The Presbyterian Night Shelter is planning a celebration at the Karl Travis Men’s Center at 2400 Cypress St. for the grand reopening of the Karl Travis Men’s Center and the grand opening of the UpSpire Workforce and Career Development Center.
The event follows a year-long fundraising campaign and 18-month renovation project and is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 27.
The Karl Travis Men’s Center, built in 1987, and now home to single men experiencing homelessness, once housed all Presbyterian Night Shelter guests, including single men, single women, and families.
After housing thousands of people over 32 years, the time came to renovate the space from top to bottom, addressing much-needed improvements and elevating it to give the men living in the building a place they can be proud to call their temporary home, the night shelter said in a news release.
Renovations increase the Men’s Center capacity by 15%, with the ability to serve 400 men between emergency shelter and guests enrolled in the Moving Home program.
Additionally, there are now enhanced living spaces for Moving Home program participants and a second bathroom for overnight guests.
The renovations also feature an area designated for guests who are employed through UpSpire, Presbyterian Night Shelter’s employment and workforce development social enterprise, giving these men more space, privacy, and a dedicated lounge.
Elevating the living area for men employed with UpSpire gives them a place that feels special, somewhere that reminds them of the hard work they are putting in to exit homelessness and live independently, the news release said.
UpSpire, formerly known as Clean Slate, is Presbyterian Night Shelter’s social enterprise that lowers barriers to employment and provides job opportunities for guests at Presbyterian Night Shelter and others facing difficulties securing employment.
With the opening of the UpSpire Workforce and Career Development Center, UpSpire staff members now have a dedicated space where administrative staff have offices and operations managers can check-in with the enterprise staff launching to their jobs each morning. Additionally, UpSpire now has the space to bolster their recruitment process and further develop the workforce training that happens within each enterprise.
“We are very excited to have our Karl Travis Men’s Center complete. This renovation prepares us for the future as we continue to offer hope and a new path for the men that walk through our doors,” said Toby Owen, the CEO of Presbyterian Night Shelter.
Presbyterian Night Shelter is the largest provider of homeless services in Tarrant County. Across more than six-acres of land campus, Presbyterian Night Shelter has six facilities that meet the needs of homeless men and women, veterans, families, and those battling with mental illness.