A Shreveport transitional homeless shelter for families, Providence House, will name its education building Wednesday in honor of its founding executive director, Simone Hennessee. She led Providence House for almost 25 years before announcing her retirement last year.
The nonprofit’s new leader Verni Howard says it’s fitting Hennessee be named for a place where the core mission of the organization is delivered.
“You have a lot of people who don’t read beyond fifth grade. At Providence House, what we get really right is knowing the only way men, women, boys and girls will ever be able to compete and to ever break the cycle of homelessness is to have a great foundation in education. That’s what we spend a lot of money, a lot of time getting right,” Howard said, who took over as executive director in December following more than 18 years in nonprofit banking.
The faith-based ministry has come a long way, Howard says, since it rolled out its first program in the early 1990s with three employees and $100,000 in its bank account.
She says today Providence House serves 223 people with a $2.8 million budget. The program is housing 27 families in its transitional shelter. It offers 50 apartments around Shreveport-Bossier for the final phase of assistance that leads to independence. Howard wants to spread the Providence House model.
“I know what we do and I know our program works, but we are in Shreveport. What about those smaller communities without those resources? I would like to see a Providence House in every community where we’re needed. I want the right people rallying around the cause,” Howard said.
The building dedication ceremony is set for Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 2 p.m., 814 Cotton St., Shreveport.
