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Key Insights from The Big Picture | Montgomery County

Picture of full room at the Big Picture convening in Montgomery County, with Julie Martineau, Presidents & CEO of Montgomery County Community Foundation, presenting

On January 25, 2023, in partnership with Montgomery County Community Foundation, we hosted our first event of the year: The Big Picture | Montgomery County. The room was full with over 75 leaders across various sectors, including Judge Wayne Mack, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, Montgomery County, who assembled the Behavioral Health and Suicide Prevention Task Force in 2020. At this event, Understanding Houston shared key data highlighting Montgomery County’s strengths and challenges, and participants were able to react and respond to the data – the findings of this activity are below.

Watch the one-minute recap video, view photos from the event, and review the presentation.

Understanding Montgomery County

The program began with Julie Martineau, President & CEO of Montgomery County Community Foundation and member of Understanding Houston’s Advisory Committee. Julie shared how critical it is to use data in decision-making.

“Data is key to understanding what is happening in our community, where we’ve been, where we are right now, and where we are going. The change makers of Montgomery County are the people who can make an impact and use data to measure whether it is working or not.“
Julie Martineau, President & CEO, Montgomery County Community Foundation

Julie explained how Montgomery County Community Foundation works for the present and future well-being of Montgomery County, while Greater Houston Community Foundation works throughout Harris, Montgomery, and Fort Bend counties. Because of this overlap, there is often powerful cross-collaboration between the two foundations.

Julie shared how Understanding Houston is a resource for independent and accessible data that organizations, community and civic leaders, and other residents should use to measure progress and effect change.

Exploring the Trends and Data

Montgomery County has grown significantly, but wages have not kept up

Montgomery County’s population has grown nearly five times in just 40 years, numbering more than 620,000 according to the 2020 Census. Job growth was double the rate of the state and nearly quadruple the rate of the country, while GDP growth over the last two decades consistently outpaced Fort Bend and Harris counties, the state, and the nation.

While GDP grew 82% between 2010 and 2021 in Montgomery County, median household income grew only 7% during the same period. Not only have incomes stagnated, but income inequality has not improved in Montgomery County.

Nearly half of all income in Montgomery County went to 20% of the highest-income households, while just 3% of all income went to the bottom 20% of households. While the income gap between white and Hispanic households decreased by 22% between 2010 and 2021, the gender pay gap increased by 41% for the same period, and Hispanic households still earn about two-thirds of what white households earn.

Montgomery County’s poverty rate has increased recently, contributing to growing inequality. The percentage of children under five living in poverty increased from a decade-low of 12% in 2017 to 24% in 2021.

Nearly 1 in 5 children under the age of five in Montgomery County lives in poverty.

Households that live above the poverty line but earn less than what it takes to meet basic needs are called ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employees) – also known as the working poor. Combining households in poverty and ALICE, nearly two out of every five households in Montgomery County struggle to afford basic necessities like rent, transportation, and food.

Rent has increased and consumes a larger portion of incomes

In Montgomery County, rent increased 22% between 2010 and 2021 compared to an 8% decrease in housing costs for homeowners; the percentage of renters that spend at least 30% of their income on housing is double that of homeowners. Some individuals and families will move farther from city centers to access more affordable housing, which can translate into higher transportation costs.

Montgomery County residents typically spend 53% of their income on housing and transportation alone. On par with L.A. County residents (52%) – a place infamous for its expensive housing market and long commutes.

While a higher percentage of households in Montgomery County are homeowners (75%) compared to the state (63%) and the nation (65%), the homeownership rate in Montgomery County has not seen any improvement over the last decade.

Considering rising rents, homeownership appears to be increasingly out of reach for many first-time homebuyers. This is problematic because home ownership is still one of the most effective ways to build wealth and improve economic mobility.

Where we can afford to live determines more than housing costs

Where we live determines more than just our housing and transportation costs. It also affects our environment, including the air we breathe and the temperature we feel.

In Montgomery County, ozone levels were rated “F” by the American Lung Association – the same rating for Harris County. Montgomery County experienced 523 days of extreme heat, defined as 95°F or higher, during the 2010s decade. This extreme heat was a 231-day increase – the equivalent of nearly two-thirds of a year – compared to the previous decade.

Bad air and extreme heat can lead to premature death and shorter life expectancies as our environment is inextricably linked to our health.

Poor environment and lack of health care access contribute to poor health

Over 90,000 Montgomery County residents under the age of 65 do not have health insurance coverage and do not have adequate access to primary care physicians. There is only one primary care physician for every 1,674 residents compared to one for every 1,319 residents in the U.S. overall.

Clinical guidelines focus on the role of primary healthcare in obesity prevention, and obesity rates in Montgomery County have been up 14 percentage points since 2011. In just a decade, the percentage of residents living with obesity in Montgomery County went from being the lowest in the three-county region to the highest.

One out of three adults in Montgomery County are living with obesity.

Adding to healthcare challenges, Montgomery County has less mental healthcare availability than the state, and Texas ranks last across all states in access to mental health treatment. Montgomery County has only one mental health provider for every 1,069 residents.

Even more concerning, Montgomery County has consistently had the highest suicide rate in the region over the past two decades, and suicidal thoughts for young adults between 18 and 25 in the Houston area have nearly doubled. Research has shown that recent years have been especially difficult for youth and young adults due to social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and several subsequent traumatic events in recent years.

Educational outcomes suffered from the impacts of the pandemic

The pandemic delayed the opportunity to see the full impact of House Bill 3 (HB3), which was signed into law in 2019. HB3 required all pre-K programs to be full-day, which has added benefits over shorter-day programs. Montgomery County saw a 16-percentage point increase in the rate of pre-K students enrolled in full-day programs between 2018 and 2020, despite still having the lowest rate.

