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GRACE Opens New Doors Next Door continued

The next priority was to fix up our little houses so that we could move in.  Our new offices are located in two little old historic houses that, like many buildings in the Sixth Ward, had fallen into disrepair and dilapidation after years of neglect. 

Before we could even move in, both buildings needed massive electrical and plumbing work, new roofs, central heat and air, cleaning, patching and painting, both inside and out.  Not to mention carpet, desks, shelves, filing cabinets and other furniture.  Through grants from the Butler Family Fund and the Riahann Foundation, as well as an ongoing commitment from Nali Dinshaw, we raised almost $20,000 for the repairs and improvements to our new home.  But, the necessary repairs were estimated to cost almost twice that.  Fortunately, we were GRACEd with a wonderful group of interns who (in addition to working on cases and office administration during the week) spearheaded the huge task of getting our space ready.

Through innumerable phone calls, faxes, emails, letters and visits, Scarlet Granville, Ruth Hamann, Hiltje VanderEnd, Marcella de Neve and Nadia Harrison begged, borrowed and charmed local merchants, trade unions and craftsman to provide deep discounts, materials at cost, and even free labor.  GRACE is forever grateful to ICI Dulux, Calvin Speight and Plumbers Union Local #68, Gemini Plumbers, Carpet Mills of America, Capital Heating & Cooling, Garrick Roofing, The Detering Company, DAP, Chavez Electrics and Gerardo Chavez. (NEW PAGE)

Throughout May and June, the interns hosted a series of “barn raising weekends” in which they, along with volunteers from the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and local members of Amnesty International cleaned, scraped, caulked and painted little houses, inside and out.

On Memorial Day Weekend, Members of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty finish washing and scraping the house in preparation for painting.

We spent most of June painting the place, both inside and out!

Finally, on July 1st, we moved in!!! GRACE is grateful for the time, effort and supplies (including vehicles) offered up by Bill Ohsie, John Montevideo, Hadeel Assali, Ahmed Bensouda, Suhas Sarathy and Lawrence Everett Twining III, as well as A-1 Latin Movers.

The move represents the largest investment in GRACE’s long-term viability yet.  The move will save GRACE thousands of dollars a year in rent and allow us to take a huge leap forward in establishing financial self-sufficiency.

Long-Term Vision
We have established a partnership with the Architecture Department at Prairie View A&M University to assist with a build-out that will connect the two buildings across their adjoining yards and provide more office and storage space.

GRACE extends a heart-felt thanks to everyone who helped us with this monumental undertaking!