DEER PARK, Texas – As the Houston area continues to grapple with the issue of homelessness, grassroots groups are stepping in to meet needs many say the city has been slow to address.
One such group began quietly in Deer Park—with a bottle of cold water.
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“I would see him walking, hot days, so I’d pull over and give him a cold bottle of water,” Jim Kloesel said.
Kloesel is talking about Vann, a homeless man he met more than five years ago after he began to recognize him while driving for work in Deer Park.
The cold water soon turned into warm lunches, and eventually, he invited Vann into his home.
OUR FIRST REPORT: Vann’s Posse shows how one small act can reshape a community
That progression, Kloesel said, wasn’t impulsive—it was built on trust.
“He didn’t seem erratic or anything when I first approached him,” he said.
Kloesel told KPRC 2 that allowing Vann to stay the night for the first time wasn’t his idea.
“It was actually my wife that inspired that,” Kloesel said. “We had just got out of the movies, 10 o’clock at night, it was cold and rainy, and she spotted him over at the local food town without a shirt on, and he was out in the weather, so she said, ‘I see Vann!’”
For Vann, the first interaction was cautious.
“For the first few minutes he was talking, I felt a little uneasy,” Vann said. “But he was nice and gave us a lot of invitations for work and social activity.”
Jim took his work with Vann to social media, starting the Facebook group “Vann’s Posse,” and a group formed to help one man grew to 2,000 members since October 2025.
After KPRC 2’s Zorrie Jones and Holly Galvan-Posey first reported on the group, Kloesel says about 150 people joined within hours, with nearly 775 new members added in a single week.
“People all over the Houston area know about our group now,” Kloesel wrote in a Facebook post. “Hopefully they’re starting Posse groups in their areas to help those who are less fortunate.”
Through Vann’s Posse, members now help provide food, clothing, hygiene supplies and transportation.
Kloesel has personally taken Vann to at least two court dates—part of an effort to stop the cycle of citations, warrants and jail time that often accompanies homelessness.
“A lot of people don’t like him loitering around their businesses,” Kloesel said. “So, he gets a ticket, misses court, gets picked up again. I’m working on trying to stop all the warrants from happening.”
The group has also helped track Vann’s long daily walks—sometimes spanning miles across Houston and surrounding communities—by adding a small tracking device to a necklace he happily wears.
“This is his family,” Kloesel said. “Vann’s Posse is his family. He is not without a family.”
The urgency behind Jim’s efforts became clearer this week.
On Monday, Houston firefighters responded to a fire that destroyed an abandoned church.
Court records show that a 42-year-old man who identified as homeless was charged with felony arson after allegedly admitting he started the fire to keep warm.
Then on Thursday, a different fire destroyed a vacant hotel in Channelview that was routinely used by homeless individuals for shelter.
READ MORE: Fire at vacant Channelview hotel is seventh major fire at the property in just over a year
“It’s survival,” Kloesel said. “They will do anything to survive.”
Kloesel believes access to housing, counseling and basic resources could prevent incidents like fires, burglaries and survival-driven crimes.
“If they started the program, that would solve a lot of the issues they’re having with the homeless,” he said.
While Houston City Council has approved millions of dollars for long-term homelessness initiatives, including a $16 million “superhub,” critics argue progress at the street level remains slow.
MORE INFO: Houston City Council approves $16 million ‘superhub’ for homeless despite neighborhood pushback
Shelters remain full, and housing shortages persist.
“We definitely need more housing,” Kloesel said. “We need resources they can actually access.”
For Vann, the impact of the group goes beyond material help.
“I feel strong,” he said. “There’s hope for better things within the future.”
Vann says his goals moving forward are simple: “Fulfill expectations, exceed expectations, make everybody happy.”
As KPRC 2’s crews wrapped up the interview, Jim and Vann split up for the day, exchanging a quiet “I love you” as they parted ways.
While Vann’s Posse—and other groups like it—work to fight homelessness across Houston and its surrounding areas, Kloesel credits Vann as his source of inspiration.
“One man changed an entire community,” he said. “It’s spreading like wildfire—and that’s a good thing.”
Anyone interested in joining or supporting the group can find Vann’s Posse on Facebook.