The Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County celebrated its 40th anniversary and marked World Homeless Day on October 10 with its annual fundraising event. 

More than 50 people gathered on Monday night at the home of Mo & Ric Campo to celebrate the Coalition’s leadership on solving homelessness and launch the “40 for 40” fundraising campaign to raise $40,000 each from 40 donors through June 30, 2023. 

Coalition Board of Directors Vice Chair Chris Hanslik (Chairman, BoyarMiller) introduced the Coalition and its important work. Since 2011, overall homelessness has decreased by 63% due in large part to the fact that more than 25,000 people have been placed in permanent housing with supportive services since that time. 

Kelly Young, CEO of Career and Recovery Resources, Inc. provided an impactful partner agency testimonial, describing the Coalition as “the rule followers and the rule breakers, the trouble tamers and the troublemakers… simply put, they make the homeless system work!”   

The Coalition’s Outreach Manager, Jessalyn DiManno, shared an emotional story about one of her clients, William, who was housed recently after more than ten years of living unsheltered. “I can say with confidence that William would not have been housed if not for the leadership of the Coalition,” said DiManno. “… the partners are communicating and collaborating on a whole different scale than when I started doing this work nearly a decade ago. We’ve never had so much impact.” 

The ultimate goal of the 40 for 40 campaign is to raise $1.6M to ensure that the Coalition is a strong and responsive leader for the community for the next 40 years. The Coalition hopes to continue to drive the design and implementation of innovative programs to overcome significant challenges, like more access to affordable housing; to bring more diverse, grassroots organizations into our work to end homelessness; and to ensure that the Coalition has the staff and resources to start new, needed programs quickly and efficiently. 

If you are interested in learning more about the Coalition and this campaign, please contact Director of Development Katina Baldwin at kbaldwin@homelesshouston.org.