With all that Houston and the nation have in terms of resources, the Bayou City still has a way too large population of unhoused (homeless) individuals and families. One person who answered a divine call to minister to this segment of society is Demetria Qualls. She founded Hearts of Rescue in 2009. Originally, it collected items for the homeless and delivered them to various shelters. But the ministry was repurposed after the COVID-19 pandemic – offering them the opportunity to shower.
The Defender spoke with Qualls, a mother, wife, and associate minister at The Luke Humble who works a full-time job as an IT director, about her unique ministry, Hearts of Rescue, a nonprofit organization that offers mobile showers to Houston’s unhoused homeless community.
Defender: What inspired the repurposing of your ministry?
Qualls: A lot of people had a turnaround during the pandemic, and it was a turnaround for Hearts to Rescue during that time that God shut down the world and shut down Hearts of Rescue. There was a renewing of the direction that I believe he had for me to go. Through prayer and meditation, God gave me the vision to clean his people. That was the directive: “I want you to clean my people.” I didn’t truly understand what that meant from the first vision he gave me. And I just kept saying, God, “What do you mean clean your people?” So, through a lot of prayer and meditation, it was he wanted me to provide showers for them. People will pass down the street and give them a dollar here, a dollar there; food here, food there. But the one essential thing that they miss so much is the cleansing of their bodies, to be able to have a shower, to be able to be clean. And I believe that every time we provide those showers, God gives them an opportunity to be clean from the inside out. We minister to them while they’re there, and provide them with some food and clothing. But it evolved around just me saying yes to God.
Defender: Logistically, how does this work?
Qualls: There’s a church by the name of Church Project, which is in the Woodlands. They loan us their two-shower unit trailer. Through conversation, prior to all of my ministry coming together, God connected people and connected those things that were necessary. And I connected with them and they allow me to come out every other Saturday. My husband takes his truck out. We hook the trailer up, we bring it out to the FM 1960 and Kurkendal area over at Manna Food Pantry (2700 Cypress Creek Parkway, Houston TX 77068), which is associated with Bammel Church of Christ. We park it there at about 7:30 a.m. every other Saturday morning. I have a team of volunteers that come out. We have the shower prepared. It has cold and hot water. I rent a U-Haul van and label it Hearts of Rescue. I go up and down FM 1960 and Kurkendal, and I pick up the homeless and the unhoused. I let them know where I pick them up, I’ll bring them back. I take them back to the showers. There, they register. We provide them with a bathing towel, a dry towel, a shower packet (razor, soap, deodorant, etc.) to go in and take care of all of the necessities when they’re in the shower.
Defender: What happens post-shower?
Qualls: They receive a new pair of underwear, a new pair of sweatpants, a new T-shirt so that when they come out, they’re brand new. They will not put back on those same clothing. They will not come out the way that they went in. Once they come out, they leave the towels there in the hampers. They go back to our registration desk, they return the bucket that we gave them for the towels. Then we give them another bag labeled Hearts of Rescue, with a bunch of hygiene items for them to utilize throughout the weeks until they can get back to us again. We’ll give them caps, blankets, coats during the wintertime; all of those necessities that they need to be able to give them some type of comfort that someone loves them and cares during the time they’re there with us. When we have an abundance of people, while they’re waiting to shower, we have people prepared to pray with them, listen to them, talk to them, give them a place to unload and to know there’s someone there listening to them, that we see them.
Defender: Is this ministry work what the 8-year-old Dmitri was running around aspiring to do when she grew up?
Qualls: No. The 8-year-old Demetria was inspired to be an attorney. The 8-year-old Demetria wanted to be someone who walked around with a briefcase, head up high, knowing that she was gonna be able to be well known by everyone who saw her, and she was going to live the life that gave her all the desires that she could ever want. But that same 8-year-old Demetria was in a home of two parents who loved on people and took care of people and would give their last dime to help someone else. So, I saw it, but I didn’t know the effect it would have on me later.
Defender: What’s most rewarding?
Qualls: That I am helping them during that moment. I’m giving them a new opportunity to feel better, to look better, to have an understanding that someone does care about them. I’ve had a couple of opportunities to have people say directly to me, “You saved my life today. Today was the day that I was going to say, ‘I’m done.’” A young lady looked at me in my face and she told me, “I didn’t know who or what was going to save me, or if it was anybody that was, but if it wasn’t today, I was done because I had done everything that I could possibly do. I’ve tried every avenue, and no one sees me or cares. And today you showed up.” Those moments are ones that make me say, “I have a reason to do what I do.” If I save one, I’ve done what God asked me to do.
DEMETRIA QUALLS
Where’d you go to high school: Booker t Washington.
Favorite thing about Houston: It’s familiar to me.
Are you reading anything interesting these days: The Bible. Consistently.
Hobbies: I love sports. I am a sports fanatic. I watch basketball, football, and every so often I will go and bowl because I love to bowl. So, the thing that gives me the energy is I bowl. But to sit down and I don’t have anything to do, I’m gonna watch a good basketball game.
Did you play sports in high school: Yes sir, I did. You can look me up. I was all-state, so I did well when I was at Booker T.
Mantra: Psalms 46:10. Be still and know that I am God.
