What You Can Do to Help Combat Aggressive Panhandling
In April of this year, Council Member Green facilitated a community meeting with the surrounding civic associations around the West Bellfort/South Post Oak Rd. intersection to strategize and address the aggressive panhandling occurring at this location. The District K office coordinated a surveillance camera to be installed at the Chase Bank strip center location to keep an eye on the panhandling situation.
In addition, Council Member Green provided a strategy that the area civic associations can collectively collaborate on a grassroots initiative to suppress the panhandling in our district. He provided information about a civility ordinance that is currently occurring in six (6) locations throughout the city of Houston. This civility ordinance involves creating a zone that will help reduce the aggressive panhandling though a required petition process. The process involves the following for this particular area:
- A map of the proposed zone
- The language of the current City Ordinance governing the creation of the zone (see below)
- A proposed amendment to the existing City Ordinance regarding aggressive panhandling (see below)
- A previous, successful petition that created the East Downtown Zone
“This civility ordinance process will involve everyone coming together and working as a grassroots coalition,” states Council Member Green. “Through this process, the District K office will work through the leadership of the area civic club presidents which includes the Willow Meadows Civic Club, Willowbend Civic Club, Precinct 287 Civic Association, Westwood Civic Club, Westbury Civic Club, and the Meyerland Community Improvement Association.”
As part of this grassroots initiative, the Greater Post Oak/West Bellfort Neighborhood Coalition was formed. Below is the collective message these civic associations are expressing among their residents and the surrounding business community.
- Do not give money directly to those panhandling on the street.
- Give to organizations like SEARCH (http://www.searchhomeless.org/) or (http://www.homelesshouston.org/), to ensure your money goes to those that need help and not to professional panhandlers.
- Report aggressive behavior and drug use to the Houston Police Department non-emergency line at 713-884-3131
- Report loitering, littering, drug use and aggressive behavior at Metro stops to the Metro Police line at 713-224-2677
- Contact 311 to report littering and damage to city property
- Sign the petition to create a zone that would prohibit sleeping on the street during daytime hours. We will begin to collect signatures for this petition in September of 2016
- Attend public session at City Hall to raise awareness among our elected officials of the issue of aggressive panhandling (Date TBD)
- Join your local civic association to help in their efforts to beautify the esplanades and make them locations that are not conducive to aggressive panhandling.
Turner Construction Interns choose Townwood Park for Summer Project
Council Member Larry V. Green, was happy to get the call from Turner Construction intern team looking for a summer project. The nine member intern team set out to positively impact the Houston community by applying the skills and processes they learned over the course of their summer internship. The intern team took on the opportunity to beautify Townwood Park entrance. The District K office, Trees for Houston and Keep Houston Beautiful all worked together to ensure their project was a huge success.
The intern team came up with their entrance design and submitted for approval. Once the plan was approved the interns braved the heat and met for two weekends of tree layout, tree planting, mulch laying, bush planting and more. Their projected budget was over $5000, however thanks to the generous donations from Keep Houston Beautiful, Trees for Houston and the District K office their project came in at $979.56.
The beautification project consisted of repositioning the sign, adding rose bushes to the area near the sign, placing stone and mulch around the sign and adding solar lights so the sign can be seen at night. The project also included placing stone and mulch around the existing trees at the entrance as well as adding additional trees in the roundabout and a stone lined flower bed. Once the trees and flowers begin to bloom, this project will surely enhance the entrance of Townwood Park and Community Center. Special thanks to Turner Construction for promoting and encouraging community service within their internship curriculum.
District K Hosts Back-to-School Event – August 20th
On Saturday, August 20, the District K council will co-partner with the Hiram Clarke HPD storefront to again sponsor the annual Back-2-School Health and Education Community Celebration at William P. Hobby Elementary School (4021 Woodmont St.) from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
This back-to-school event will consist of health information, free food and drinks, games, and celebrity appearances. The event is open to the public and Council Member Green welcomes everyone to attend.
For more information about this back-to-school event, contact the District K office at 832-393-3016.
Central Care Integrated Health Services in District K
Are you looking for comprehensive, affordable health care services near home? Central Care Integrated Health Services could be the answer. Located in the Fountain Life Center, this healthcare facility is committed to providing an array of high quality health services with reasonable payment options. Services provided include dental, family medicine, geriatrics, immunizations, pediatrics, physical exams and more. You can also join their fitness classes and even relax in the hot sauna. In order to combat the many barriers to effective healthcare, the facility accepts CHIPs, Medicaid HMO, Medicare, private insurance, fee scale payments and also offers payment plans if needed.
“We are excited to have this caliber of healthcare service in our community,” states Council Member Green. “The on-site care and ability to screen for five diseases in just five minutes is a great benefit for our residents, especially our seniors. We are constantly looking for ways to improve the quality of life for our residents and the Central Care Integrated Healthcare facility is a welcomed addition to the District K community,” exclaims Green.
For more information about the facitlity visit www.centralcareIHS.org or go by for a facility tour. The Hillcroft (Southwest) facility is located at 14087 South Main St., Houston, TX 77035 and their phone number is 713-734-0199.
Glass Recycling Comes To Westbury and to the Surrounding Neighborhoods!
The District K office is glad to announce that there is an option to recycle glass. Mayor Sylvester Turner announced a pilot program through a partnership with Strategic Materials, which is the largest glass recycler in North America. The company will operate ten containers where Houstonians can drop off their glass bottles. One of the ten citywide locations selected will be within Westbury. This is in part due to the significant number of Westbury residents that persistently advocated for glass recycling and implemented a survey earlier this year to demonstrate a strong need for glass recycling. “Westbury’s persistence paid off because it showed the City just how many committed recyclers we have out here in our community,” states Council Member Green.
The location of the glass recycling container is in the parking lot of Westbury United Methodist Church, 5200 Willowbend Blvd. (at the corner of Willowbend and West Bellfort Ave.). The parking lot is accessed easily from Cedarhurst Dr., on the backside of the Church or from West Bellfort.
Glass containers must be empty and rinsed. Remove all caps, corks, and lids before taking them to a glass recycling location. Glass ONLY is allowed.
The Westbury community thanks the Westbury United Methodist Church for allowing this recycling on their property. The glass recycling container is a privilege and we need to make sure that the area around the container stays clean and without broken glass. The Westbury community asks that users clean up any glass that breaks.
“The glass recycling container is not exclusive to Westbury residents, but is open to all to use,” states Council Member Green. “This location site should be convenient for nearby neighborhoods and accessible for others further away.” The Solid Waste Dept. is also looking at a location site on the southern part of the District. The District K office will keep you informed.
