A new affordable housing campus in Harris County serving unhoused youth and young adults exiting the state foster care system has opened near downtown Houston, nearly five years after Harris County commissioners first approved the $41 million project’s construction.
The details
The HAY—Houston Alumni & Youth—Center Foundation, operates a program in partnership with the Harris County Resources for Children and Adults Department that provides resources and services for youth and young adults. One part of the project included a 41,000-square-foot, 50-unit residential facility with a community space, kitchen, small gym, and private study rooms, according to the organization’s website. The second part of the campus includes a 17,000-square-foot commercial building that will provide wraparound services and life skills training rooms for youth and young adults transitioning out of the state’s foster care system.
While the housing unit is in Harris County, the HAY Center assists youth and young adults in the surrounding region, according to the organization’s website. Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo attended the Aug. 22 ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“Being able to give at-risk kids housing stability gives them the freedom to pursue the future that they want, whether that’s school or working,” Hidalgo said in a news release. “I’m so proud today to be able to celebrate the great future that every level of government in our community is helping these young people build.”
How we got here
Harris County commissioners first approved constructing the larger scope of the project during a Dec. 15, 2021 meeting of commissioners court, as previously reported in Community Impact.
According to county officials, the $41 million HAY Center campus was funded by a mixture of the following entities:
- $32 million by Harris County’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery grants, federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and general funds
- $5 million from the city of Houston
- $4 million from private philanthropists
The impact
Every year, at least 40 foster youth in the Harris County region are at risk of becoming homeless by their 18th birthday, according to the news release.
The housing project is classified to serve unhoused youth and young adults who have aged out of the foster care system who are at or below 50% of the area median income. For a 1-person household size, the youth or young adult would be making less than $50,000, according to the 2025 numbers for Houston from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