A higher percentage of Montgomery County kindergarteners assessed are considered kinder-ready (57%) compared to Fort Bend (54%) and Harris (45%) counties. However, not all kindergarteners in Texas are assessed equally. Only 31% of Montgomery County kindergarten students were assessed, compared to 96% in Fort Bend County and 90% in Harris County. This rate has been consistently decreasing in Montgomery County compared to a consistent increase in the neighboring counties.

If we look at a group of Montgomery County eighth graders and their educational journey through higher education, many do not ultimately earn a higher education degree or certificate. For every 100 students enrolled in eighth grade during the 2011-12 school year, 80 graduated from high school, 50 enrolled in a Texas higher education institution, and only 22 earned a credential or degree by the time they turned 25. Among economically-disadvantaged students, only 10% earned a degree or certificate compared to 30% of their wealthier peers.

Place-based disparate outcomes

Montgomery County’s economy has grown significantly, but that growth has not translated into growing wealth and prosperity for all residents. Income inequality has not improved, the poverty rate has increased, and nearly two out of five households struggle to afford basic needs. This inequality exacerbates the disparate impacts of rising rents, worsening environment, and low access to healthcare, which play a role in the vastly different outcomes we see for residents. According to research from Opportunity Atlas, one’s childhood zip code can tell a great deal about expected outcomes within each county.

On average, a child from a low-income family who grew up in Conroe earned a household income of $24,000 as an adult, whereas a low-income child from The Woodlands earned $53,000. About 38% of women who grew up in low-income families in a neighborhood in Conroe became teenage moms compared to 5% of low-income women from a neighborhood in The Woodlands.

“[The] community is not fully informed about what is truly happening in rural parts of [the] county. It’s easy in The Woodlands to be isolated from the poverty.“
Anonymous Participant

These problems cannot be solved alone. Cross-sector conversation and collaboration are required for Montgomery County to truly be a place where all its residents have the resources and opportunities they need to prosper.

Results from the Group Discussion

Given that many often need more time or capacity to converse and collaborate with those outside their organization, attendees were given time to reflect on how the data may align with what they see in the communities they reside, work in, and serve. Attendees reported that:

Many Montgomery County households struggle to afford basic needs, and there are disparities between neighborhoods regarding health, access to services, income, and housing.
There has been an increase in mental health issues among Montgomery County residents, youth and young adults in particular, and it is difficult to access mental healthcare.
Residents are often underinsured or uninsured, and there is a high use of emergency room services in place of primary/preventative care.
There is a severe lack of affordable housing.

Realizing that the county-level averages provided in the presentation can mask differences across various communities, attendees were asked how the data may need to align with what they see in the more granular communities they reside, work in, and serve. Attendees reported that:

Even though the data shows more access to mental health providers than primary care physicians in Montgomery County, mental health seems more difficult to access than primary/preventative care.
Schools in the south of the County appear to have better student outcomes than the county-level data show.
Access to health care is not a pressing issue within specific Montgomery County communities, likely due to new hospital facilities.
They do not see a reduction in the income gap between white and Hispanic households through the community they serve.

Given time limitations, not all quality-of-life indicators from the website were included in the data presented. Some issues attendees noted that were not in the presentation but were pressing challenges in the communities they serve were:

The lack of resources available to support individuals with autism spectrum disorder and with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
The lack of resources and services for the growing numbers of older adults (age 65+).
The income gap between white and Black households.
Lack of public transportation.
Food insecurity and food deserts.

Based on the most common themes discussed, mental health and poverty, the rest of the session was dedicated to discussing potential projects and ideas for collaboration around these two issues. Some of the suggestions that came out of the discussion were:

Mental Health

Partnering with local colleges to better prepare and increase the workforce of mental health practitioners.
Funding for mental health provider salaries to increase the workforce.
Establishing Community peer support groups.
Differentiating between mental illness and mental health and collaborating to utilize alternative services to help with mental health, such as community, exercise, animals, nature, etc.
Leveraging telehealth to circumvent obstacles such as transportation.

Poverty

Increasing the minimum wage to something that accurately reflects the cost of living.
Creating mixed-income communities to ensure affordable housing is available in high-opportunity areas.
Providing more mentorship to students, including expanding career and technical education (CTE) opportunities, local trade school resources, and removing barriers for individuals to further their education.

Houston is Generous

Greater Houston has gained a reputation for being generous. Historically, our region has often topped lists in national studies measuring total philanthropic assets, percentage of income given to charity, and overall financial health of nonprofit charity organizations. Our expansive, rich nonprofit sector enriches our communities and our local economy and is one of the largest contributors toward this reputation for generosity. Other likely contributors also include the national headlines of collective action after crises like Hurricane Harvey and Winter Storm Uri as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Uplifting stories of community resilience are valuable, but are also often anecdotal. How generous are we really, and in what ways? Where can we improve our generosity? Let’s unpack the data on generosity in Houston, and whether or not the headlines and human interest stories match the reality.

Houston bands together post-disaster

The greater Houston region is no stranger to natural disasters. Fortunately, when disasters do strike, Houstonians step up. Total giving after Hurricane Harvey reached nearly $1 billion, the most on record after any disaster. Notably, and in the spirit of regional generosity, donations after Harvey were marked by a broad, grass-roots donor base. The Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund administered by Greater Houston Community Foundation, for example, received an average donation of $100 from around 127,000 donors.

Some residents, however, are impacted more severely by disasters and are less likely to receive adequate recovery assistance. On a macro level, research indicates that federal disaster recovery and assistance policies place vulnerable groups at a disadvantage, making it more difficult for them to access resources or assistance. In Harris County, researchers have estimated that natural disasters can widen the Black-white wealth gap by an average of $87,000.

Another way to measure regional post-disaster generosity is through post-disaster contributions (both donations and volunteer-hours) at local mainstay charities. In 2020, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Houston Food Bank reduced their volunteers by 85% due to new safety protocols — and yet, that year, over 537,000 hours of service were contributed by 88,000 volunteers. The Food Bank also saw a 468% increase in financial donations in the first half of 2020 and took in $455 million in donations the following year.

