Coordinating Team: Visit the Complete Communities Acres Home web page for more details. You can reach a Planner at [email protected].
Coordinating Team: Visit the Complete Communities Alief web page for more details. You can reach a planner at [email protected].
Willowridge Students learn about Census 2020: Planning Department staff visited students of the Willowridge High School government class to talk about Census 2020 and being counted. Over 100 students attended this presentation about the importance of completing the surveys and ways to participate.
Fort Bend Houston Super Neighborhood Council: Fort Bend Houston Super Neighborhood Council #41 meetings are held on every second Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm at various locations. For information on the meeting place, please contact Carl David Evans at [email protected].
State of the District Meeting: Vice Mayor Pro-Tem Martha Castex-Tatum held a town hall meeting on Thursday, March 5 at Fountain Life Center. Hundreds of residents attended the meeting to hear about District K’s achievements, as well as new development projects and future for the District. Fourteen exhibitors were available to talk about those projects in detail, including the Planning Department who provided information about Complete Communities progress in Fort Bend Houston and Census 2020.
Coordinating Team: Visit the Complete Communities Fort Bend Houston web page for more details. You can reach a planner at [email protected].
Gulfton Super Neighborhood Council: The Gulfton Super Neighborhood Council meetings are held every third Monday of the month. However, the normal meeting of Monday, March 16, at the Southwest Multi-Service Center, 6400 High Star Drive, from 12 to 1 pm, is being rescheduled. If you are interested in becoming a member, contact the Gulfton Super Neighborhood at [email protected].
Positive Interaction Program (PIP) Meeting: PIP meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month. However, the normal meeting of Tuesday, March 17, at the Southwest Multi-Service Center, 6400 High Star Dr., from 12 to 1 pm, is being rescheduled. PIP features speakers from different divisions of the Houston Police Department (Burglary and Theft, Homicide, K-9, Helicopters, etc.) to explain how they operate. This program is offered so citizens will know what to expect should they ever need the police.
Coordinating Team: Visit the Complete Communities Gulfton web page for more details. You can reach a planner at [email protected].
Final Planning Process Meetings and Next Steps: The fourth Complete Communities workshop in Kashmere Gardens was held on Saturday, March 7, 2020, at 10 a.m., at Kashmere Gardens Elementary School. The purpose of this workshop was to review and prioritize the latest goals and projects for the Action Plan. The projects were categorized by the following topics:
-Economy and Jobs
-Health
-Community Leadership and Advocacy
-Flood Resilience
-Safety
-Housing
-Neighborhood Character
-Mobility and Infrastructure
-Parks and Community Amenities
-Education
The Northeast Community Farmer’s Market by Urban Harvest also took place the same time and location and is generally held on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month. The workshop began with performances from the dance and cheer teams from the elementary school’s Fine Arts Department. Participants placed stickers next to projects they believe are top priorities for Kashmere Gardens.
Participants also gave feedback on items that may need to be included in the Action Plan. Representatives from the Houston Health Department distributed surveys relating to the Cancer Cluster in Kashmere Gardens and Fifth Ward neighborhoods. Attendees were provided information from the Tejano Center for Community Concerns about voter registration, and updates from the Houston Public Library on the McCrane-Kashmere Gardens Neighborhood Library.
The feedback collected from this workshop will be added to the Plan, which will be presented at the final public planning process meeting which is currently scheduled for Tuesday, May 12, 6 p.m., at Kashmere Multi-Service Center.
Please check back to verify the date.
After the conclusion of the planning process, the community will be informed of the next opportunities and action steps.
Coordinating Team: Visit the Complete Communities Kashmere Gardens web page for more details. You can reach a planner at [email protected].
Coordinating Team: Visit the Complete Communities Magnolia Park - Manchester web page for more details. You can reach a planner at [email protected].
Green Upgrades at Avenue Center: Avenue Center, which is currently in the construction phase, will include solar roof panels and other sustainable amenities thanks to a nearly $200,000 gift from Green Mountain Energy Sun Club.
There will also be an electric vehicle, electric vehicle charging stations, and bike racks. Showers will also be provided to encourage bicycle commutes by Avenue Center tenants.
