Giving hope and dignity
From the rooftop garden at New Hope Housing’s Harrisburg facility, there’s a definite sense of place. In the distance, there’s the growing skyline of Houston’s downtown, and in between are the physical signs of slow progress — older homes that founded this East End neighborhood, a few shiny new townhomes and a smattering of commercial buildings, some of which are boarded up and empty.
But this green, gray and purple building on the Metro light rail route is something else entirely.
For those who have no sense of permanence and little to no income — the homeless or near homeless — the 175 single-room occupancy units here are a lifeline as they work to get their lives in order.
Michael “Mack” Fowler, a Houston oilman who grew up in Odessa, walked through the housing development’s grounds on a recent day and surveyed the landscape. Sidewalks were swept, grass was mowed and shrubs were pruned perfectly.
He’s been on New Hope’s board for nearly 20 years and has been its chair for the past 18. In that time, he’s taken the nonprofit from a fledgling organization with a single building that originally housed 40 people to a debt-free nonprofit — fueled by an assortment of public and private funding — with eight buildings for about 1,600 people and a ninth on the drawing board. New Hope’s rentals operate much like most apartment complexes — you have to apply, meet certain income guidelines and, potentially, wait for an opening. It’s not subsidized housing, but they do accept people with housing vouchers and subsidies from social service agencies.
“We are doing this because it is our moral responsibility to our brothers and sisters. That’s not a religious thing for me, it is an ethical thing, a personal decision about how I think about the man or woman that I see on the street who has no place to live,” said Fowler, 73. “The problem in our society isn’t food, it isn’t clothing, it isn’t even health care. Of course, they’re pieces, but if you don’t have a place to live … . Just think about it, if you left this building and you didn’t know where you were going to go tonight … that’s what gets me.”
Years ago, Fowler — who owns the Houston-based Madison Minerals oil company and the Odessa-based Rextac adhesive firm and Orrex plastic compounding firm — was a strong voice in the Trees for Houston effort that pushed for an ordinance to populate our streets with trees. He was also part of the Quality of Life Coalition that built out walking-biking trails along the bayous. He served his country, too, joining the U.S. Navy after he earned a philosophy degree from the University of Texas. He spent three years on an aircraft carrier before a 13-month stint, boots-on-the ground, in the Vietnam War, earning a Bronze Star.
After the Navy he went to Harvard Business School. Then he and his wife, Cece, lived in Manhattan while he worked for an oil trading company before returning to Texas.
When he had an opportunity to help New Hope, well, let’s just say that Fowler loves an underdog.
“Mack is not the stereotype you think about when you think about an Odessa oilman, although there’s plenty of Odessa still in him. He is a deeply caring individual,” said Houston businessman Sanford Criner, who was recruited onto the New Hope board by Fowler and who will be its next board chairman. “Some people take on philanthropic responsibilities because they feel an obligation or like to see their name on a board. He took this on because he wanted to make sure that more people have a place to go.”
Criner cited not only Fowler’s longtime devotion to housing the homeless, but also that he wanted quality buildings in every neighborhood they reach.
“They’re all, without exception, architecturally award-winning projects. He has helped to create a humane environment for people who have had far too little humanity in their lives,” Criner said.
In fact, Fowler has lead the board and New Hope staff to create developments that serve as models for other cities wanting to address homelessness in different ways. He inserts a business focus, strategizing that if they build good buildings that are well maintained and well run, neighborhoods will be more accepting of each new project, and donors and funding agencies will value their success.
To assert New Hope’s commitment to its neighbors, part of the Harrisburg facility’s fourth floor houses the nonprofit’s staff, and groups in need of meeting space are invited to use its very modern conference room.
“Part of our strategy has been to differentiate ourselves from average housing. That does a couple of things, provide exceptional housing for our tenants, but it also differentiates us in the eyes of potential funders who identify with the quality of the project,” Fowler said, pointing to several Urban Land Institute Awards the buildings have won. “The awards have to do with the strategy. If you’re on a foundation board and you can give a grant to an average operation or a group that makes housing like this, maybe they’d lean toward us.”
Joy Horak-Brown, who’s been part of New Hope from its inception, said that Fowler has been a “passionate and inspired leader.”
“Any nonprofit in its inception is a fragile entity, and when one succeeds to the extent that we have, it is against odds. It requires attentiveness and dedication that is beyond the ordinary,” she said. “Mack has devoted that kind of attention to nurturing New Hope.”
To Fowler, every detail matters.
“We believe the quality of space, the architecture, design, landscaping, cleanliness and rules have an impact on your life,” Fowler said. “Even people with behavioral challenges, if they live in a comfortable, safe, secure, attractive space, it changes the way they think about themselves. They have more value, and you can see a sense of dignity returning to them. That’s important to us.”