Organizational impact and limited access

Communities banding together to volunteer their time and donate money require more than just individual effort. For generosity to take place in any meaningful way, and for individual efforts to combine to affect positive change and address real issues, there need to be organizations, like nonprofits, to facilitate giving, organize communities and ultimately connect seekers with resources and services.

Although Greater Houston has a sizable, flourishing nonprofit sector that includes about 15,660 public charities, residents in each of the region’s three counties has relatively low access to public charities, with fewer nonprofits per 10,000 residents than both the state and the nation.

Compared to the population, the region’s nonprofit sector doesn’t look so robust. While 15,660 isn’t exactly a dearth of nonprofit charities, the comparison does tell us that our region’s nonprofits risk being overwhelmed during times of crisis when demand is at its highest.

Who gives and how in Houston

About half of the residents in Greater Houston donated $25 or more to nonprofit organizations in 2019, which was similar to the national average (51%), and higher than the state average (45%). This puts Houston squarely in the middle of the other measured large metropolitan areas, and behind San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago and Austin.

Between 2011 and 2018, residents of the three-county region gave an average of $4.4 billion dollars per year, which accounts for nearly a quarter of all donations made by Texans. This impressive number has dipped along with the national average since 2018, likely due to a change in federal legislation that almost doubled the required deduction amounts for charitable donations.

The more money someone has, the more ability they have to contribute, therefore contributions by residents do scale with income, but those are not the only factors that impact donations. Among the three counties, there are large differences between the average contributions made by households that earn $200,000 or more, with high earners in Fort Bend County giving about half ($20,100) of the yearly average of those in Harris County ($38,661).

Large donations are, however, not the only factor in measuring a people’s or a region’s generosity; there are many ways in which residents can be generous.

Between 2012 and 2020, at least half of the residents (anywhere from 50-54%) in the three-county region reported having volunteered at least once in the last year. Between 2020 to 2021, that number went down by 14 percentage points, with only 40% of Harris County residents having volunteered in the last year. This follows a national trend, with many Americans reducing or completely stopping previous volunteer activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey conducted by Fidelity.

The Corporation for National and Community Service measured cities’ generosity using the above five metrics, which included volunteering, doing favors for neighbors, doing something positive for the neighborhood, participating in local groups or organizations and donating $25 or more to charity. All individual efforts — with the exception of lending a neighbor a cup of sugar or the like — require facilitation from a nonprofit charity organization or another local group.

Houstonians are generous, with potential to grow

One thing is certain: our residents will never want for inspiration. The national stories about Greater Houston’s generosity, tales of community resilience, civic engagement and personal sacrifice, while maybe anecdotal, get at what is essentially the truth about many communities in the region. Although not everyone will participate, those who do will continue strengthening their communities with dedicated and richly rewarding work.

Our region is certainly generous, although it has plenty of room to grow. And while generosity may have its genesis in individual efforts, it requires widespread, organizational oversight to thrive. Therefore, our substantial nonprofit sector must also have room to grow, if we want our region to truly thrive. We can take comfort in knowing that we’ve got both the residents and the resources to take generosity to unknown heights, and make an even greater impact in the future.

Houston is Engaged

We live in eventful times. The past few years have been replete with once-in-a-lifetime events, including the many impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, historic natural disasters and a variety of galvanizing political issues in between. While reactions to these events run the gamut, their impacts have been widespread in our digitally connected world, contributing to increased engagement throughout and between communities nationwide.

Not only did more Houstonians come out to vote in 2020, many Houston-based civic and social justice organizations worked to support our residents. After all, civic engagement is more than just voting — it’s volunteering, communicating with elected officials, donating to causes and even having difficult conversations with friends and loved ones.

Engaged communities help one another, cultivate trust among residents and ensure all voices are heard. Not only can positive engagement result in the betterment of one’s community, it can also improve feelings of connectedness and reduce individual loneliness. Houston may be turning out to the polls, but how do we fare in other areas of civic engagement, and how do we compare to the rest of the nation? Let’s take a closer look.

How and when Houston votes

Voter registration rates are high and rising in the three-county region with Fort Bend (95%), Montgomery (93%) and Harris (89%) counties all significantly ahead of the state (72%) and national rates (73%). With each Houston-area county’s registration rate almost 20 percentage points higher than the national rate, it’s easy to think that Houston is especially engaged, but registering to vote is only the first step toward electoral participation.

Voter participation among those who have registered in the region, is still far behind the national rate, despite significant upticks in the three counties during the 2020 election.

Fort Bend County has the highest turnout rate among those who registered at 74%, yet is still almost 18 percentage points behind the national average of 92%. Although registration rates and turnout rates were both notably high for the 2020 election, the disparity between turnout among those registered in the region and the nation was not.

If the voting-age population is consistently registering to vote, what could stop them from casting a ballot? Some argue that a lack of competitive races in the more visible governmental offices dissuades Texans from casting a ballot. In the 2018 primaries, 83% of voters did not cast a ballot, and one of Texas’ U.S. Senate seats — in a state with an estimated population of 28 million residents in 2018 — was secured with fewer than 775,000 votes.

Research suggests that offering early voting is a viable way to increase voter turnout, but the Houston region’s voters already vote early. While early voting has recently become more popular all over the nation, voters in the Houston area choose early voting at a rate higher than the national average. More than half of the votes were cast during the early voting period for every election in the past 12 years in the three-county region, with early votes representing 88% of all votes in 2020.

Research has shown that Americans are more likely to vote if they know and understand the process, if the rules and regulations are easy to navigate and if they believe their vote “matters.” According to the Cost of Voting Index (COVI), Texas has not kept pace with many common reforms to voting processes like absentee voting and online voter registration, making it one of the most difficult states in the nation for a resident to cast a ballot. Texas was 50th on the 2020 COVI but has since risen to 46th, mostly on the strength of a full 13-day early voting period.

