The pair are teaming up to create 31 housing units in the Houston neighborhood of Midtown.
Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland are giving back to their hometown of Houston, Texas.
On Tuesday, Harris County officials announced that Bey and Kelly will be collaborating with the county to create 31 permanent housing units in Midtown for Houston's unhoused. County leaders will use $7.2 million in American Rescue Plan funds to develop housing at the Bread of Life gymnasium at 2019 Crawford Street, the Houston Chronicle reported.
In addition to the 31 housing units, the permanent housing project -- titled the Knowles-Rowland House -- will have case managers, peer specialists, service specialists, and support services, including transportation, mental health, physical and behavioral health support.
An "even bigger launch" on the housing units will be announced in September when Beyoncé is in Houston for her Renaissance World Tour.
"Harris County and the city of Houston, jointly with the coalition for the homeless, have reduced homeless in the middle of the pandemic by 20 percent, and we've been able to hold that reduction," Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a press conference Tuesday morning. "We just did the homeless count again, so it's initiatives like this one I certainly will be supportive of it no matter whose behind it, but it's especially interesting, I think, because there are these names of Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland, who, of course, have been supportive of the community for a very long time."
According to Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, the project is planning to break ground in October and will cost roughly $8.4 million, with the additional funds coming from outside groups, including Rice University.
Local Pastor and executive director of Bread of Life Rudy Rasmus praised the former Destiny's Child singers for their collaboration with the county on the housing project, and the contributions they've made in Houston over the years, dating as far back 2002, when Bey, Kelly and their fellow group mate Michelle Williams used money from their first hit single, "No, No, No" to build a youth center in the city.
"This will be our fifth housing development downtown in Precinct 1 over these last 17 years, and just really grateful to continue to help end homeless in our county," Rasmus said.
Beyoncé and Kelly have consistently given back to their hometown. After Hurricane Harvey ravaged the city in 2017, Beyoncè returned to Houston alongside Williams and mom Tina Knowles-Lawson to help serve food to those affected. And over a decade before that, 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.
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