Educate & Enrich A Child in Houston's 3rd Ward

On January 19, 2025, a historic fire took place at SHAPE Community Center’s Nia Becnel Family Center, located at 3815 Live Oak. We are eternally grateful that no one was physically harmed. We are grieving with the community for the generations of history that have been lost, for the shared experiences that we lived in that space, and for the hindered progress that will impact some of our programs and activities.

Our After-School Enrichment Program is on hold until we can update our occupancy certification and change the location for our child care license to the Harambee Admin Building. It is our fervent hope that our children will be able to come back by the end of March 2025.

In the meantime, our youth staff continues to engage with the 30 children enrolled in our after-school program, to check on their well-being and needs. It came to our attention that families found great difficulty replacing the services they were receiving at SHAPE. We learned that for several days, one parent was not able to send their children to school because they could not arrange after-care. Another parent jeopardized their job by leaving early to pick up their children from school. While searching for other arrangements, parents learned that other programs in the area cost twice the amount of SHAPE, did not offer after-school transportation, some provided snacks instead of meals, and did not offer extended hours to 7 PM.

Along with mental wellness partners, SHAPE hosted a healing circle on January 29^th to assist families with some of the challenges they are facing. Additionally, youth staff received sponsored tickets and accompanied the families to a celebrity softball game where the children were able to relax and have fun. Aside from helping families find additional resources, some youth staff spend their free time ensuring that children are getting home from school safely.

Links:

• KHOU 11 Interviews SHAPE staff and program student after fire