Charitable giving and volunteering

Public charities don’t just help those in need through acts of service and donations, they also give residents a platform for contributing to and engaging with causes that matter to them. The Houston region has a robust nonprofit sector (over 15,660 nonprofit public charities in 2020), and although many charitable organizations serve the region, the number of charities per 10,000 residents is lower in Greater Houston than in the state and nation.

Nonprofit organizations operate largely on individual philanthropy, and Houstonians are no strangers to charitable donations. Charitable donations are an important component of engagement; when people feel engaged in their communities, they are more likely to contribute to its improvement. Nearly half of Greater Houston residents claimed to have donated at least $25 to charitable organizations in 2019, which puts Houston somewhere in the middle of other major metros with a higher percentage of residents donating $25 or more a month than in New York City and Los Angeles, but less than in Austin, Atlanta and Chicago.

Much like having a significant nonprofit network, a community with a strong contingency of volunteers is likely to stay supported and engaged. Residents of the nine-county Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) volunteer less frequently than others at the state and the national level. About 30% of people who volunteer across the state and the nation do so less than once a month, compared with 38% of volunteers in the Houston MSA. In keeping with national trends, volunteer rates in Harris County fell 14 percentage points (54% to 40%) from 2020 to 2021, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Civic and social engagement

In addition to financial contributions made through charities, residents also provide direct service in their communities as members of civic organizations. Membership in civic and social organizations (which include non-profits, charities and advocacy groups) is another way to engage with a community and increase social connectedness. Social connectedness is the experience of belonging within a social relationship or network, not just within personal relationships, but within professional and community networks and beyond. Similar to the region’s large nonprofit network, Houston’s coalition of civic social organizations lags significantly behind the state and nation in the number of organizations per 100,000 residents.

In 2019, the three-county region had 3.2 civic social membership organizations per 100,000 residents. Texas, in comparison, had 5.2 per 100,000, and the U.S. 7.8 per. While it doesn’t nullify the stark contrast in access to these organizations, the number of organizations in the region has been rising, while those in the state and nation have been falling.

Actions may speak louder than words, but communicating with elected officials past election day is an important component of the democratic process. Unfortunately, it’s one many Houston-area residents don’t take advantage of.

In 2019, 6.5% of residents in the Houston MSA reported contacting their public officials at least once per year. Though marginally higher than the state rate of 6.4%, the Houston MSA does lag behind the national average of 9.3%. Although reaching out to elected officials does not always translate into legislative action, elected officials who do not hear from their constituents are deprived of the opportunity to understand how their policy ideas may affect our communities.

Why being engaged matters

Active participation in one’s community promotes deeper connections between residents and is the first step in creating a region that provides everyone the opportunity to reach their full potential. But without important information about the region’s different communities, we lack the full picture of what our residents are facing. The U.S. Census recently reported that they likely missed more than a half-million Texans during the 2020 count, representing an immense amount of people that were left unaccounted for, and therefore not advocated for.

Census data is used to shape infrastructure and policy at every level of government. A study found that the 2010 Census was used to direct $101.6 billion toward federally funded programs at state and local governments, businesses, nonprofits, hospitals and households. Census data determines the number of funds allocated to everything from creating opportunities for jobseekers to deciding how relief funds will be distributed in the event of a disaster.

The issue of undercounting on the Census is an issue of underrepresentation, as the groups who are considered hard to count, and therefore the most likely to be systematically undercounted, include people of color, immigrants, refugees and people experiencing homelessness.

Houston is engaged, but more work remains

Comprehensive civic engagement requires not just individual, but organizational effort and attention. Having more Houston-area voices heard in our elections and other civic processes helps ensure that our region can achieve its full potential, and hearing from a more diverse set of perspectives ensures that more diverse needs are met.

Not all elections are nationally publicized, but they are all important. Though the 2022 midterms have some highly watched races on the ballot, it will be just as important that residents vote in subsequent, less visible elections. After all, our region is more than just its mayor and governor — it’s our judges, council members, school boards, sanitation leaders, local ordinances and so much more. Whether this year’s election is your first or your 51st, we encourage you to check what’s on the ballot and engage thoughtfully. Every vote, volunteer hour and voice matters — don’t let yours go unheard.

Key Insights from The Big Picture | Fort Bend County

On October 6, 2022, Fort Bend County residents convened at Long Acres Ranch in Richmond, TX, to learn, engage, and explore ways to solve some of the county’s most significant challenges. At this event, Understanding Houston shared key data highlighting Fort Bend County’s strengths and challenges. Guests also heard from representatives from Fort Bend County Health & Human Services (FBCHHS) about significant findings from their recent Community Health Assessment. This event was unique as it was the first time Understanding Houston partnered with a county department for a presentation.

Fort Bend County Health & Human Services Team

Painting the Picture

The program began with Steve Maislin, President and CEO of Greater Houston Community Foundation, who shared an overview of the Foundation’s work and how it was established in 1995 to inspire and create meaningful change with our donors and for our community. In addition to being the Houston region’s hub for all charitable solutions, the Foundation is well-positioned to help its donors identify and invest in a validated network of agency partners throughout the Greater Houston region.

The next speaker was Dr. Jacquelyn Johnson-Minter, Director of FBCHHS. Dr. Minter shared how FBCHHS is the principal agency for protecting the health of Fort Bend County residents and providing essential human services. Dr. Minter emphasized the importance of the cross-collaboration needed for their ongoing response in addition to the emergency relief they provide during times of disaster. She conveyed that no one person or entity can solve the problems outlined in the forthcoming presentation alone, and this event was designed to help share the data needed to ignite cross-sector collaboration to address significant regional challenges.

