The H.O.M.E Center has not just been helping people find houses, but, instead, they work hard to connect those in need to a home where they can heal and thrive. The nonprofit's mission is to break the cycle of homelessness in Hays County through outreach, mitigation and emergency response. From helping displaced victims in the recent foods in Burnet, to helping people right here in San Marcos, the H.O.M.E Center focuses on a "housing-first" approach. With recent federal funding cuts, a lot of grants that smaller nonprofits would aim to receive are now being dispersed to larger nonprofits that have lost federal funding. This creates a time of uncertainty and scarcity for these organizations who rely on grants and donations. The community took action and hosted a fundraising concert at Wake the Dead Coffee House this past July, which not only raised funds for the nonprofit but introduced many citizens to the H.O.M.E. Center's mission.
The fundraiser was organized by Grady Roper and included performances by local musicians Attic Ted, Emily Ash, Molly Hayes and Jack Henry who donated their time and talents. Texas State University's Gamelon Lipi Awan team kicked of the event with synchronized sounds inspired by Indonesia. There was face painting by Leah Paints Faces and raffle prizes donated by local businesses, including Classic Tattoo Studio, Vagabond Vintage, Jo’s Cafe, Pie Society, Rhea’s Ice Cream, Root Cellar Cafe, Wild Rice Yoga Studio, Dos Gatos and The Coffee Bar with beer provided by Middleton Brewing. Local artists donated art classes and artwork for the raffle, including Rene Perez, Karl Toft, Boone Graham and Karly Schlievert. There was free harm reduction supplies from the organization With Love, San Marcos, and Mano Amiga offered support and funds for the H.O.M.E. center. The event was a success with hundreds of attendees enjoying local music and learning about the mission of the H.O.M.E Center. Wake the Dead Coffee House not only hosted the event but offered a percentage of drink sales to be donated to the organization. According to a Facebook post on the H.O.M.E Center’s page, they raised $2,758.40 from just raffle and community donations alone. Additionally, Mano Amiga donated $2,500, and the United Way donated $2,000 to help with fundraising and operational costs. The Wake the Dead fundraiser was a success, but the mission continues for the H.O.M.E. Center and so does the need for funds.
The team behind the H.O.M.E. Center is small but mighty, including social servants who care deeply about those suffering from homelessness. The board includes Anita Ingle who serves as the fundraising arm, Joyce Berryman as President, Scott Cove as Vice President, James Summers as Treasurer and Kaycee Baker as Secretary. Additionally, Holly Banski trained for Peer Support Counselor and was an active case manager. Hannah Durrance is the founder and executive director, and her story is what fuels the mission of the H.O.M.E. Center. After arriving in San Marcos in 2013 as a homeless single mother living in her van with her four children, Durrance only found obstacles when reaching out for resources. She was given a list from the library of multiple agencies who she began to reach out to. She called and showed up in person and every agency turned her away.
“I ended up going to many churches, the shelter, the women’s shelter, just everywhere and was told that I didn’t fit their requirements or there were various barriers to me being able to receive access to those programs,” Durrance said. She came to San Marcos to be a Texas State University student but found trouble finding resources through them as well.
”I was told, ‘You just need to give up on the idea of going to college, and you need to look at just getting a job,’” Durrance said. “I was looking for a job, but a minimum wage job isn’t going to pay for four kids and myself; so I have to have other resources, and I have to have the ability to earn enough income to provide for my family.”
Despite facing impossible barriers she was able to get a scholarship that waived out of state tuition fees, and a TXST college professor helped provide a room in a hotel for Hannah and her family for three months.
“That opened the door for me,” Durrance said. “ It wasn’t the agencies in the area that were opening the doors [it was] individuals along the journey that opened doors that allowed me to be able to get into a house, get into school, get into the resources that I needed to make it possible.” This experience is what fueled Hannah to start the H.O.M.E. Center, to offer an agency that is solely focused on housing.
The H.O.M.E. Center is an acronym with the letters standing for Homeless, Outreach, Mitigation and Emergency. The focus on the last letter, emergency, came from Hannah’s own experience. In 2015, her house flooded during the historic Memorial Day Floods in San Marcos.
“Again it was a lot of individuals in the community that stepped forward and offered support,” Durrance said. “There were a lot of things that I realized during that [time] where we were not prepared for an emergency, [particularly] for people in situations like mine who are already in that crisis point and need that extra help to get them through.”
She did not have a backup plan or insurance. She was able to eventually secure a home to rent, but, with drastic rent increases, she found herself living in a hotel again for six months with her children. She was working four jobs at 62 hours a week while going to college full-time and was still struggling to afford to put her family in housing.
“I’ve been through all of the situations that most of these people that we’ve worked with have experienced,” Durrance said. “Now I use that experience to work with people to help them become more stable or to get those resources that are so difficult to find or they may not have an understanding of how to apply for them or what documents are needed.”
Hannah worked with one of her daughter’s friends, Tegan Debrock, who had just graduated from high school and who had a passion for advocacy work. They worked together to write bylaws and form a board, eventually leading to the creation of the H.O.M.E. Center.
“We all saw that there were a lot of problems — especially after the 2015 flood and San Marcos just not being prepared for those emergency situations — and we wanted to make a difference,” Durrance said.
She saw the gaps in the system and decided it was her duty to fill those. In the time since founding the nonprofit, the H.O.M.E. Center has partnered with local organizations such as the Hays County Food Bank and Community Action to provide resources for those facing homelessness.
“2017 was when I graduated from college and was like, ‘Okay now what, I need something that I can give back. I’ve got my degree. I’m now stable in housing. Now I want to give back, so others can learn from what I experienced,’” Durrance said.
The H.O.M.E. Center focuses their efforts on unhoused individuals and low-income individuals who have disabilities, are elderly and/or are veterans.
“We’re a case management program that works with individuals to help them get the services that they need to be successful and help them get into housing,” Durrance said.
The H.O.M.E Center has helped countless people find stability and a place to call home. With 23 Veterans housed since 2022, they continue their mission to reducing homelessness in Hays county to functional zero. According to the Community Solutions website, functional zero “is a milestone, which must be sustained, that indicates a community has measurably solved homelessness for a population.” One can find out more information about the H.O.M.E Center on their website, including information on resources, how to volunteer and how to donate at homecentertx.org.
