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Status of Planning Process
Each Complete Community is moving through the five process steps listed below, however, each community is at a different stage in the process depending on their unique conditions. To learn more about what step in the process your neighborhood is in, meeting results, neighborhood activities, next steps and more, visit the Complete Communities
website
. The Planning and Development Department is working to get the next round of Complete Communities public meetings scheduled for early 2018. We'll keep you posted!
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Community Highlights
Acres Home
Acres Home held its third Complete Communities meeting December 12, 2017, at M C Williams Middle School. Attendees set priorities and identified partners necessary to implement the projects that the community identified in the first two meetings.
Neighborhood Poetry Project: As part of her city-wide performance poetry project-Emerge Houston- Poet Laureate Deborah Mouton is working alongside 48 area poets to tell stories of their neighborhoods by creating original poems. Twelve compilation videos featuring the poems will be produced and shared for promotion. Residents will help select a poet from their community for the project. For more information see the City's Cultural Affairs website.
The Houston Health Foundation, Youth Capacity Building Project - YABC (Young Adults Building Communities) program is a free program designed to empower young people (18-30 years of age) in the Acres Homes community through training and experimental learning to become a voice for positive changes in their community. For more information, to refer a friend, or sign up, please contact: Francisco Garcia, Y-ABC Coordinator at
Francisco.garcia@houstontx.gov
.
Y-ABC supports the City of Houston Complete Communities Program. This project was funded by a grant from the Episcopal Health Foundation
The Mayor's Office of Education hosted a community meeting in Gulfton, December 13, 2017, at Baker-Ripley. This meeting is one of several being held in the Complete Communities pilot neighborhoods to talk about education in Houston.
 X³: Explore, Extend, Excel!
is a free program for 3rd-5th graders, in which two Houston Ballet teaching artists and a musician travel to school campuses for a series of classes and culminating event.
At Baker Ripley, 4th grade classes meet twice a week for 45 minutes. For more information, contact Lauren Anderson via
landerson@houstonballet.org or
713.535.3286.
Gulfton is one of several communities selected for the City's pilot Resident Artis
 t Program (RAP) program. Houston R.A.P. is a 16-week pilot program that began in November. Eepi Chaad will engage with residents, employ creative solutions to community challenges and guide future ways the City can incorporate artists into communities. For more information about the City's Cultural Programs visit the Cultural Affairs
website
.
The next Complete Communities meeting for Gulfton will be scheduled for the beginning of the year. At that meeting the community will be presented with a Draft Action Plan. The meeting information will be made available on the Complete Communities website as the meetings are scheduled.
The Houston Health Foundation, Youth Capacity Building Project - YABC (Young Adults Building Communities) program is a free program designed to empower young people (18-30 years of age) in the Gulton community through training and experimental learning to become a voice for positive changes in their community. For more information, to refer a friend, or sign up, please contact: Francisco Garcia, Y-ABC Coordinator at
Francisco.garcia@houstontx.gov
.
Opportunity for meaningful volunteering exists in Near Northside! A service day is happening on Monday, January 15, 2018, on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
UH-Downtown (UH-D) annually participates in the MLK National Day of Service
and is concentrating their service efforts in the Near Northside this year. UH-D and the Planning Department are looking to partner with community members and agencies to populate a list of those in the community that need assistance in completing household tasks, especially Near Northside seniors and veterans. Contact Planner
Chris Andrews
for details at 832.393.6600.
Participate in the upcoming BARC
Healthy Pets and Healthy Streets
event to be held at Leonel Castillo Multi-Service Center on Saturday, January 13, 2018. You can visit their website for more information.
 Near Northside is one of several communities selected for the City's pilot Resident Artist Program (RAP) program. Houston R.A.P. is a 16-week pilot program that began in November. The program is part of the cultural strategy in the Complete Communities initiative that pairs artist Outspoken Bean with Houston LISC and Avenue CDC in Near Northside. The selected artists engage with residents, employ creative solutions to community challenges and guide future ways the City can incorporate artists into communities.
The next Complete Communities meeting for Near Northside will be scheduled for the beginning of the year. At that meeting the community will be presented with a Draft Action Plan.