Guests also heard from Rocaille Roberts, Program Officer at The George Foundation, where she helps to oversee how The George Foundation partners with the community to impact Fort Bend County and its residents positively. She encouraged everyone in the room, in their professional and personal life, to be open-minded about what resources we can all leverage to make an impact, as we all need to collectively think outside the box. She also shared how data helps their foundation make strategic choices about what issue areas to prioritize.

Sharing the Data

Population Growth

This leads us to the data shared by representatives from Understanding Houston. First, Nadia Valliani, Director of Community Philanthropy, began by grounding the conversation in the county’s population growth and change over time. Fort Bend County’s population has grown over 500% in the last 40 years.

Fort Bend County’s population has grown over 500% in the last 40 years.

Along with large population growth, there has also been a dramatic change in who makes up Fort Bend’s population. International migration is a large contributor to Fort Bend’s population growth, with one out of three residents being foreign-born in 2021, the highest rate in the three-county region, which includes Harris and Montgomery counties. Additionally, Fort Bend’s population has shifted from majority-white to an almost completely equal distribution of each major racial/ethnic group. Valliani shared how population growth is a significant strength as it helps to expand the economy and workforce. However, if not planned for properly, population growth can put stress on our infrastructure and environment. While the region’s diversity is a point of pride as it is an asset and opportunity to lead the country, diversity does not automatically mean inclusivity.

Fort Bend’s population has shifted from majority-white to an almost completely equal distribution of each major racial/ethnic group

The data shows that economic opportunity and prosperity are not shared among all residents in Fort Bend County. While the median household income in Fort Bend County, at $97,210, is higher than in Texas and the U.S., Fort Bend has larger income disparities by race/ethnicity. The income gap between white and Hispanic households in Fort Bend County was nearly $42,000 in 2019, according to data from the Federal Reserve. In Fort Bend County, income has grown by about 7% in the past decade compared to 15% for the nation and 21% for Texas. Fortunately, fewer people are living in poverty, but there are racial/ethnic disparities here as well. About one in 10 Black and one in 14 Hispanic residents in Fort Bend live in poverty compared to one in 20 white residents, according to data from the 2019 American Community Survey.

Fort Bend County is one of the most diverse and wealthy counties in the nation, but wealth has not grown meaningfully for all. This has wide-ranging implications contributing to gaps in housing affordability and health outcomes.

Residential Infrastructure and Health

Next, we heard from Chelsea Cheung, Senior Data and Learning Analyst. Cheung shared how the rising cost of housing has disproportionately impacted renters. She revealed how homeownership can be critical to wealth creation and upward mobility, as that wealth can be passed on to future generations. A higher percentage of Fort Bend County residents are homeowners compared to the state and nation; and while homeownership disparities exist by race and ethnicity in Fort Bend County, the disparities are smaller when compared to Texas and the U.S. However, median home values rose 62% between 2010 and 2019 in Fort Bend County, nearly double the national increase of 34%. For the same time period, the median monthly costs for homeowners with a mortgage increased by 4% compared to a 21% increase for renters. In Fort Bend County, nearly one in five renters spend more than half of their income on housing alone. For Fort Bend renters with stagnant wages who face soaring rents, the cost of achieving the American dream has increasingly become practically unachievable.

In Fort Bend County, nearly one in five renters spend more than half of their income on housing alone.

Cheung then addressed how where we live affects our environment and, by extension, our health and the health services available. Unfortunately, Texas has had the highest percentage of residents without health insurance in the United States for the last decade. In 2019, about 41,000 residents between the ages of 19 and 64 in Fort Bend County were uninsured, with one-third of Hispanic adults younger than 65 in Fort Bend being uninsured. In 2020, half of all deaths in Fort Bend were caused by heart disease, cancer, and COVID-19. In addition, in 2019, over 25% of Fort Bend County residents 18 and older reported no leisure-time physical activity in the past month, and over 15% rated their health as poor or fair. With more than a quarter of adult residents in Fort Bend County living with obesity, it is time to look at increasing access to and uptake of healthier options for residents.

Cheung then spoke about mental health and prenatal care. In Fort Bend County, the number of pregnant women who received early prenatal care declined 10 percentage points in just one year between 2020 and 2019, a decline not seen in Harris or Montgomery counties. In addition, Fort Bend County has the highest ratio of residents to mental health care providers in our three-county region and compared to the state and nation. This shortage of mental health providers is especially problematic because over one in 10 Fort Bend residents reported experiencing at least two weeks of poor mental health within a one-month period in 2019.

Identifying Community Priorities

The final speaker was Carrie Rai, Performance and Innovation Specialist from FBCHHS, who shared an overview of their recent Community Health Assessment. This Community Health Assessment is the first in Fort Bend County in 15 years. In addition to using data from various sources like Understanding Houston and local hospitals, they also collected their own data by conducting 25 key informant interviews and distributing 845 surveys to community residents.

Through their research, FBCHHS collected data on health outcomes related to health care, health behavior, social and community factors, and the physical and built environment. While they learned that Fort Bend County performs well in several areas, there were a few areas that were flagged as community priorities, including mental health, obesity, heart disease, housing affordability, and prenatal care access.

Mental Health

Rai shared that 37% of survey respondents had at least one day of poor mental health in the past month, and 46% indicated that mental health had been a problem within their households this past year. She also shared that suicide rates in Fort Bend County vary by race and ethnicity, with the highest rates of suicide being in the white population. These high rates of poor mental health are complicated by the shortage of mental health providers in Fort Bend County, as there is only one mental health provider for every 1,210 residents compared to a ratio of one mental health provider for every 760 Texans. Their data also showed that 14% of respondents needed mental health services but did not receive them. When asked why they did not receive mental health services, 34% said they could not afford to, and 27% said it took too long to receive services.

Obesity

While Fort Bend County has lower obesity rates than other counties in the region, it is still a top health issue, as nearly 30% of Fort Bend County residents are obese. In addition, results from the Community Health Assessment indicated that 40% of survey respondents were concerned with poor eating habits while 39% were concerned with lack of exercise. Only 8% of survey respondents are consuming enough fruits and vegetables, and 60% are not getting enough exercise.

