, a first-time mom came home from the hospital (to a homeless shelter) with precious newborn twins. She didn’t leave the hospital with carts full of flowers, balloon and the other special well wishes that make this time even more exciting. But when she arrived at the Women & Family Emergency Shelter, Sue’s flowers were there to celebrate the very special delivery and her first Mother’s Day!

This year, as an organization, Houston Gift Rep Group has followed Sue’s lead and will again provide Mother’s Day flowers for all of the shelter’s moms. Moms who are struggling through times of crisis will know they are loved, appreciated and valued – not only by their children, but by the One who created us all. And as our moms are surrounded by His love, their hearts will be touched and the lives of their families forever changed.   Happy Mother’s Day!

I remember Easter time when I was growing up here in Houston. My mom and grandmother would take me shopping for the perfect new dress, complete with all the matching accessories, to wear to church on Easter morning. Oh, my goodness! Dressing rooms filled with possibilities and girl-time I will never forget. But most of the moms who come to Star of Hope are worried about a safe place for their children to sleep and finding food to fill aching bellies. Their thoughts are not on a trip to the mall, but survival. 

So I can hardly wait for all of the little girls at our Women & Family Emergency Shelter and our Transitional Living Center to get home from school today! Thanks to our friends with Houston Gift Rep Group, there’s a very special surprise waiting for the little girls at both facilities – new Easter dresses!

Last year, Houston Gift Rep Group kicked-off a wonderful new partnership with Star of Hope by purchasing Easter dresses and hair accessories for the little girls at the Women & Family Emergency Shelter. When the girls saw all the dresses and tried on everything for the first time, there were lots of excited giggles, glowing smiles and twinkling eyes. Sunday morning, they left for church feeling very pretty and very special in their brand new outfits. Not only did they celebrate Resurrection Sunday at church, but each little girl personally experienced the outpouring of Christ’s love through this generous gesture. One of our staff members, Meka Thompson, remembers girls who wore their dresses for days after Easter, not wanting to take them off, not wanting the moment to end.

Houston Gift Rep Group members have hearts the size of Texas and this year asked to include the little girls at our Transitional Living Center. This morning, Sam Bowman and Brenda Purser delivered almost 100 dresses and hair accessories. Brenda said, “EVERY little girl should have a new dress for Easter!” 

So this afternoon will definitely be a time filled with wonder and excitement as our little girls see their new dresses and get ready for the most special Easter ever. And I continued to be grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who sends special friends, like Houston Gift Rep Group, our way.
 

Discover ways to get involved at Homeless Shelter Volunteer Houston

Next week Star of Hope homeless mission will host a nationally known rock band for a brief autograph and handshake session. The group Switchfoot will appear at the Transitional Living Center from 9:30 till 10:30 on Thursday, November 19Th. This is part of the KSBJ radio "Street N Greet" series. The public is invited to meet the band and tour one of the premier homeless shelters Houston Texas. For more information go to sohmission.org.

Help the Homeless Houston