Galveston housing: Families evicted as non-profit sublease program collapses

GALVESTON, Texas - A Galveston woman and her three children were evicted Wednesday morning as movers hauled their belongings from an apartment at the center of a complex subleasing dispute involving a local non-profit and housing outreach ministries.

‘I thought I finally had a home’

What they're saying:

LaShonda Woodard, who moved into the unit at Winnie Street on Feb. 26, found herself caught in the middle of a legal battle between property management and the organization that placed her there, Beacons of Lights Solutions LLC.

Despite an eviction judgment being granted against Beacons of Lights Solutions on March 17, Woodard provided receipts and money orders indicating she continued to pay $750 in monthly rent through April, unaware that a writ of possession had already been authorized by the court.

"I felt something was off, but I was homeless with my kids," Woodard said, explaining she had been without a permanent home since November 2024. "I thought I finally found a home. I felt like I failed my babies... the moment I drop my kids off at school in the morning, they’re not going to have a home to come back to."

Woodard has started a GoFundMe to raise money for her family's new home.

The sublease arrangement

Dig deeper:

Hilda Tobias, the registered agent for Beacons of Lights Solutions, described the organization as a "new organization" aimed at helping seniors and homeless families obtain housing at a "very low cost."

Tobias confirmed the units were subleased, meaning Beacons rented the apartments directly from Leopold Strahan Property Management and then placed families inside. Tobias claimed they met with property management in December 2025 to pitch the partnership as a way to fill vacant units with families who might otherwise be rejected due to past evictions or criminal records.

"We sublease, which means that we pay the $1,200 towards the rent; however, [the tenants] pay a certain amount of what they can pay," Tobias said, noting Woodard was paying approximately $750. Tobias claimed Beacons partnered with "The Chosen Ones Outreach Ministries" in Texas City to cover the remaining balance, but that the arrangement collapsed when Chosen Ones fell "under investigation."

City response and discrepancies

The other side:

City of Galveston Public Information Officer Marissa Barnett clarified Wednesday that the city maintains no relationship with Beacons of Lights Solutions and that no city-administered housing or homelessness-related funding or programs are connected to the arrangement.

Barnett noted that the Grants and Housing Department became aware of the organization in late March or early April and has since heard concerns regarding the group and its housing practices. While the city is currently assisting affected tenants with applications for a HOME-ARP tenant-based rental assistance program, Barnett cautioned that those residents will be placed on a waitlist once their applications are processed.

A significant discrepancy remains regarding the flow of money. Woodard alleges that while the program was pitched as "free rent," she was consistently charged. "You guys were getting paid from these agencies to cover the cost of our rent, but you wasn't paying the owner," Woodard alleged.

Ongoing inquiries

The City of Galveston, Leopold Strahan Property Management, and representatives for Beacons of Lights Solutions and Chosen Ones Outreach Ministries have been contacted again for further inquiry as of Wednesday. The phone number listed for The Chosen Ones Outreach Ministries was found to be inoperable when called Wednesday morning.

Tobias admitted that Beacons eventually ran out of money to cover the subleases. "We told [property management] we don't have that money," Tobias said. "We ended up partnering with Chosen Ones to help pay those rents... we don't have nothing to do with if they didn't pay or if they paid."

Woodard estimates as many as 29 families across four different properties could be affected by the collapse of the program. For Woodard and her children, the city’s application process offers little immediate relief as they face life on the street.

"I don't know where I'm going," she said, "but I gotta get up out of here."