Heart Disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Fort Bend County. Breaking it down by race/ethnicity, according to CDC WONDER, the Black or African American and white populations in Fort Bend County had the highest rates of deaths related to heart disease in 2020. Heart Disease was the fifth most cited health issue by survey respondents and key informants.

Housing Affordability

Housing in Fort Bend County is another area of focus due to affordability challenges. In 2022, County Health Rankings found that the Fair Market Rent (FMR) is $1,208 in Fort Bend County, whereas, across Texas, the average FMR is $1,172. In addition, 32% of survey respondents and 55% of key informants said that affordable housing is a resource/service that is missing in Fort Bend County.

Prenatal Care Access

The last priority issue Rai shared was about prenatal care, which has been viewed as a strategy to improve pregnancy outcomes for more than a century. Fort Bend County has higher rates of low birthweights than the national goals set by Healthy People 2020. In addition, in Fort Bend County, there has been a 10-percentage point drop in women who receive prenatal care from 2019 to 2020, and in that same time period, the percentage of pregnant women receiving no prenatal care in Fort Bend County increased more significantly compared to the state and the nation.

Paving a Path Forward

In closing, Rai shared how the data collected by FBCHHS reflects similar data to what was presented by Understanding Houston. She shared that as a health department, they share this information to get feedback on how the community should work together to address these priority issues.

Attendees then broke into smaller groups where members of the FBCHHS staff facilitated discussions. Each group picked one of the five priority topics to brainstorm solutions around. All discussions and data shared within each group were logged by an FBCHHS staff member. Information was also shared about ways different people or organizations can participate in addressing these priorities.

If you are interested in learning more about the data presented or attending an upcoming program, please contact understandinghouston@ghcf.org.

Key Insights from our Ending Homelessness in Houston Event

On September 21, 2022, Greater Houston Community Foundation hosted a program to celebrate the progress made in reducing homelessness in the Houston three-county area and explore how we can continue to work together to end homelessness in Houston.

Source: Coalition for the Homeless of Houston, Harris County, 2022 Homeless Count & Survey Results

Results from the 2022 Homeless Count Survey done by the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston, indicate that since 2011, there has been a 64% reduction in the number of people experiencing homelessness in the Houston region, and in June 2015, homelessness among veterans was effectively ended. The Houston region’s successful collaborative approach to tackling this issue has received national recognition. It is a model for other cities as mayors and leaders from cities like Los Angeles and Denver want to learn from leaders in Houston.

Much of the region’s success can be attributed to The Way Home Houston, a collective effort to prevent and end homelessness in Houston and throughout Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties. With over 100 partners from all areas of the community, The Way Home Houston has created synergy to help the region achieve this transformation.

The event kicked off with Charmet Findley, a Houston native who serves as co-chair of the Youth Action Board of The Way Home Youth Homeless Demonstration Program. Findley faced many hardships while growing up in the foster care and juvenile criminal legal systems. He shared with us how he did not know how to secure housing or employment that would lay a solid foundation for stability and a career. Fortunately, Findley was resilient and found his way, but not everyone is this lucky. Findley uses his experiences to help bridge this gap and to serve as a mentor to youth currently involved in systems.

Curating a Coalition

We then heard from Sara Martinez, Vice President of Development at the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County. Martinez described the progress that our region has made in reducing homelessness by increasing collaboration among service providers and simplifying the path out of homelessness. Since July 2022, there has been a $165 million investment in the Community COVID Houston Program (CCHP), which focuses on providing permanent housing Houston with robust client support. As of August 2022, more than 10,000 people have been served by CCHP funding.

Source: Sara Martinez, Coalition for the Homeless presentation on September 21, 2022

Martinez also shared data on the strategy of moving people from encampments only if they had a place to go. Since this strategy was adopted, The Way Home partners have decommissioned 57 encampments, engaged 343 individuals, and housed 90% of the individuals they engaged. As the work continues to end homelessness in Houston, the Coalition will continue to prioritize increasing permanent housing, strengthening relationships with other systems to expand resources and keep people stably housed, and increasing advocacy around homelessness and related issues to improve the system’s impact.

Housing Affordability and Homelessness

Next, Luis Guajardo, Urban Policy Research Manager at Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, who presented data on housing affordability in Houston. Guajardo explained that home ownership offers more than just refuge from the outside world. It also shapes our access to healthcare and career prospects and is the most relevant asset for wealth generation. Guajardo shared three themes that are clear through his research.

Source: Luis Guajardo, Kinder Institute for Urban Research presentation on September 21, 2022

Renters and homeowners face varying obstacles. From 2011 to 2021, there was a $100,000 increase in the gap between the price renters could afford and actual home prices. In addition, people who rent increasingly pay more of their income on housing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2019, 20% of homeowners spent 30% or more of their annual income on housing, while 51% of renters spent 30% or more of their annual income on housing.

The real estate market is not meeting the needs of low-income Houstonians, and public sector efforts are insufficient. Today, 500,000 households in Harris County have difficulty affording their homes. The public sector has not been able to offer enough support to offset market failures as there is a shortage of affordable homes available to lower-income households. In addition, according to Eviction Lab, Harris County is a national leader in evictions, with 36,448 eviction filings this year as of September 21. That equates to 1 in every 22 rental households in Harris County being faced with eviction filings.

Because of our region’s strong population and job growth, we are going to continue to need affordable housing, particularly for housing under 60% of Area Median Income (AMI). We already have massive supply shortages, and without significant investment and action, Houston’s affordable housing needs will worsen in the next 10 years if the market is not responsive.

Guajardo ended with recommendations to advance housing affordability. Harris County’s Housing Department aims to build more affordable housing over the next 10 years. Because of limited funding, it will take collaboration from all sectors (i.e., public, private, philanthropic, nonprofit, etc.). We need to plan for lasting housing affordability and availability to ensure we are not in the same predicament in three decades.

