Demolition Begins on Covenant House Campus

On Friday, October 14, after a brief ceremony, the trackhoe rolled towards the first of the 40-year-old buildings that make up the original Covenant House campus to begin the demolition that will clear the way for a brand-new facility.

For more than 38 years, Covenant House Texas, a faith-based nonprofit, has offered homeless youth—about 22 percent of whom identify as LGBTQ+—a safe haven in the heart of Montrose. In addition to providing the basic necessities of food, clothing, medical care, and safe shelter from the streets, Covenant House Texas offers youth in crisis a road forward, with mental health and substance abuse counseling, educational and vocational training, transitional and permanent living programs, street outreach and prevention, faith-based ministry, and parenting classes.

“Three of these buildings that compose this special block of hope and help for youth were acquired in 1983, when visionary compassionate leaders started Covenant House Texas nearly 40 years ago,” said Leslie Bourne, the executive director of Covenant House Texas. “These buildings were not new when Covenant House acquired them and since then, they have been in use 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by as many as 120 young people at a time.” She added, “The facilities are old, overextended and beyond reasonable repair, and while we honor the many lives that have been transformed within their walls, it is time for a change.”

Bourne said the new Covenant House Texas campus is being funded through a public-private partnership, adding that investments by the City of Houston and Harris County, as well as gifts from private foundations, corporations, and individuals to the organization’s “Building for Life” capital campaign, have raised $36.4 million to date of the $47 million goal. The fundraising campaign continues, with Covenant House Texas hoping to break ground for their new facility early next year. In the interim, Covenant House has taken space at 3412 Beulah Street in the Third Ward for the next two years.

To prepare for the demolition and new campus construction, Covenant House Texas relocated all youth residents and staff at the end of September 2022. Bourne said the temporary residences, which were originally designed as student housing, are an upgrade from the Montrose campus’s aging facilities and that the youth are quite pleased with the move, pitching in to get furniture arranged and the facility set up to feel like home.

“As we all know, youth are our future; sadly, they don’t always lead a life free of struggles or have a support system to help them through those struggles,” said Ana Martinez, deputy assistant director, City of Houston Public Facilities, Housing and Community Development Department. “The City of Houston is proud to support organizations like Covenant House Texas that nurture youth. Once completed, this project will allow Covenant House to increase the number of services and youth assisted and this is much needed to serve the growing population.”

“We are so honored to be able to invest disaster recovery funds in this project,” said Adrienne Holloway, Ph.D., executive director of the Harris County Community Services Department. “This is just one part of our partnership with Covenant House Texas, and we look forward to a much longer, fruitful partnership.”

Covenant House Texas serves youth in need between the ages of 18 and 24. For more information or to make a donation, visit ConvenantHouseTX.org.