Cindy George  Houston Chronicle  June 13, 2009

It was still daylight and oppressively hot for almost 7 in the evening as down-on-their-luck folks gathered at Gray and Jackson in downtown Houston.
With dusk approaching, they followed the smell of baked chicken to the building with the sunshine logo on its sign.
While other homeless agencies had wrapped up their services for the day, Bread of Life at St. John’s Downtown was just opening its doors.
Not so long ago, evenings meant that some of the same people in the dinner line would have been settling into their sleeping spots on the church lawn.
Now, the nonprofit’s effort to usher the homeless to self-sufficiency has switched from day hours to a nighttime program called After Dark.
Until Bread of Life went overnight this month, there weren’t evening services available to Houston’s homeless.
“Unfortunately, a lot of our agencies are doing things that are more convenient for the people who work there and not the people who need the actual services,” said Anthony Love, president and CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County. “Homelessness is not some 8-to-5 type of problem. People have issues 24/7 — especially when they are trying to exit homelessness.”
While leaders of homeless service organizations in Dallas and San Antonio decided to build homeless campuses, Love advocated a different approach for Houston.
He asked area shelter and drop-in facility operators to consider extending their services into the evening — maybe going 24 hours — to address the gap overnight.
Bread of Life leaders said they couldn’t open around the clock, but agreed to flip their schedule after 17 years of serving the homeless during the day.
After Dark starts with dinner and a system of assigning 50 cots. Those who don’t get a bed may stay until 9:30 p.m. to eat dinner, shower, do laundry, partake in counseling sessions and other services, or just watch television and escape the elements.
The schedule is especially helpful to those who are employed or job hunting because they can snag a bed after typical work hours and leave after breakfast. Some other local shelters require participants to come in for the night as early as 3 p.m. or send people out before 5 a.m.
For now, After Dark is open Monday through Thursday nights.
“I used to sleep on the streets right around here,” said Roy Young, a 39-year-old who came to Houston shortly after Hurricane Katrina. Young said mosquitoes made outdoor slumber unbearable. “It’s great to get in the air conditioning.”
One day last week, a formerly homeless chef delivered an after-dinner speech about getting off the streets. Others testified about their struggles. The men and women prayed. Later, some took showers and washed their clothes while others crowded around a TV to watch the NBA Finals.
‘More open to listen’
St. John’s executive pastor Yvette Tarrant said more clients are returning night after night, which helps them pull their lives together quicker.
“They’re more grateful, they’re more open to listen and they’re more open to receive help,” Tarrant said. “That’s the benefit — we’ve not only shifted our hours, but the mentality of the people we serve is shifting as well.”
The new strategy in other large Texas cities has been to build all-in-one campuses that provide everything from medical, dental and vision services to legal aid, mental health assistance and employment help.
San Antonio’s Haven for Hope is set to open later this year to assist an estimated 3,300 homeless people. The campus will have indoor accommodations for 800 and a courtyard for up to another 500 people, which will be the city’s only sanctioned outdoor sleeping place.
A public-private partnership in Dallas spent more than $21 million to build The Bridge, which opened a year ago and can shelter roughly 300 people.
“We wanted to have a place so that if you’re in Dallas, we can find you a bed, take care of the basic services you need and put you in the queue for permanent housing,” said businessman Mike Rawlings, who chairs the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance. “That’s how we start to end homelessness.”
Life made easier
Rawlings said cities must find their own custom solutions and advised that “you’re not going to get the homeless off the streets until you make it easy for them to do it.”
Even a small change can be transformative, said Donametre Jean-Louis.
Clutching a worn miniature version of the New Testament, the 41-year-old explained that Bread of Life’s new hours have made his life easier.
“If you live on the street and you know about street life, you have nobody to turn to at night. That’s when you need help. That’s when the drug pushers come out,” said Jean-Louis, a recovering addict. “You’re able to get off work and get here and get your shower. ... We’re inside and safe in this environment.”