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Beyonce has been dishing out all sorts of large donations this year, but her latest effort to reduce homelessness in Houston may be one of her greatest philanthropic efforts yet.
Earlier this year, the powerhouse songstress donated half-a-million dollars to Chime for Change; $125,000 to Embrace Innovations; and used her global #BeyGOOD campaign to raise £85,000 for The Prince’s Trust in the U.K.
Now, Beyonce’s pastor has revealed that the “Drunk In Love” singer has spent $7 million so far on a low-income housing project in her hometown of Houston.
The $7 million was not donated all at once, but is simply the grand total of how much money Beyonce has spent on this project over the past few years.
In 2007, Beyonce launched the Knowles-Temenos Place Apartments to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The complex has room for 43 individuals and reaches out to a community that might otherwise be homeless without such charitable efforts.
The complex provides the residents with meals, job-readiness training, HIV/AIDS screenings and case-management services.
The goal is to house the residents until they are able to fully self-sufficient, while also offering services to help them get there.
Beyonce has kept relatively quiet about the massive project, but the Rev. Rudy Rasmus has broken his silence on the matter.
“She’s an incredible human being,” said Rasmus, who also married Beyonce to Jay Z in 2008 and has worked very closely with her to help reduce Houston’s homeless population. “[She] has an incredible heart and has been extremely helpful in our mission and our ministry here.”
Thanks to Beyonce and other selfless philanthropists, the homeless community in Houston has been on a steady decline.
According to a 2014 Houston Homeless Count, the city’s homeless population has dropped nearly 40 percent since 2011.
Last month, the Coalition for the Homeless in Houston revealed that the city has been able to house over 1,500 chronically homeless individuals since January 2012.
Marilyn Brown, president and CEO of the coalition, believes other major cities could learn a thing or two from Houston.
“Houston is leading the charge to end chronic homelessness,” Brown said in a press release. “Our success as part of the 100,000 Homes Campaign proves that permanent housing coupled with support services works.”
The 100,000 Homes Campaign is a national movement of nearly 200 communities that set a goal of finding permanent homes for 100,000 chronic and medically vulnerable homeless Americans by July 2014.
According to the campaign’s website, they exceeding expectations and have managed to house 101,975 people nationwide.
