Category Archives: Front

City Pursues Strategies for Homeless, Panhandlers

Mayor Sylvester Turner on March 2nd announced what he termed  a more holistic approach to reducing homelessness and invited the community to help implement it.  The mayor’s plan involves expedited efforts to permanently house the homeless, more shelter beds, new public health and safety regulations and an anti-panhandling awareness campaign.

“Houston has achieved significant reductions in homelessness in recent years, but I am committed to doing even more,” said Mayor Turner.  “It is simply not acceptable for people to live on the streets; it is not good for them, and it is not good for the city.  We will tackle this complicated issue, and we will do it humanely with a meaningful approach that balances the needs of the homeless and the concerns of neighborhoods they impact.  We will need everyone’s patience and help to make it work.”

At the center of the mayor’s plan is expansion of The Way Home, the coordinated housing initiative of 100 public and private organizations that has reduced overall homelessness by 57 percent over the last five years.  Another 500 chronically homeless individuals will be placed in permanent supportive housing within six months.  Coupled with this aggressive goal, the community, often with direct city support, is continuing to invest in new permanent supportive housing units, but more apartments are still needed. The mayor is calling upon apartment owners and landlords with vacant units to step forward and be part of the solution.

Another 215 shelter beds will come online in August when the new Star of Hope campus on Reed Road is finished.  In addition, the city is pursuing creation of one or more secure and professionally managed covered outdoor spaces with restroom facilities where up to 75 individuals could stay temporarily.

“In this city, we are not going to abandon our most vulnerable,” said Turner.  “The goal is to get as many people as possible into permanent housing or shelters, but even with all of the assistance being offered, there will still be people who choose to stay on the streets.  It would be wrong to tell these people they cannot be here or there without providing a suitable alternative.  I am inviting the community and City Council to help identify locations in their districts we can use as temporary outdoor shelters and for feeding the hungry.”

The city will continue weekly cleanups of encampments to address health and safety concerns while the homeless are transitioning to shelters and permanent supportive housing. The Houston Police Department Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) is expanding so there can be increased interaction and assistance for the homeless. Another component is a new ordinance outlawing tents on public property.  This ordinance will prohibit people from putting up tents but will not make it illegal to sleep outdoors.  There will be a 30-day transition period during which HPD’s HOT team will work to compassionately redirect people in encampments to housing alternatives.

“This is a best practice across the nation and is based on public health and safety concerns,” said Turner.  “We cannot have people setting up tent cities where there are no restrooms or other accommodations to meet basic human needs.  Not only is it unsanitary, but it also deters from the goal of getting people into permanent supportive housing.”

The Texas Department of Transportation is assisting by installing “no camping” signs at freeway underpasses and is working to allow the city to have access to the underpasses for parking and economic development, an idea Mayor Turner has wanted to pursue since seeing something similar during last year’s trade mission to Mexico City.

The mayor’s plan also takes aim at panhandling with a new ordinance prohibiting obstruction of roadways and an anti-panhandling media campaign involving TV, radio, print and social media ads, street signage, billboards and a way to donate to service organizations via text and online giving.  The campaign, which is being funded by 15 management districts, urges residents to help bring about “meaningful change” by donating their “spare change” directly to organizations that provide services.  The public awareness campaign will be coupled with a pilot program to connect panhandlers to employment opportunities.  The signs and ads are expected to be up and running within a month.

The mayor noted that a lot of homeless have mental health issues and have repeatedly fallen through the cracks of the social service system.  He stressed the importance of increased funding for mental health and substance abuse treatment programs and said that he had directed this issue to be added to the city’s legislative priorities in Austin.

“Our existing programs and the expanded ones I have outlined lead all major cities in dealing with a nationwide problem,” said Turner.  “This is a realistic, holistic approach that provides meaningful solutions.  By offering multiple choices and a little bit of tough love, we hope to convince more of our street population to get off the streets.  This plan also provides strategies for easing the pressure in neighborhoods.  We will never totally eliminate homelessness, but with the entire community’s help, we can reduce it even more.”