Panelist Discussion

The next portion of the program was a panel discussion moderated by Sara Martinez, where the audience was invited to submit specific questions for the panel. Below is a sample of the questions and the responses of our panelists. Responses have been edited for clarity.

Martinez: Considering the work that each of you do that intersects with homelessness, what is the biggest challenge that you see right now, at this moment?

Thao Costis: Funding is something that we all struggle with on the nonprofit side. Particularly because we work with people experiencing homelessness, we focus on housing and getting people off the streets with support, and they need the support for a long time. So sustainable funding is something that we continue to struggle with.

Leslie Bourne: One issue that my staff and I have the most concerns about is mental health. We used to say, about six years ago, we would say about 35% to 40% of our youth suffer from mental health issues. That’s more than double now. It is one of the main challenges we see among youth who experience homelessness.

Martinez: We know that a lot of adults experiencing homelessness cite an economic trigger as the precipitating event for their homelessness. What do you [Bourne] see with youth experiencing homelessness, what are their triggers?

Bourne: We see young adults subjected to human trafficking, who were in the foster care system, and are involved in the juvenile justice system, which tends to follow them throughout their life. At Covenant House, about 36% of our clients self-report involvement in the justice system. So, we work with youth coming out of the foster care system, the trauma of that, the trauma coming out of the justice system, and a lot of times that plays into being homeless.

Martinez: The 2022 Point-in-Time Count found that half of people who experience homelessness self-report serious mental illness and/or a substance abuse disorder. A national study states that people who have been incarcerated are 13 times more likely than the general public to experience homelessness. Can you elaborate on the intersection of these issues and what that looks like here in our region?

Wayne Young: There is this concept where people often accent mental illness in relation to where they see people in the homelessness system. They see these individuals in encampments and are homeless, and think “of course, they have a mental illness.”

There is the other population whose mental illness is what creates that spiral. They don’t recognize that they have a mental illness. Half of the people in this country who have a mental illness receive treatment in a given year. So, when you think about all the complexity that comes with being able to access mental health services, or not engaging in treatment — or treatment is not effective – the result is that people who experience homelessness and mental health challenges – but don’t get treatment – can tend to engage in advert behaviors that tend to cause them to lose jobs, get evicted, and lose their social support.

Martinez: We face so many challenges, how do you stay positive and maintain optimism?

Marc Eichenbaum: At the end of the day, it is the ethos of Houston. When we look at our city and how we rise to challenges. The reality is other cities don’t do this. Houston has the chutzpah to really dream big and turn dreams into reality.

The organizations up here aren’t saying “we are going to end homelessness” because it is a platitude or slogan, they say it because they really believe it. It is something I believe in because we have shown so much progress, and we are on the right path. We have this collective system with all the tools. We have this engine, and all that engine needs is a little gas — the resources — to really make sure that it [engine] goes.

Click here to watch highlights of the event. If you are interested in learning more about the data presented or attending an upcoming program, please contact understandinghouston@ghcf.org.

Houston is Big

Houston is big. The region’s size and all it encompasses has become an in-joke among residents — “Houston is an hour away from Houston,” the old saying goes. The city is sprawling, populous, industrial and growing. The reasons for the sprawl, rapid population growth and the breadth of successful industries are many and complex. We know that Houston is the 4th largest city in the U.S., but in what ways is Houston big other than in size and population? And how does Houston’s size affect its residents directly and indirectly?

Qualifying Houston’s “big-ness”

Understanding Houston provides data on Houston’s three-county region, but looking at the nine-county Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) — all of which many people consider “Houston” — can put into perspective the aggregate size of Houston and all of its satellite cities.

An MSA is the formal definition of a region linked by social and economic factors — the region where we live and work. The Houston MSA includes Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller counties — an area that spans 9,444 square miles and is larger than the states of Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Moreover, more than 100 cities and 40 unincorporated towns are within the Houston MSA boundaries, including Baytown, Fulshear, La Porte and Prairie View. If the Houston MSA were its own state, it would have the 15th largest population in the United States, with 7.2 million residents.

Even if one were to only consider Harris County, they would still be dealing with an area larger than many other “big” U.S. cities — its 1,778 square miles are enough to fit the cities of Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York City and Seattle and still have room to spare.

Sprawl contributes to longer-than-average commute times, food deserts

The old joke about Houston being an hour away from Houston largely stems from our many suburbs. Houston’s suburban communities offer many benefits for residents, including access to more affordable housing. However, the prominence of far-flung communities also carries consequences, including longer-than-average commute times and reduced investment in urban centers.

Commute times are a big challenge throughout Greater Houston. Many Houstonians face complications from urban traffic and congestion, construction, long distances and lack of public transport outside of the 610 Loop — sometimes all of the above.

Another reason Houston has long commute times is that we are less likely to carpool to work than the average American. Nearly 79% of workers in Houston’s three-county region commuted alone in 2017 compared to the national average of 76%, which helps explain why Houston’s commute times are still higher than the state and national average.

The emphasis on suburban sprawl can also contribute to the formation of food deserts in some of Houston’s urban areas. Food deserts are areas in which residents have a difficult time finding fresh and affordable food, like fruits and vegetables, due to a lack of grocery stores or a lack of affordable transportation to reach grocery stores with any regularity. Some Houston-area food deserts include Fifth Ward, Third Ward, Sunnyside and Acres Homes. Residents of food deserts without access to reliable and affordable transportation may resort to purchasing their food at nearby gas stations, dollar stores and fast food chains, which can result in higher rates of obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Greater Houston’s large and diverse population

It is a well-known fact that diversity is big in Houston. The city, which years ago was reported to be the most diverse place in America, is what many researchers believe to be an ethnographic snapshot of the future of America. The region is made up of more than two-thirds people of color, who accounted for 95% of Texas’s population growth over the last decade.