Located at 3517 Irvington Boulevard next to METRO’s Red Line, the community hub will also help to promote the use of public transit. Green Mountain Energy, an electricity provider, established the Sun Club in 2002 to advanced sustainable communities through nonprofit partnerships and grants.
Avenue Center will feature approximately 30,500 square feet of community programming space and will provide services such as a new Legacy Community Health Clinic, homebuyer education and counseling, and financial education in partnership with BBVA. The hub will also include a YMCA early childhood education center.
Avenue Center
Photo Credit: Avenue CDC
Coordinating Team: Visit the Complete Communities
Near Northside web page for more details.
You can reach a planner at [email protected].
Third Meeting: Over 200 residents, elected officials, and stakeholders attended the third Sunnyside Complete Communities public meeting on Tuesday February 11, 2020. The meeting was held at the Sunnyside Multi-Service Center and led by Sunnyside Planner Lindsey Williams. Residents were given a warm welcome from their City Councilman, Dr. Carolyn Evans-Shabazz. If you were unable to attend the meeting, you can still participate by taking the survey.
The Complete Communities team also welcomed speakers and presenters from Census 2020, Precinct One, Houston Parks Board, Sunnyside Solar Farm, Wolfe Energy, South Union CDC, Sunnyside Agricultural Hub, and several local organizations.
Attendees participated in table discussions as well as a prioritization working exercise.
The objective of the working exercise was to prioritize the projects and goals from the ongoing Working Action Plan into high, medium, or low priority items. Attendees were able to voice their priorities by voting with color coded dots. The projects and goals reflected in the current Working Action Plan were compiled from the prior two public meeting discussions and community comments.
There were focused table discussions in the five Working Action Plan categories. There was also opportunity to learn more and give feedback regarding the ongoing Precinct One & Houston Parks Board Hill at Sims Project table. Sunnyside Solar Farm and South Union CDC updated the community of ongoing efforts at their table, as well as gave the opportunity to sign up for future solar energy opportunities.
For those unable to attend, we encourage you to visit Sunnyside Survey Monkey to take the ongoing Sunnyside Survey and voice your top priorities.
CIP: District D’s upcoming Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Public Meeting is cancelled due to coronavirus concerns, and will not will take place on March 23, 2020. The meeting was to be held at Jack Yates High School at 6 p.m. Please look for other sources of information about the ongoing projects the city has scheduled for Sunnyside and District D. Thank you.
Coordinating Team: Visit the Complete Communities Sunnyside web page for more details. You can reach a Planner at [email protected].
Progress Update: Interested in learning about the progress of the Second Ward Complete Communities Action Plan or projects that you can be involved in implementing? We will be scheduling an event soon to provide an update on Complete Communities in Second Ward.
Coordinating Team: Visit the Complete Communities Second Ward web page for more details. You can reach a Planner at [email protected].
Coordinating Team: Visit the Complete Communities Third Ward web page for more details. You can reach a Planner at [email protected].
On February 12, 2020, Mayor Sylvester Turner joined Marissa Aho, the city of Houston's Chief Resilience Officer, Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy, Managing Director, North America, Global Resilient Cities Network and Jason Klein, Vice President – U.S. Energy Transition Strategy, Shell Oil Company, to release Resilient Houston, a framework to help the city mitigate flooding risks and improve climate readiness.
Resilient Houston is a framework for collective action and it links existing efforts with new ones that will work collectively to protect Houston against future disasters—from hurricanes and flooding to extreme heat waves—and chronic stresses such as aging infrastructure, poor air quality, and climate change.
The strategy frames five key visions for Houston’s future along with 18 goals and 62 actions describing the path forward, time frame, partners, implementation opportunities, and corresponding U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. Resilient Houston will help to mitigate flooding risk and improve climate readiness.
In addition to unveiling the Resilient Houston strategy, the mayor signed the Resilient Houston Executive Order. The order directs all city departments and divisions to support the implementation of Resilient Houston, incorporate resilience in strategic planning and budgeting, and designate Departmental Resilience Officers (DRO) to work directly with the Mayor’s Chief Resilience Officer. Department directors will have 60 days to appoint DROs who will work cross-departmentally on the implementation of Resilient Houston.
