America has a problem, and one of the biggest problems the country is currently grappling with is the housing crisis. Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland are teaming up to do their part to help combat this problem in their hometown of Houston, Texas.
On Tuesday, Harris County officials announced that the county would be collaborating with the Houston natives to create 31 permanent housing units. The initiative is set to use $7.2 million in American Rescue Plan funds to build the complex. “Initiatives like this one I certainly will be supportive of it no matter who’s behind it, but it’s especially interesting… because there are these names of Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland, who, of course, have been supportive of the community for a very long time,” Judge Lina Hildago said during a press conference Tuesday, according to the Houston Chronicle.
In addition to the housing units, the new permanent housing project — called the Knowles-Rowland House — will have case managers, peer specialists, service specialists and support services, like transportation, mental health, physical and behavioral health support. An “even bigger launch” of the housing complex is slated for a September announcement once Beyoncé is back in her hometown for her two Renaissance World Tour shows at Houston’s NRG Stadium.
Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland have consistently given back to their hometown. After Hurricane Harvey upended the city in 2017, Beyoncé returned to Houston alongside Destiny’s Child bandmate Michelle Williams and mom Tina Knowles-Lawson to help serve food to those affected. Over a decade earlier, Rowland teamed up with the Knowles family to found the Survivor Foundation, a charity intended to provide transitional housing for Houston victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Speaking on the Knowles-Rowland House, local pastor and Bread of Life executive director Rudy Rasmus told the Chronicle, “This will be our fifth housing development in downtown in Precinct 1 over these last 17 years, and we’re just really grateful to continue to help end homeless in our county.”
