STRONGER HOUSTON

A local program aims to divert people with mental illness from the Harris County jail to a center for mental health treatment.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the pandemic took a major toll on communities across the country.

Children all across the Houston area are continuing to feel the effects of the pandemic, even as we slowly make our way back to normalcy.

Medicaid is the health care safety net for millions of Americans.

HOUSTON – The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas launched a new, multi-year racial justice initiative Tuesday. The group says Systemic Equality is a roadmap to help dismantle laws and practices that exclude and harm Black people and other communities of color. “We’re really looking at ways in which we as an organization can help create opportunities for people to do that basic right. And that is to show up to vote,” said Darryl Ewing, communications director for ACLU of Texas. The ACLU said their new initiative will also focus on voter education.

HOUSTON – In Houston, a heartbreaking problem can be seen on many street corners and under countless highways. The Coalition indicates the number of homeless veterans they counted in 2020 was 267 compared to 376 in 2019. Oscar Gonzalez is the site coordinator for U.S. Vets Houston and is often the first contact for homeless vets looking for a meal, a shower, and a place to call home. Wilcox spends most nights on a downtown bus stop bench, but he is making progress and hopes to become another success story for U.S. Vets Houston. The VA’s hotline for homeless veterans can be reached by calling 1-877-4AID VET (1-877-424-3838).