New 6-acre facillity replaces East Aldine’s Family Hope Center location
By Josué Lara
HOUSTON (Aug. 3, 2024) – The grand opening of the new Buckner Children and Family Services of Houston campus was commemorated today with a public ribbon cutting, reception, and back-to-school distribution. The campus is a 6.88-acre property operated by nonprofit Buckner International in north Houston near the Houston ISD and Aldine ISD border. It is strategically situated in the neighborhood of Northside to provide vital programs and services to some of Houston’s most vulnerable communities.
“It was more than a building that was opened,” said Dior Burns, executive director of Buckner Houston. “We envision serving the entire Harris County and Houston community from this place.”
According to the City of Houston, Northside’s residential population is 74% Hispanic. Nearly half of the families living in Northside have an average income under $25,000 per year, and 58% of residents are without a high school diploma. Likewise, the surrounding area of Aldine is experiencing a rising population but inadequate wages, and limited housing and social services. In Aldine, 91.6% of children are economically disadvantaged.
The campus includes 37,000 square feet of classroom space and a gymnasium. The first phase of renovations was recently completed to update the facilities and create space for programming that supports children and families. Several key programs will be housed on the campus, like the Buckner Family Hope Center® at Northside, where families will have access to free classes, including Jobs for Life and Faith and Finances, counseling, and family activities.
Future growth for the Buckner Children and Family Services of Houston campus includes the potential to house all core programs in one location, including building beautiful, new residences for single parent families participating in single-parent residential program, Buckner Family Pathways®.
Today’s ribbon cutting drew approximately 75 people including local supporters of Buckner such as local churches and other community collaborators. There were also several elected officials including state representative Armando Walle
Buckner has served Houston families since 1955, when it opened a senior living community, Buckner Baptist Haven – now Parkway Place, located in Energy Corridor at the request of local churches who felt the community needed a place for seniors to live. Then in 2012, the Aldine YOUTH Community Center, founded by Sylvia Bolling in 1990, became the first Buckner Family Hope Center in the Houston area.
“Family is at the center of everything we do,” said Albert L. Reyes, president and CEO of Buckner International. “Building strong families is one of the ways we protect children and make strong communities.”
During the ribbon cutting ceremony, the Buckner team held a back-to-school distribution for over 500 Houston residents served by Buckner as they prepare for the new school year. Distributed items included shoes and backpacks filled with a variety of school supplies such as pencils, paper, and folders.
Buckner Children and Family Services of Houston is located at 8600 Sweetwater Lane, Houston, Texas 77037. Buckner Houston is a faith-based nonprofit ministry dedicated to transforming the lives of vulnerable children, families and senior adults in the greater Houston area.
Buckner Houston is an extension of Buckner International, which was founded in 1879 in Texas and today serves people in the United States and internationally through a variety of programs designed to protect children, strengthen families, transform generations and serve seniors. These programs include foster care and adoption, family transition programs, community-based family preservation programs and retirement services for senior adults. Buckner also provides humanitarian aid and crisis relief to poverty-stricken children and families. Visit Buckner.org/Houston to learn more or get involved.
Josue Lara
Public Relations Coordinator
jlara@buckner.org
I live in the Aldine district off Aldine Bender and we never get anything built for the black communities. Wet have a low income neighborhood also. Not even a good distribution during the storms. Not one city official ever visits our neighborhoods.