Six years ago, Houston had a homeless population of more than 8,500.  Today, that number has dropped to around 3,600.  Less than one-third of these people are living on the streets.  The rest take advantage of shelter beds.

Houston Selected to Participate in National Initiative to Increase Equity and Build Local Pathways to Higher Education and Employment


The National League of Cities (NLC) selected Houston as one of six cities that will take part in a two year project to explore and build equitable pathways to post-secondary and workforce success. The mayors of each participating city have made a commitment to increasing access and decreasing barriers that prevent youth from succeeding in higher education and gaining meaningful employment. Houston’s efforts will focus on the Hire Houston Youth (HHY) program.

“Workforce programs and summer employment can decrease the likelihood that a youngster will drop out of school, they help ensure we have an able and ready workforce and set youth on the path to long-term careers,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner.  “Despite these benefits, less than a third of American teenagers held a job last summer and their participation in the workforce is at an historic low. This year’s goal is to provide 5,000 summer jobs for local youth. I’m calling on our business community to help us get to this goal by hiring and paying a HHY summer applicant. If you don’t have a spot, you can pledge $2,500 to sponsor a youth’s salary, training and benefits at a government agency or a nonprofit organization.”

HHY provides local youth ages 16-24 with at least a seven week summer job or internship experience from mid-June through the first week of August.  In preparation for job placement, applicants will attend workforce readiness training one week prior to their start date.  Students will work up to 40 hours a week for seven weeks, earning at least $8 an hour.  The program is part of the mayor’s vision to create complete communities in historically underserved neighborhoods.

Cities are the economic engines of our nation. In understanding this role as economic drivers, mayors and other city partners – including representatives from city workforce, economic development and education – will be working together to ensure access to education and employment for all citizens with the ultimate goal of building vibrant local economies. To reach this goal, cities need clear pathways to college and postsecondary programs that are responsive to regional workforce needs. The value of a college educated community brings both personal and city-wide benefits.

Through its Institute for Youth, Education, and Families and with support from The Kresge Foundation, and LinkedIn, NLC will bring together city leaders from the government, education and business sectors and national experts that will help Houston develop strategies and expand the city’s efforts. The city will also have access to labor market trends in hiring as well as insights on education pathways and key skill sets leading to employment from LinkedIn. For more information, call 832.393.0800.

The six cities chosen to participate as NLC cohort include Austin, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; Corpus Christi, Texas; Houston, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida and Nashville, Tennessee.

TSU Spring Enrollment Facts and Figures

The TSU Spring 2017 enrollment of 8,585 is extremely encouraging, especially when compared to first-day enrollment statistics from this time last year (Spring 2016). Here are just a few of the positive gains from our enrollment dashboards:

  • 5.7% total enrollment increase
  • 84.5% increase – first-time freshmen
  • 59.5% increase – transfer students
  • 18% increase – first-time graduate
  • 3% increase – continuing students
  • 6% increase in total credit hours
  • School of Communication has the largest percent increase of all schools/colleges – +10.9%

These impressive enrollment numbers tell a story beyond statistics and speak to the increased value of a Texas Southern University education in the eyes of graduating high school seniors and college students transferring to TSU. The numbers also reveal the incredible work put in by all TSU stakeholders – faculty, staff, alumni and students, offering online enrollment and efforts to find resources to support students who were about to be dropped for non-payment. The goal of making Texas Southern University a first-choice destination higher education institution is becoming a reality with major increases in first-time freshmen and transfer students.

Know Your Legal Rights:  Judges’ Power or “Discretion Has Limits”

  • By Keryl L. Douglas, Esq.

    While courtroom procedural rules say, AND it is generally well known or assumed, that “A judge’s ‘discretion’ is broad,” it is equally important to remember that a judge’s ‘broad discretion’ in making his or her rulings has limits!

    While a person may be represented by an attorney or law firm considered among the best, I recommend that every person embroiled, engaged, or embarking upon litigation or other actions in the justice system involving rulings by judges feel empowered, courageous, and persistent enough to question perceivably questionable rulings on motions and final judgments.

