Doing Good

A Hope Lodge: Bob & Janice McNair launch $31 million drive to give cancerpatients free lodging

Hope Lodge Houston is expected to break ground in summer 2013 for an officialopening in 2014.
Rendering by M. Reardon
Sharon Mears, from left, Jamie Gross and Janice and Robert McNair
Photo by Michelle Watson / CatchLight Group
Tom Seerden, from left, Betty Guzman, Sandy Biggers and Debbie Gary Gibson
Photo by Michelle Watson / CatchLight Group
Holly Smith, from left, Joanie Haley and Temple Webber
Photo by Michelle Watson / CatchLight Group

For as innovative and advanced as oncology at the Texas Medical Center may be, patient travel and lodging remains a largely overlooked aspect of cancer care in Houston.

Starting in 2014, the American Cancer Society plans to address the issue head-on with Hope Lodge Houston — the largest facility in the U.S. to provide free lodging and support to those traveling to receive cancer treatment.

During a Wednesday morning event at the center's future home at 7505 Almeda, the Cancer Society joined Houston Texans owner Bob McNair and his wife, philanthropist Janice Suber McNair, to launch a campaign aimed at raising $31 million to make Hope Lodge a reality at the Medical Center.

"The last thing patients need to worry about when they travel [to Houston] for care is where they're going to stay," said Betti Guzman of the American Cancer Society.

George and Barbara Bush were announced at the brief ceremony as honorary campaign chairs. Unfortunately, the couple was still in Kennebunkport and could not attend.

"We know that many cancer patients and their families journey long distances to receive their care and treatment. For those traveling to Houston, lodging can be one of the most formidable challenges that they face. Being diagnosed with cancer is emotional and causes a lot of anxiety and stress.

"The last thing patients need to worry about when they travel [to Houston] for care is where they're going to stay," Betti Guzman, regional vice president of the American Cancer Society, said in an introductory speech.

"They should never have to contemplate the thought of having to sleep in their car or worry about having to interrupt their treatment because they simply cannot afford the cost of travel or the expense of lodging."

"Hope Lodge Houston is not a scientific breakthrough," Bob McNair said. "It's something that deals with the human spirit."

More than 96,000 people travel to the Bayou City each year for cancer treatment, an expense coupled with lodging that can cost a patient upwards of $11,000 before taxes and meals. Hope Lodge will alleviative some of the stress by offering 23,000 nights of free lodging in its 62 suites.

The facility includes a shared kitchen, dining areas, and stocked pantries as well as daily linen services and laundry rooms. Support groups and activities will be available as well.

"When patients stay in hotel rooms, they tend to isolate themselves after these long days of treatment," Guzman told CultureMap. "Here they'll find more emotional support and have an opportunity to forge relationships with others who are going through the same process."

"Hope Lodge Houston is not a scientific breakthrough," Bob McNair said. "It's something that deals with the human spirit, which, when you're sick, is absolutely fundamental to the healing process."

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”