CEO Message

Message from the CEO

In its short history, The Beacon has become well known for integrating its services to align with the community-wide homeless response system and the goal of reducing homelessness. This past year, we joined a dozen non-profits as part of the joint City of Houston/Harris County COVID Community Housing Plan (CCHP). The project exceeded its goals, serving more than 7,000 individuals. Our own team of eight housing navigators helped move hundreds of unhoused people to safe, permanent homes. The CCHP project opened new pathways to housing, but each person’s journey out of homelessness is complex and often fraught with challenges. Our Beacon staff know this firsthand.

The journey of a 71-year-old gentleman named Antonio began years ago when he walked through the doors of our Day Center. The entire team at The Beacon quickly realized that in addition to meals and access to laundry and showers, he needed case management support and legal aid to navigate a labyrinth of issues. Unhoused for more than 12 years, helping Antonio would require consistent coordination across our programs.

One team member visited with Antonio over 50 times, helping him to document his homelessness, secure his disability benefits, retain copies of his documents, and ensure that he remained engaged with our legal and housing teams. In order to secure housing, Antonio first needed to resolve a legal matter -- his name on identification documents did not match his birth certificate. As such, he had never been able to secure a state issued identification (ID).

After years of working with our various program staff, Antonio was granted a legal name change by court order, unlocking his ability to secure a state issued ID. Fortunately, Antonio was able to move into a housing unit recently while the team continues to advocate for him as he waits for his official ID. It was a long journey, but the reward was great for Antonio and all the Beacon staff that helped him along the way.

I am so proud of our efforts and grateful for the support of the thousands of donors and volunteers that make our work possible!

In service,

Becky Landes Chief Executive Officer

There’s More to Your Story

A new self-help tool was launched in August to automate the process for individuals to find out if they have records that are eligible for sealing in Harris County. The online tool also walks them through an easy step-bystep process of self-filing in order to seal their record free of charge.

ClearYourRecordHarrisCounty.org was made possible thanks to special project funding from the Texas Access to Justice Foundation.

There are 400,000+ eligible cases in Harris County that have the potential to be sealed. This free resource simplifies the oftencumbersome process and allows individuals to start a new chapter in their life.