    It is your legal right to question rulings by judges you believe the evidence, facts, rules and law do not support – or worst yet, dictate the exact opposite of what the Judge ruled.  It is your legal right, AND in the interest of justice and public policy, to hold “even” the Judges accountable to the procedural rules and established law when making their rulings.  Judges CANNOT break or ignore established law, procedural rules, nor “abuse” their discretion in applying either of these to your case.  Make sure you get have a lawyer committed and courageous enough, that while keeping with all courtroom decorum and respect, they assertively make sure that your rights are protected and progressed via the rules and the law….not politics, favoritism, or monetary antics.

    I am compelled to write this encouragement to laypersons because I, a life-long/destined from birth kind of advocate, have been appalled to hear glib comments about certain judges “doing whatever they want,” and/or “caring little about what the law or the rules say!”  Either motivation is a denigration of the justice system and should not be tolerated. Even the appearance of impropriety should be questioned and resolved.

    It was reported to me recently that person(s) or a law firm bragged that a certain judge “was theirs” and would do whatever they wanted him to….that the Judge was strictly “political” and made his decisions accordingly.  After I heard this multiple times about the very same Judge, the thought of countless people being robbed of justice for personal favoritism, political gain, financial gain, etc., is far too serious to ignore. Even the possibility of such miscarriage of justice being true is a threat to justice everywhere; and culprits must be held accountable, whether they inhabit the “robe and bench” or appear before those who do. Ask questions of your lawyer, or have your lawyer ask questions of the Judge and court if ruling or judgment appears unsubstantiated, antithetical to rules and law.

    I strongly encourage laypersons to become familiar with the procedural rules affecting their cases or outcomes by asking their lawyers for better understanding.  This of course, requires that you select lawyers more committed to your legal interests than they are to their own personal relationships with the Judge.  I strongly encourage laypersons do the same regarding the established law relevant to their cases.

    Currently, multiple judges are serving prison time and/or have been permanently barred from ever serving as  Judge again because a few courageous people appropriately questioned ‘questionable’ rulings.  Judges are not gods!  They are regular humans subject to error and, at times, temptation.  Know that even the Judge in your case is not above review, reversal of ruling, and accountability if their ruling defies, ignores, misapplies established law or procedural rules.  While Judges’ rulings are most often reviewed by appeals courts, some conduct of Judges is also subject to review and discipline by agencies like the State Committee on Judicial Conduct.  Where appropriate, Judges who flagrantly abuse their position, ignore or even break the law are disciplined, sent to jail, removed, disbarred, etc. You have the legal right to make our justice system “JUST” and FAIR, fueled by integrity and the law.

    Keryl L. Douglas is an Attorney in private practice with a long history of community advocacy in Houston, Texas. She has one son, James Matthew Douglas II, and is General Counsel to local non-profits.

    Sincerely,
    Keryl L. Douglas, Esq.

Mirror of life awards set for Deluxe Theater

   

Mirror of Life Awards coming March 11, 2017
Mirror of Life Awards coming March 11, 2017

The People’s Workshop in collaborative partnership with the TSU Department of Music presents the 2017 MOLA Awards, formerly known at the Sammy Awards. The event will be held on March 11, 7:30 p.m. at the the Deluxe Theater¸ 3303 Lyons Avenue near downtown Houston. In Grammy fashion, award winners have already been assessed and voted upon by a panel of arts and entertainment professionals. The line-up will also feature some of the hottest guest acts and celebrities as performers and presenters.
Beyonce, Yolanda Adams, Kirk Whalum, Robert Glasper and many more from their formative years, were beneficiaries of the Peoples’ Workshop Program of providing educational activities for practical training and exposure. It all started with Professor Howard Harris and a group of pop and jazz music composers at Texas Southern University. Later joined by great co-producers, inclusive of Judy Foston, the program grew to become the first multicultural arts organization of Houston featuring all ethnicities and cultures. Thus Professor Howard Harris named it the People’ Workshop, now aka People’s Family Workshop for the Arts.
Pre-event tickets, $15 general and $30 VIP, are available online through donations for the price of the ticket at the People’s Workshop website: www.pfwonline.org. Ticket reservations may also be made by calling (281) 923-6057.
Special guest artists will include the electrifying group, Vostra, and more. This year’s community honoree is TSU’s Dr. Merline Pitre, Interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences and author of several books on African American subjects.

