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For homeless men · Rockville, MD
HBC Assessment Center
One of HBCF's largest and longest-running projects: a permanent emergency shelter for homeless men, built in 2000 and grown ever since. The community calls it "The Big House."
About the project
A public/private partnership that changed lives
In the spring of 2000, HBCF joined the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless and the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services to replace three cramped trailers, where nearly 100 men a night slept on bare floors, with a permanent emergency shelter for homeless men in Rockville.
The project cost more than $1 million, but with close to 100 members of the local home building industry pitching in, HBCF cut the cash expense roughly in half. Today the near-10,000-square-foot center offers 24/7 shelter and services to homeless men, many facing mental illness or substance dependency.
Affectionately called "The Big House" by the community.
Two decades of building
The story of The Big House
The shelter opens
A 5,800 sq ft, 100-bed men's emergency shelter opens in Rockville, large, airy, and full of light. Builder Captain Chip Merlin of K. Hovnanian Homes leads the original construction.
The Big House grows
A 3,780 sq ft addition adds 35 permanent beds and 24/7 services, bringing the facility to nearly 10,000 sq ft. Winchester Homes serves as Builder Captain, and the center is renamed the Home Builders Care Assessment Center.
An outdoor space, dedicated
A new picnic pavilion and grilling patio open, dedicated to past HBCF president Chip Merlin, who served as Builder Captain on the original shelter and passed away in 2011.
A temporary move
Residents and staff relocated to a temporary location due to safety concerns from vibrations at a neighboring landfill facility.
More than a bed
Services on site
Residents have access to basic amenities and a full range of supportive services designed to help them exit homelessness more quickly.
On site
Project gallery
Keep the doors open
Support shelter that works
Help HBCF build and maintain places like The Big House. For the latest on the Assessment Center, contact MCCH at (301) 217-0314.