Second Ward
Second Ward Super Neighborhood (SWSN) held a neighborhood cleanup event at Eastwood Park on November 11, 2017. This event is one of several projects scheduled on the first phase of the Eastwood Park Beautification Project. The Eastwood Park Beautification Project is a collaboration between SWSN, residents in the community, Greater East End Management District, and City of Houston departments (Neighborhoods, Parks and Recreation, and Solid Waste). Many of the 82 volunteers that attended were from Iglesia De La Luz Del Mundo and Refuge Development.
A special thank you to District H Council Member Karla Cisneros for attending and SWSN representative Jessica Hulsey for coordinating the event. With the awesome teamwork and effort by the volunteers, the cleanup was finished in less than two hours! Lastly, thank you to all who participated and helped work toward making Second Ward a Complete Community.
The next Complete Communities meeting for Second Ward will be scheduled for the beginning of the year where the community will be presented with a Draft Action Plan.
Poet Laureate Program Workshops: Determined to Excel in Everything Promised, Houston Poet Laureate Deborah "D.E.E.P" Mouton is an internationally-known artist who takes poetry from the page to the stage. Residents will have a special opportunity to engage with D.E.E.P. during a workshop focused on youth in the community and how they can better express their experiences with the world.
Third Ward
The next Complete Communities meeting for Third Ward will be scheduled for the beginning of the year. At that meeting the community will be presented with a Draft Action Plan.
Third Ward is one of several communities selected for the City's pilot Resident Artist Program (RAP) program. Houston R.A.P. is a 16-week pilot program that began in November. The program is part of the cultural strategy in the Complete Communities Initiative that pairs Phillip Pyle II with the City's Office of Veterans Affairs in Third Ward.
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An attribute of the Complete Communities initiative is developing partnerships and positively changing how City departments work together and with outside organizations as well as private businesses. Although the program focuses on improving the five pilot communities, various programs are available in other areas of the City, including:
Police Department
Monthly divisional Positive Interaction Program (PIP) meetings are ongoing to inform the public about how the Burglary and Theft, Homicide, K-9, and Helicopters divisions operate. Citizens will know what to expect if they ever need the police. You can find more information on the PIP
website
.
Health Department
Diabetes Awareness and Wellness Network (DAWN) classes are offered at the Third Ward Multi-Service Center and are open to anyone in the city. Access to classes are available to DAWN members. Visit the DAWN
website
for details.
Department of Neighborhoods (DON)
"Cure for the Common Code" is an ongoing series of roundtable discussions with local businesses and other stakeholders about common code violations. These partnerships between businesses, citizens and DON focus on beautification and keeping neighborhoods clean. Call Division Manager Christylla Miles at 832.394.0644 for more information.
The Neighborhood Mow Down Program helps eliminate the problem of overgrown, vacant or neglected lots in Houston. Partnering with Keep Houston Beautiful, the program supports nonprofit organizations to maintain abandoned lots in neighborhoods that would otherwise be eyesores or public safety hazards. For more information see the Mow Down
website.
The Mayor's Office of Education
The Mayor's Office of Education will hold community meetings in each of the five Complete Communities. Come out to support your community schools and discuss how to ensure all children are given the best and brightest educational future. For details, contact the Mayor's Office of Education via 311. See below for upcoming meetings or visit the Mayor's Office of Education Facebook page.
- Acres Home - Thursday, January 11, 2018, 6 pm - 8 pm, Houston Community College, Acres Homes Campus, 630 W. Little York Road, 77091
- Near Northside - Thursday, January 18, 2018, 6 pm - 8 pm, Clemente Martinez Elementary School, 901 Hays St., 77009
- Third Ward - January 25, 6 pm, at the Third Ward Multi-Service Center, 3611 Ennis St., 77004
- Second Ward - TBD
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Tips From the Toolbox
Report Street Light Outages:
Report street lights that are out at the Centerpoint web portal. Be prepared to provide the number on the pole.
Updated Super Neighborhood Demographics: The Planning Department demographics project team, led by Bala Balachandran, revised 88 Super Neighborhood Profiles using the current 2015 Census American Community Survey (ACS) Data release. That information is available on the PD website.
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STAY CONNECTED
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