Founded in 1954 as a downtown Houston homeless shelter and soup kitchen, today Open Door Mission employs a multifaceted mind, body and spiritual approach to substance abuse with programs of recovery, learning, and healing.

In 1966 the Turner Charitable Foundation donated the former Fullerton Elementary School, built in 1904, to the Mission. The building is located at 5803 Harrisburg and today houses dormitories, The Convalescent Care Center, administration offices and the Center for Education and Career Guidance.