NB Housing Partners urgently needs volunteers from 8:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9 to help move shelving and supplies from two Conex boxes into two new ones as it clears the way for site work on the second phase of a construction project for its First Footing homeless shelter at 4120 Loop 337, New Braunfels.
The project must be completed over the weekend.
Volunteers are asked to bring work gloves, mover straps or dollies, and bottled water. Close-toed shoes are mandatory.
An area church initially committed to helping with the move but backed out after not receiving the volunteer response it had anticipated.
First Footing provides shelter and support services for New Braunfels’ and Canyon Lake’s homeless populations.
NB Housing Partners collaborates with nonprofits like the CRRC of Canyon Lake and Hill Country MHDD Centers to address housing stability issues. The organization also partners with the Crisis Center of Comal County to help individuals and families experiencing homelessness regain and sustain housing.
“The Comal County Sheriff’s Office also has helped transport if there is someone they are working with that they know needs shelter and help with getting back on their feet and into housing,” said Kellie Stallings, executive director of NB Housing Partners.
In 2024, NB Housing Partners turned a former New Braunfels fire station into a 42-bed shelter with restrooms, a technology room, a medical office, and four offices for support services.
The second phase of the project kicks off this month, with plans to add another 20-24 shelter beds and showers, an inclement-weather shelter space, a small pet kennel and dog run, and additional office and storage space.
A third phase, scheduled for 2026, will provide indoor dining and meeting space, a kitchenette and additional offices for case management provided by the agency and other local organizations.
Stallings said total costs for the new shelter are $3.5 million. It will take around $1 million to complete the second phase and an estimated $1 million to finish the third and final phase of the shelter campus.
Funds are still needed to finance phase three.
First Footing’s needs are endless, Stallings said.
Anyone who can’t make it Saturday — or donate money — is welcome to sign up to volunteer for any other projects.
Volunteers are always needed to serve meals, assist with substance recovery, provide wellness activities, or help program participants draft resumes.
And more.
In-kind donations also help sustain program services such as donated meals, coffee, snacks and cleaning supplies.
Explosive growth in the New Braunfels and Canyon Lake areas has created a profound lack of affordable housing, she said.
Right now, in New Braunfels and the Canyon Lake area, over 1,000 children don’t know where they’ll sleep. Over 85 men are trying to survive without housing. Some 650 seniors are unable to afford a house, apartment, or any other form of housing.
The First Footing program provided services for 455 people during its first two years of operation, from 2021 to 2022. This number more than doubled from 2023-24, when almost 1,100 people turned to the shelter for assistance.
The waiting list for beds and services at the First Footing program is long — there are currently 60 people waiting for help.
“The community needs more than that,” Stallings said. “We’re trying to keep up with the pace as much as we can. Getting some help now will allow us to move forward with construction in this next phase.”
By the end of the year, she’ll need volunteers again to help empty Conex boxes into the newly renovated space.
For more information, call 830-272-5020 ext. 8100, or visit nbhousingpartners.org.