For more than three decades, Bread of Life Inc. fed and sheltered Houston’s most vulnerable residents from its Midtown campus.
Its newest project, the Knowles-Rowland House, gives 31 people who have experienced chronic homelessness a permanent home and the support to keep it.
The three-story building at 2019 Crawford St., once a youth center, uses a model called permanent supportive housing, pairing an apartment with on-site services. The $13.96 million project holds 31 single-room apartments, 16 designed for residents with mobility and sensory needs, near the METRO light rail.
Pastor Rudy Rasmus, Bread of Life’s executive director, told the Defender that the work starts with the basics. Resources and services that help them take a step forward in life
“The first thing that we do is try to help stabilize that person,” Rasmus said. “Clothing, food, the things that they’ve been missing in the streets.”
Three decades in Midtown
Bread of Life has served Houston’s most vulnerable residents from its Midtown campus for more than three decades. Credit: Aswad Walker 
Bread of Life has served Houston’s most vulnerable residents from its Midtown campus for more than three decades. Credit: Aswad Walker 
Bread of Life has served Houston’s most vulnerable residents from its Midtown campus for more than three decades. Credit: Aswad Walker 
Bread of Life has served Houston’s most vulnerable residents from its Midtown campus for more than three decades. Credit: Aswad Walker
Rasmus and his wife, Pastor Juanita Rasmus, started Bread of Life in December 1992 by serving hot meals to people living on the streets of downtown.
The nonprofit has since added benefits assistance, community health workers, mental health support, and job training. It served 52,491 people in 2025 and reached more than 4,300 households each month through food distributions on the first and third Wednesday, and Saturday.
The Knowles-Rowland building first opened as a youth center with support from the Knowles family and Kelly Rowland, who have long ties to St. John’s Downtown, the church the Rasmuses also founded in 1992. Hurricane Harvey damaged it in 2017, and a fire followed in 2021.
Temenos Community Development Corp. provides on-site case management, counseling, substance use treatment, and life skills training. Residents are referred through the Coalition for the Homeless.
“Mental health is a big factor in what either allows a person to be in housing or what takes a person out,” Rasmus said. “More resources toward mental and behavioral health could impact, in a positive way, the homeless condition in Houston.”
Who becomes homeless
Residents receive dedicated case management, mental health counseling, substance use treatment, and nutrition assistance on-site. Credit: Aswad Walker 
Residents receive dedicated case management, mental health counseling, substance use treatment, and nutrition assistance on-site. Credit: Aswad Walker 
Residents receive dedicated case management, mental health counseling, substance use treatment, and nutrition assistance on-site. Credit: Aswad Walker
Claudia Dixon, Bread of Life’s chief financial officer, was named the organization’s next CEO this month. She said the public often misjudges who needs help. Cars of all kinds, including luxury models, roll through the food distribution sites.
“Sometimes people are homeless because they cannot afford their rent, and they don’t know who to go to,” Dixon said. “I don’t want people to think that it’s just someone who’s shiftless or someone who’s lazy or doesn’t want to work.”
The region has cut homelessness by more than half since 2011, according to the Coalition for the Homeless, though its 2025 count still found 3,325 people experiencing homelessness.
Dixon said “permanent” does not always mean it will be forever. She pointed to one program graduate who lived at the Knowles Temenos Apartments and now has her own home and a steady job.
“More resources toward mental and behavioral health could impact, in a positive way, the homeless condition in Houston.”
Pastor Rudy Rasmus, Executive Director/Founder, Bread of Life Inc.
“Sometimes when people hear of permanent supportive housing, they think that they will literally be there permanently,” Dixon said. “But when we have success stories like this, people understand this is someone who is utilizing the resources to stand on their own two feet.”
Beyond housing, food is the heart of Bread of Life’s work. Knowles-Rowland residents receive food boxes four times a month, and many families at its distributions wait outdoors in the heat.
Dixon’s answer is Road to 35, a campaign named for the nonprofit’s 35th year in 2027. It seeks $3.5 million and 3,500 new monthly donors by August 2027 to build the Rudy and Juanita Rasmus Food Distribution Center. Opening in winter 2028, it will be the first Bread of Life-owned facility to put its pantry, kitchen, and distributions under one roof.
“For me right now, it is definitely about sustainability,” Dixon said. “I want to honor the legacy of Pastor Rudy and Pastor Juanita.”
