New facility in downtown Houston geared to house former foster children breaks ground

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- In the Greater Houston area, there are approximately 200 children who age out of the foster care system, and some become homeless, studies show.

According to the National Center for Housing and Welfare, one in four of America's foster youth become homeless within four years of aging out of the system.

Roman Contreras Xu was one of them.

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Now a DJ, he has found community in music - something he desperately needed growing up in the system.

"I was a loner, pretty much. I didn't have friends, and then I got invited (to DJ)," he explained.

He uses the skill to DJ events, volunteering at many that bring foster children together.

"We're so insulated that we can't talk to other kids and all that. I didn't have all the social skills as a regular student," he said.

On Friday, he DJ'ed one of his most important gigs yet - a groundbreaking for the HAY Center's new facility in East Downtown.

"I was about to kind of cry. It just brings me joy," he said.

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Since 2005 the HAY Center has provided support services for foster youth aging out of the system, like Contreras Xu. However, the center did not provide housing. Still, Contreras Xu told ABC13 the program saved his life when he became homeless after aging out of the system at 18.

"I knew I couldn't go to school. I couldn't find a place to live," he said, adding, "At one point, I was so ready to give up."

The new HAY Center facility will provide 45 individual units for former foster youth, and five additional units will be set aside for foster youth with children.

"They've already been through so much, neglected, abused, and for them just to get kicked out. The Hay Center won't do that," Contreras Xu said.

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The facility should be complete by the summer of 2024.

JarQuan Albert, who has been in the Texas foster care system since he was 6, attended the groundbreaking. He told ABC13 the facility "changes lives because it opens doors for a lot of people to be who they want to be in life."

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