New Transitional Living Home for Homeless Youth Opens in Abilene
By: Marlisa Goldsmith
Updated: November 30, 2012
It has been a long time coming.
The "Our House" project started out as a vision over five years ago.
Initial plans were made to bring the first transitional living home for homeless and struggling youth to Abilene.
But to some, the task at hand, seemed almost impossible.
"They had a slab, they had a vision, they had a dream," explains Terri Hipps.
Five years later, that dream has become a reality.
So many people have embraced this project.
From the Texas Baptist Men to Abilene residents driving by and volunteering out of the goodness of their heart.
Now that all the ground work is complete, their mission of changing lives can begin.
Hipps continues, "What we're doing now is we've actually got young men moving into the home who are living here, who are also getting support from the Abilene transition center with their case management, employment, education, housing, those kinds of things."
The home is equipped with everything you could think of- a kitchen to cook their own meals, a dining table for family-style eating, living room space, bedrooms, laundry facilities, and a huge backyard.
"A lot of our young adults are not ready to have an apartment by themselves. They need a more structured environment and sometimes it's this environment that we're going to help that young adult to take that next step," says Hipps.
Though there is need for more with such a high population of homeless youth, the resources will always be here, and so will "Our House".
The "Our House" project started out as a vision over five years ago.
Initial plans were made to bring the first transitional living home for homeless and struggling youth to Abilene.
But to some, the task at hand, seemed almost impossible.
"They had a slab, they had a vision, they had a dream," explains Terri Hipps.
Five years later, that dream has become a reality.
So many people have embraced this project.
From the Texas Baptist Men to Abilene residents driving by and volunteering out of the goodness of their heart.
Now that all the ground work is complete, their mission of changing lives can begin.
Hipps continues, "What we're doing now is we've actually got young men moving into the home who are living here, who are also getting support from the Abilene transition center with their case management, employment, education, housing, those kinds of things."
The home is equipped with everything you could think of- a kitchen to cook their own meals, a dining table for family-style eating, living room space, bedrooms, laundry facilities, and a huge backyard.
"A lot of our young adults are not ready to have an apartment by themselves. They need a more structured environment and sometimes it's this environment that we're going to help that young adult to take that next step," says Hipps.
Though there is need for more with such a high population of homeless youth, the resources will always be here, and so will "Our House".
