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FACTS AND FIGURES
Houston was founded more than 150 years
ago by the Allen brothers, frontier explorers who stood
on the grassy banks of Buffalo Bayou and dreamed of what
today is modern Houston.
Houston is America's
fourth-largest city, with a population of 1.8 million people
located in an area more than twice the size of Rhode Island.
There are more than 4.3 million people in the greater metropolitan
area. More than 100 different ethnic groups reside in Houston's
city limits, making it one of the world's great multi-cultural
urban centers.
Houston is the headquarters
for America's manned space flight effort, capital of the
international energy industry, home to the world's largest
medical center, and a showcase for contemporary commercial
architecture.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Houston is home to the two-time National
Basketball Association champs the Rockets.
New Orleans isn't
the only American city that hosts a Mardi Gras celebration.
Galveston Island, just outside of Houston, holds its own
annual Mardi Gras gala. Houston is annual host to
the largest and richest rodeo in the world.
The NASA Johnston
Space Center (where you can try your hand at landing a space
shuttle simulator) is located in Houston.
More than 3.8
million patients visit the Texas Medical Center each year,
15,000 of whom are from outside the U.S.
PEOPLE, PROBLEMS, ISSUES
Houston possesses the third highest
homeless population in the nation. An estimated 15,000 homeless
individuals live in shelters, abandoned buildings, in encampments,
and on the streets. Among these, 1,500 are children.
More than 760,000
Gulf Coast residents live in poverty. 150,000 are marginally
homeless--taken in by friends or family because they have
nowhere else to go. An additional 250,000 are only one paycheck
away from being out on the streets.
In the greater Houston
metropolitan area, one child out of every five lives at
or below the poverty level.
INSIGHTS ON THE CITY
BY GREG PENNINGTON
(former City Director, now CSM Vice
President)
Houston is a city built on the "old
boy" network. Things get done and deals get made this
way, and woe to the newcomer who tries to get around this
blockade. You can see this in the restructuring of political
districts, city annexations like Kingwood and Clear Lake,
and the awarding of city contracts. The revitalization of
downtown Houston with its new restaurants and loft conversions
has been dependent upon the powers-that-be to make it happen.
No where is this seen more clearly than in the new downtown
baseball stadium -home to the major-league Astros. A group
of city leaders got together to pledge money and support--seemingly
altruistic in nature, but finally rewarding in truth. The
referendum on the new stadium passed with just a 52% majority.
Allen Parkway Village,
a public housing project built in the 1940's, was recently
demolished after years of legal battles. Several residents,
who refused to leave the project, filed suit after suit
to stop the demolition unless firm plans were developed
for replacing the Village with affordable housing. The homeless
in Houston don't fare much better. The city government is
yet to establish consistent policy, alternating between
allowing homeless persons to sleep on the streets, then
initiating sweeps, where the homeless are pulled off the
streets and into a variety of shelters.
A "zero tolerance"
policy designed to keep youth gangs off the streets has
worked to remove these teenagers from the public eye (except
for the prolific graffiti that covers much of Houston).
Yet, the courts and jails are crammed full of these kids,
whose violent behavior continues to plague parts of the
city.
However, all is
not doom and gloom. There are many bright spots in Houston.
People, through their corporations and their churches, are
banding together to help make the city a better place to
live. House rehabilitation, community service, and distribution
of food and other resources are all avenues in which Houstonians
are participating in increasing numbers. A spirit of cross-cultural
support exists in these churches and community development
agencies. Houston has not seen the polarization between
races that is common in other U.S. cities. People of color
in Houston, in cooperation with those from other ethnic
backgrounds, are attempting to rise out of oppression and
prejudice in positive ways--largely through the efforts
of local churches.
I believe that
the answer to much of Houston's problems lies in the continued
partnership between churches and communities to break down
the walls of fear, pride, prejudices, cynicism, and greed
that separate us. When I see groups of CSM students playing
with and working alongside kids and adults from a variety
of racial and ethnic backgrounds, I see hope for the city
and its people. We Christians should reconsider the huge
Family Life and Worship Centers that we often erect on our
church properties and consider channeling our time, money,
and energy into ministries that can make a real difference
in the inner-city, partnering with brothers and sisters
of other races and backgrounds who desperately need the
financial and human resources we can offer to continue their
ongoing ministries of hope and justice.
CSM MINISTRY SITE SAMPLER
The Houston Food Bank coordinates the
distribution of food and other resources to a network of 500
member agencies in the Houston area. In 1996, the Food Bank
distributed over 18 million pounds of food and other essentials.
CSM groups help to sort, package, and prepare these resources
for the Food Bank's member agencies.
The Harbor Light Salvation Army, a men's
shelter and rehab center, houses over 200 homeless men each
night and has 180 men involved in their Christ-centered recovery
program. CSM groups enjoy hearing testimonies from men
who are experiencing victory over addictions before serving
dinner to transitional clients and to those in the program.
House of Tiny Treasures is Houston's only
licensed child care center for homeless children. It is one
of many programs offered by the Service of the Emergency Aid
Resource Center for the Homeless (S.E.A.R.C.H.). The House
of Tiny Treasures, in addition to day care, offers health
care, immunizations, hearing vision, and speech screening,
and other services. CSM groups interact with these children
as they assist the staff with their duties.
Lord of the Streets is a social service
agency that strives to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual
needs of the homeless in Houston. They provide clothing,
counseling, vouchers for food, and referral services.
On Sunday mornings Lord of the Streets becomes a church that
is organized and attended by the homeless. CSM groups
participate in the weekday morning devotional that is open
to anyone coming in off the streets, and then complete a work
project on site.




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