One For All E-Newsletter: April 29, 2022 Edition

Dear Friends,

"It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. But we've made it. We've made it. All of us." Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson | April 8, 2022

This month, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed as the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. To celebrate her historic confirmation, we unveiled a mural painted by Houston artist Anat Ronen at Precinct One’s Youth Education Town (YET) building at Finnigan Park in a neighborhood noted for other nationally recognized African Americans, including Barbara Jordan and Mickey Leland.

As a big advocate of public art, I’m incredibly proud that this mural honors Justice Jackson’s ascent to the highest court in the land. And I hope that it will inspire the next generation to learn how far we have come and motivate them to keep shattering the very real barriers that still exist today.

Fair Housing Month
Each April, Fair Housing Month is observed to commemorate the landmark 1968 Fair Housing Act that prohibits discrimination in housing. This April 11th marked the 54th anniversary of this watershed moment. We honor the legacy of those who fought for it by continuing to demand steadfast enforcement of the Fair Housing Act; ending all forms of housing discrimination, and advancing equitable housing policies. We must be unwavering in recognizing that access to stable, affordable, and safe housing is a fundamental human right and that everyone deserves an equitable opportunity to build wealth through homeownership.

In Harris County, we face an ever-precarious housing crisis amidst the perfect storm of soaring home prices, rising rental costs, depleting stock of affordable housing, stagnating wages, and ongoing vulnerability to disasters.

Affordable housing and opportunities for homeownership remain out of reach for many people of color, working families, and others who work hard every day without ever being able to put away for a home or a rainy day. There is a vast gulf between homeownership among Black and Latine families compared to white families, undermining the ability of those families to build intergenerational wealth and further entrenching economic inequality. Where homeownership is attained by people of color, their homes are frequently undervalued and twice as likely to receive a low appraisal compared to white homeowners.

We’ll continue to do our part with local initiatives like our Community Land Trust and Down Payment Assistance Program. To truly move us one step closer to realizing Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s sight of the promised land over the mountaintop, we need action at every level of government to bring an end to housing discrimination in all its forms and protect the right of all people to live and thrive in the sanctity and security of their home. That is the dream.

Sincerely,

HEALTHY MINDS,
HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

The Healthy Minds, Healthy Communities initiative was created in response to the mental health impacts of COVID to:

Support overall emotional wellness
Help communities strengthen and grow existing support systems
Build new networks to emotional health providers
Find new ways to break down stigmas around mental health

No one should feel alone in our communities. Healthy Minds, Healthy Communities aims to help us care for ourselves, our family, our friends, and our neighbors.

Join us at upcoming kickoff meetings in your neighborhood.

FIRST WEDNESDAY MARKET AT HOPE FARMS

Recipe for Success Foundation’s Hope Farms’ monthly programming ensures that fresh, tasty, and affordable food choices are available and accessible to the Sunnyside community.

On the first Wednesday evening of each month, Recipe for Success Foundation invites the community to its very popular First Wednesday Market, featuring local makers, vendors for farm walks, cooking classes, celebrity chef demonstrations, crafts, and wellness programs from 4 to 7 p.m.

You never know what delicious treasure you will discover at Hope Farms First Wednesdays.

Hope Farms, a model for urban agriculture using organic methods to generate healthy food harvested in season, is located minutes from downtown Houston just south of Loop 610.

Look forward to seeing you at the First Wednesday Market, Wednesday, May 4th!

For more information, visit the Hope Farms website.

INVESTING IN QUALITY CHILDCARE

Our county must provide each child the opportunity to reach their fullest potential in life.

Harris County will invest up to $50M to add quality childcare for approximately 1,000 children in high-need communities. Childcare centers will receive support to recruit families; train and support teachers; increase wages of staff to at least $15/hour; improve business procedures and address childcare community needs.

This investment will help improve access to childcare for families still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

National Water Safety Month
Did you know that May is National Water Safety Month and May 15th is International Water Safety Day? As we head into the summer, Precinct One would like to remind everyone to be safe in the water.

Learning to swim saves lives! Precinct One's Harris County Aquatics Program (HCAP) offers both youth and adult Learn to Swim lessons at the Aquatics Center and Julia C. Hester House Natatorium, where participants learn swim strokes and water safety in a supportive environment.
To enroll in a Learn to Swim class, please call 346-286-1910.

Spanish Computer Classes
The Adult Enrichment Program now offers Spanish Computer classes at Lincoln Park Community Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. every other Friday. The class is led by a teacher from the Harris County Public Library. To learn more and to register for the class, follow the link here.

El Programa de Enriquecimiento para Adultos ahora ofrece clases de computación en español en el Lincoln Park Community Center de 11:30 a. m. a 1 p. m. cada dos viernes. La clase está dirigida por un maestro proporcionado por la Biblioteca Pública del Condado de Harris.

Para obtener más información e inscribirse en la clase, siga el enlace aquí.