Houston City Council members unanimously approved an ordinance Sept. 9 to provide $1.79 million in additional housing services funding for The Montrose Center.
Current situation
The Montrose Center is a cultural hub and community center for the city's LGBTQ+ community. The center hosts dozens of social and civic organizations and provides services ranging from counseling and substance use recovery to HIV testing and disease prevention.
The nonprofit relies on partnerships with individual donors and a variety of businesses and institutions to fund its programs and services, according to the organization's website.
Houston officials approved the extension of an existing contract between the city and the center to provide up to $1.79 million in Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS funding to be used as follows:
$915,000: Tenant-based rental assistance for 78 households
$525,000: Short-term rent, mortgage and utility assistance for 110 households
$20,000: Permanent housing placement services for 11 households to help prevent homelessness
$210,000: Supportive services such as case management, mental health counseling and substance abuse counseling
$121,846: Administrative uses
The Montrose Center was originally selected for the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) federal funding grant in March 2025. The current agreement began Sept. 2, 2025 and was set to expire Sept. 30, 2026. City Council's vote extends the agreement by one year through Aug. 31, 2027, according to the agenda item.
Quote of note
"This is not just rent and utility assistance for hundreds of families, but also mental health services and other wraparound services," District C council member Joe Panzarella said during the meeting. "I want to give a huge shoutout to Avery [Belyeu] and her team at The Montrose Center and Director [Mike] Nichols and the entire housing department for their hard work to get these dollars in the hands of organizations doing really critical housing work."
Why it matters
The Montrose Center reports that LGBTQ+ youth make up approximately 25% of the young population experiencing homelessness, with some national reports showing that these individuals are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their peers.
The nonprofit served more than 55,000 individuals in fiscal year 2023-24 through its programs and services, including 834 youth.