SBA names Herbert Austin acting Regional Administrator, South Central Region

 

DALLAS – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has named Herbert Austin the acting regional administrator for the South Central Region which serves 3.3 million small businesses in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.  In addition to his regional administrator duties, Austin will continue to serve as the SBA’s Dallas/Fort Worth District director, a position he has held since 2008.

As the acting regional administrator, Austin will lead 10 district offices in the delivery of SBA’s financial, entrepreneurial development, government contracting and international export services.  He will also oversee a network of small business counselors assigned to Small Business Development Centers, SCORE Offices, Women’s Business Centers and Veteran Business Outreach Centers throughout the South Central Region.

During the first quarter of fiscal 2017, SBA approved 1,576 loans for $874 million throughout the Region, an increase of seven percent in dollars compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2016. The Region shows the largest increase this quarter in the number loans to small businesses involved in exporting, with a 155 percent increase in the number of loans and a 234 percent increase in dollars, over the same period a year ago.

A native of Haiti, Austin’s career with SBA began 27 years ago, in 1989 when he was hired in New Jersey to strengthen assistance to export businesses.  He has served as manager of the Business Information Center in Jamaica, Queens; trade finance manager at the US Export Assistance Center in New York, followed by a stint as SBA Long Island, New York branch manager. In 2003, Austin was named deputy director of the New York District and in 2007 he accepted the role of acting director prior to being named director of the South Central Region’s largest producing District in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.

Before joining SBA, Austin worked in the private sector as director of Exporting for companies in the United States and overseas.  As export manager for a manufacturing firm in Trinidad & Tobago, Austin’s marketing skills resulted in extensive coverage of the products to countries in South, Central America, and the Caribbean Basin.  In addition to his extensive background in International Trade, Austin speaks fluent French and Spanish.  He earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from New York University and an MBA from Pace University. 

NFL player, Hill, host Super Bowl 51 event

 

NFL Offensive Tackle Tony Hills is taking advantage of Super Bowl LI being hosted in his home city. On Wednesday, February 1 from 7-10am, he will appear on Great Day Houston to share his pick for the win at Sunday’s game as well as his experience with the Saints this season, and more.

On Tuesday, January 31 from 4:30-6:30, the 6 foot 5 inches Hills along with Super Bowl Gospel Celebration, volunteers from Generation Hope, an outreach of Joel Osteen Ministries, and other community partners will host a “Super Football Fan Dinner” for the homeless women and children at Houston’s Star of Hope Mission.

The Alief Elsik High School graduate will tour the “You’re All Superstars” NFL Gridiron of Glory Exhibit at Texas Southern University on Thursday, February 2 from 4-6pm.

Celebrity Basketball Game

February 4, 2017, 3p.m

Madison High School

13719 White Heather Drive, Houston, TX  77045

Hills has played with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys and other teams in his 10-year career.

 

 

 

 

Senator Miles files Job Training Legislative Package SB 574 proposes internships and career planning for high school and college students

AUSTIN- Senator Borris L. Miles filed SB 574, to expand job training and increase the number of paid internships to high school and college students.

“Students need a pathway to success,” said Senator Miles. “Last week, I filed SB 482, to give youth in the foster care system access to higher education and career assistance. Today, I filed SB 574, to increase the number of internship opportunities for students in high school and college.”

Both, SB 482 and SB 574 are recommendations from the Governor’s Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative, which is comprised of commissioners from the Texas Education Agency, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Workforce Commission. They were charged to find solutions that would prepare the workforce to compete in the 21st century.

“These bills are vital to the future of Texas. We need to provide educational opportunities, career assistance and internships to ensure students are successful,” said Senator Miles.

In addition, Senator Miles filed SB 518 last Wednesday, which would create a franchise tax credit for companies who offer internships to high school students.

“This legislative package will increase paid internships, job training, and offer the business community an incentive to invest in Texas’ workforce. This will create a win/win opportunity for students, businesses and Texas as a whole,” said Senator Miles.