Faith House is a ministry of Faith Lutheran Church. Faith House was created to provide comfortable, attractive, low-cost housing in a safe environment for patients who visit the Texas Medical Center in Houston for extended medical care. The housing units are located on the Faith Lutheran Church campus, approximately four miles from the Texas Medical Center.
Accommodations
Faith House consists of eight (8) rental units. Faith House 1 includes two apartment units. Faith House 2 is a six-bedroom house with a private bedroom and bathroom for each guest.
Faith House 1
Faith House 1 includes two apartments. Each apartment has two bedrooms plus a living room, dining area, kitchen, and handicap accessible bathroom. The kitchens are fully furnished with kitchen appliances, utensils, cookware, and dishes. Bed and bath linens, wireless internet service, television with cable, washing machine, and dryer are also provided.
Faith House 2
Faith House 2 is a two-story house with six private bedroom/bath units located on the second floor. Each bedroom unit is furnished with two extra-long twin beds, a sitting area, wireless internet service, television with cable, and bed and bath linens. Free laundry facilities are also located on the second floor. Residents may access the second floor by a stairway or an elevator. The spacious downstairs area is shared by all guests. The downstairs space includes a large kitchen, dining room, den/TV room, and a quiet parlor. The kitchen is equipped with two stoves, two refrigerator/freezers, two microwaves, and six individual pantries for food storage. There is a computer with wireless connection in the parlor. The house has two large outdoor porches, one of which is completely screened. Many guests who stay at Faith House 2 comment about the wonderful “family atmosphere” and the support it provides.
Requirements
Each patient must have an adult caregiver who resides with them for the duration of their stay at Faith House. The caregiver is expected to assist with the patient’s living and health needs while the patient resides at Faith House. Faith House also requires an eight day minimum stay. The maximum stay is limited to four months.
Cost:
- Faith House 1 (two bedroom apartments, Thiele and Shelton Units) Daily Rate: $20
- Required at Check In: $260 which includes
- Initial Rent: $160 ($20/day x 8 day minimum stay – nonrefundable)
- Deposit: $100
- Required at Check In: $260 which includes
- Faith House 2 (private bedroom/bathroom, shared common areas) Daily Rate: $10
- Required at Check In: $180 which includes
- Initial Rent: $80 ($10/day x 8 day minimum stay – nonrefundable)
- Deposit: $100
- Required at Check In: $180 which includes
Rent is payable weekly in advance. Receipts are provided for tax purposes. The $100 deposit is returned after the resident has checked out, the room has been inventoried by a volunteer, and all keys are returned. Any rent that is prepaid but unused is returned to the resident when the deposit is returned.
Notification List Procedure
Due to the popularity and demand for Faith House units, a Notification List is utilized. As soon as you know you will need temporary housing in Houston, please add your name to the Faith House Notification List. You may do this in one of two ways: online using the website or via telephone.
Online — go to the online form, complete the information requested, and Submit the information to Faith House. Your name will be added to the Notification List immediately.
Via Telephone — Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 2:00 pm:
Call the Faith Lutheran Church office at 713-664-3048. A member of the office staff will assist you with questions or with completing the Notification List form. If you are asked to leave a voice message, a staff member will return the telephone call as quickly as possible.
Via Telephone — Monday – Friday evenings, all day on Saturday & Sunday:
Call the Faith House telephone number, 713-876-7533. Please leave your name, a telephone number where we can reach you, the patient’s name, and the date when housing is needed. A Faith House volunteer will return your call.
When you call either phone number, please have all of the information requested on the Notification List page. Church staff or a volunteer will complete the Notification List form and add your name to the Notification List.
When a Vacancy Occurs
When there is a vacancy at Faith House, we will send an email to everyone on the Notification List. This email will describe the housing unit that is available (apartment or private room) and the date the unit is available. If you need housing during the time period specified in the email and are available to move into this unit, you must CALL the Faith House telephone, 713-876-7533, to indicate your interest. DO NOT EMAIL your reply. A member of the Faith Lutheran office staff will contact you by telephone to let you know that housing is being offered to you.
Because of the number of people on our Notification List, there is no guarantee that a room will be available for everyone who is interested. However, there are times when we have multiple rooms available for immediate occupancy, so please add your name to the Notification List. We will let you know when we have housing available.
Visit Faith House Houston to join the Notification List.
Transportation
Faith House does not provide transportation service. However, Faith House is located on a Metro bus line about four miles from the Texas Medical Center. A Metro bus stop is located at the corner of Bellaire Blvd. and Avenue B (in front of Faith Lutheran Church). For metro bus schedules and routes, visit Ride Metro.
History of Faith House
The Faith House Ministry began in 1986 with a congregation vision to create a “hospitality ministry” for medical patients. The first Faith House was located in the old church parsonage, which was remodeled into two living units with a shared kitchen and family area. Later, the church built a new gymnasium and activities facility on the land where the parsonage was located. To continue the ministry, the two Faith House 1 apartments were constructed as a part of the new church facility at the rear of the structure. In 1992, a Faith House Guest gave a generous donation to expand the ministry. This money plus a matching amount from Faith Lutheran members was used to construct the Faith House 2 residence. Faith House currently offers a total of eight housing units.
The ministry has assisted hundreds of medical patients and their families over the past 30+ years. People from all over the world have stayed with us while undergoing cancer treatments, waiting for a donor organ and the subsequent transplant, or receiving treatment for other illnesses that bring them to the world-renowned Texas Medical Center in Houston.
Faith House Volunteers
Faith House would not be possible without the dedicated group of volunteers who oversee all aspects of Faith House operations including phone calls to fill room vacancies, checking guests in and out of their units, and visiting with guests during the week. Our volunteers make the ministry work. And the volunteers will tell you that they get far more out of volunteering than they give!