For more information, read the Resilient Houston Report at https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/chief-resilience-officer.html.
The Mayor’s Office of Complete Communities, Regions Bank and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City hosted an Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) Houston Kick-Off Breakfast on Thursday, February 13. Applications are now being accepted from small-business owners who are interested in growing their companies through a tuition-free program that Regions Bank is recruiting to Houston. Nominations for Inclusive Prosperity are due by Friday, April 24, 2020.
The program is called Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC). Since 2005, ICCC has worked with thousands of business owners from economically underserved communities across the U.S. The City's partnership with Regions Bank to launch this program is the latest development in Mayor Sylvester Turner's Complete Communities Initiative.
“While Houston’s strong economy helps our city continue to grow on the global stage, we need to ensure this growth doesn’t leave people behind,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “ICCC helps level the playing field for businesses in underserved communities. This is about more than training and education. It is about access to resources that can help entrepreneurs grow their companies and create more jobs. We appreciate Regions Bank for bringing ICCC to Houston for the first time in the program’s history.”
The Mayor's Office has filmed the ICCC speakers' remarks. In addition, see documents presented at the breakfast that explain the ICCC program in more detail, and describe the ways you can get involved:
-Breakfast Presentation
-Nominator Process Packet and Nomination Timeline
-ICCC Houston Collateral
The next step is to identify business owners you'd like to nominate and submit your nominations to ICCC. Please reference the Nominator Process Packet to review qualifications and best practices, and feel free to reach out to Natalie Gould, Senior Program Coordinator, Inner City Capital Connections, at [email protected] or 617- 238-3020 with additional questions. You can also contact Derek Sexton, Senior Program Coordinator, at 617- 238-3039 or at [email protected].
You can submit your nominations via our online form here, or input your nominations into our Nomination Template here and email [email protected].
After you've submitted your nominations, send your nominees an introductory email informing them they've been nominated and encourage them to apply. Business owners are far more likely to apply if they receive communication from you, so we strongly encourage you to reach out to them.
The program representatives will provide you with the appropriate email template to use. Once you send the email, ICCC will begin following up with your nominees, encouraging them to apply.
Starting now, employers and youth can visit www.HireHoustonYouth.org to get started. Companies can also donate to the Hire Houston Youth Foundation at www.hirehoustonyouth.org/donate. You can also post your jobs at www.hirehoustonyouth.org/employer.
Before Mayor Sylvester Turner came into office, the City of Houston offered 450 summer jobs. In 2016, Mayor Turner increased the number of jobs to over 1,100. Each year, there has been a steady increase from 1,100 to 5,000 to 7,500. In 2019, Mayor Turner set an ambitious goal of 10,000 job opportunities. The City exceeded this goal and provided access to over 11,400 jobs. More jobs are planned for 2020.
In 2020, the mayor initially challenged staff and community partners to provide 15,000 jobs, internships, and apprenticeship opportunities, but studies show that Houston has approximately 20,000 gang members. If we want a safe city, we must embrace young people before negative influences steer them in the wrong direction, and we must put the gangs out of business. Therefore, Mayor Turner raised the bar to 20,000 jobs for 2020. This will be a transformational year for Hire Houston Youth (HHY) as we further impact the lives of our youth and continue to build Houston’s future workforce.
HHY connects young people to mentors, job training, and local resources and support. Working in various positions, young people will meet with career coaches to learn how to complete a successful interview, prepare a resume, make a great first impression, show up to work on time, and complete work responsibilities. The program puts them on a track to succeed in a competitive work environment and gain real world experience.
Interested in connecting with a financial counselor? Visit www.houstontx.gov/fec or call 713-776-4700 ext. 405 to reach the Financial Empowerment Fund (FEC) in Magnolia Park or 832-393-1125 to reach the FEC in Acres Home.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and representatives of national nonprofit organization Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund and Regions Bank opened two FECs to provide one-to-one, professional financial counseling to Houstonians at no cost to residents.
FECs are located at the Acres Homes Multi-Service Center, 6719 W. Montgomery Rd. 77091, in north Houston and the Magnolia Multi-Service Center, 7037 Capitol St., 77011, in the city’s East End area.
