A Home Away from Home

Providing biblical hospitality and care for families facing medical crises

For more than five decades, Hospitality Apartments has quietly served as one of Houston's most compassionate ministries, providing a temporary home for patients and caregivers who must travel to the Texas Medical Center for extended medical treatment. 

Located just blocks from world-renowned hospitals such as MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Hermann, Texas Children’s Hospital, and Houston Methodist, the nonprofit exists to remove one of the greatest burdens families face during a medical crisis: finding affordable, safe housing far from home.

Their story began in 1968, when its founders recognized that many patients from outside Houston were forced to remain in the city for weeks or months while receiving outpatient treatment but could not afford hotel costs. Their solution was remarkably simple: rent a single apartment in a converted Army barracks and offer it as inexpensive lodging to families in need. As demand increased, the ministry expanded to all four units of the building, creating what became the first Hospitality Apartments. What started as a burden to meet the needs of one family grew with God’s help. Today, Hospitality Apartments has 46 units.

Hospitality Apartments’ mission is rooted in the biblical command of Romans 12:13: “Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” That verse serves as more than a slogan—it shapes every aspect of the organization’s work. Unlike many nonprofits, Hospitality Apartments operates with no paid employees. Its maintenance, administration, transportation assistance, hospitality events, and daily operations are carried out almost entirely by volunteers.

The impact of Hospitality Apartments extends far beyond providing a place to sleep. Since opening its doors in 1968, the ministry has welcomed more than 9,000 guests from around the world, many of whom are battling cancer or other life-threatening illnesses. For families facing months of treatment, Hospitality Apartments offers stability, community, and hope during one of life’s most difficult seasons.

Today, Hospitality Apartments remains one of Houston’s most enduring examples of Christian hospitality in action—a ministry that has faithfully demonstrated for nearly sixty years that caring for the sick involves not only medical treatment but also providing a welcoming home, compassionate community, and tangible expression of God’s love during times of greatest need.