Hispanics/Latinos constitute the largest ethnic group in the region. Close to 2.4 million Hispanic residents accounted for nearly 39% of the region’s population in 2020, with 2 million of those residents representing Harris County alone. Among the 100 most populous counties in the nation, only 12 had higher percentages of Hispanic residents than Harris County. And our region’s Latino population continues to grow – increasing by 26% in the region between 2010 and 2020.

The three-county area is home to nearly half a million Asian Americans, with the largest two groups being Indian Americans (145,000 in 2020) and Vietnamese Americans (141,400 in 2020). These communities are big not just in the number of residents, but also in cultural and economic import. The Mahatma Gandhi District and Little Saigon are two economic and cultural hubs in which the city’s rich cultural heritage is preserved through community initiatives, small businesses and food.

Growing income gaps

Although Greater Houston’s diversity is often touted as a strength, quality of life in the region is not always equal. Income inequality is also big in Houston. Although counter-intuitive, an increase in average wealth over the last five decades has led to an increase in income inequality. American families in the top 90th percentile have seen their wealth increase five-fold, while the bottom 10% of earners have gone from having no accumulated wealth to being about $1,000 in debt.

Income inequality has also increased in the Houston region, where pay gaps are also significant — and some growing — along gender and ethnic/racial lines. Median earnings between different groups are one way to measure pay gaps. Across both the U.S. and Texas in 2017, full-time, year-round male workers made about $10,000 more per year than their female counterparts. While the pay gap in Harris County (at about $7,500) is smaller than in the state and nation, it is significantly larger in Fort Bend and Montgomery Counties, with women earning $15,137 and $20,555 less, respectively.

The pay gap between Black and white workers has widened since the 1970s in the U.S. Black workers are the only racial group to experience declining median earnings nationally between 2010 and 2017. The Black-white pay gap has remained flat in Texas and grown worse in Montgomery County. The largest racial/ethnic pay gap in Texas is among Hispanic workers, who earned just 60 cents for every dollar a white worker made in 2017.

Big institutions

Physical size aside, Greater Houston has several large institutions that shape life throughout the region. In addition to our beloved food and music cultures, Houston is recognized globally for its expansive arts community and its world-renowned medical center.

Greater Houston’s art scene is a staple of the region. Stretching from the echoing halls of major institutions in the Museum and Theater District, to the neighborhood murals and the many festivals and installations. Houston has over 550 nonprofit institutions devoted to the arts and sciences that support the equivalent of 25,817 full-time jobs and generated over $1.1 billion in total economic activity in 2017. Understanding Houston has previously discussed the prolific Houston Theater District spanning 17 city blocks, and the 19 world-class museums available in Houston’s Museum District.

Houston is also known for the Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest healthcare complex and life sciences destination. In the Med Center are M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the number one cancer center in the U.S., as well as Texas Children’s Hospital, the second-ranked children’s hospital in the country.

Big challenges, big opportunities

Houston is big, but we are still one community despite our size. Making the most of the qualities that help Houston thrive requires thinking with the big picture in mind. Lack of public transit near Fulshear contributes to longer commutes near Downtown. Pay gaps between workers in Greenway impact small business health in Humble. We may call different counties home, but at the end of the day, we are all Houstonians, and what matters to some of us ultimately matters to all of us.

Is Houston really that affordable?

Over the years, the greater Houston region has gained a reputation for affordability. Historically, Greater Houston is the rare major metro in which the cost of living is low and overall opportunity is high, especially relative to its size as the fifth largest metropolitan area and the fourth largest city in the nation.

Our region’s affordability is one of the main reasons the nine-county Houston metropolitan area’s population grew at the fastest rate in the last decade (18.8% between 2010 and 2019) compared with the 20 most populous metros in the nation. More recently, the hot real estate market, soaring gas and energy prices, and 40-year high inflation rates threaten that reputation.

Rising home and transportation costs and the widening affordability gap

Housing market prices and sales have soared in Greater Houston, like much of the country, to a level that many experts believe is untenable. According to research from Greater Houston Partnership, the median price of a single-family home in the nine-county Houston Metropolitan Area has increased nearly 45% over the past four years and 14.5% in just the first six months of this year alone. If folks can’t purchase homes, they need to rent, but that option has offered little relief as rent prices are up nearly 20% since 2020, according to the Partnership’s analysis of Apartment Data Services data.

The median price of a single-family home has increased by nearly 45% over the past four years.

Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies estimates that some four million renters nationwide were effectively priced out of buying a home due to rising interest rates from April 2021 to April 2022.

According to the 2022 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston report, the affordability gap for renters in Harris County in 2011 was $35,000. The affordability gap is the difference between what median-income households can afford and the median house price and an indication of how much housing has gone up relative to earnings. Ten years later, the affordability gap for renters has nearly quadrupled to $135,500, with 38% of that growth from 2020 to 2021 alone. According to the report, current homeowners in Harris County do not face an affordability gap — they were able to purchase a home at the median sales price with their median household income. However, homeownership may remain only a dream for would-be-first-time buyers due to increasing costs and the widening affordability gap.

There is more to housing affordability than how much mortgage or rent you pay. Typically, families would move out to the suburbs for relatively less expensive housing, but, in a region like ours where people have historically commuted into the city, that usually means their transportation costs go up.

The Location Affordability Index estimates the percentage of a household’s income spent on housing and transportation costs in a given location. According to the latest data from 2017, households in Harris County spent about 27% of their income on housing and an additional 21% on transportation, comprising nearly half of a family’s income. Comparatively, residents of Fort Bend and Montgomery counties spend more of their income on transportation than residents of Harris County.

In 2017, households in Harris County spent about 27% of their income on housing and an additional 21% on transportation.

This is due in part to the fact that we commute alone to work in our private vehicles at higher rates than other metro areas and spend more time in traffic. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Houstonians spent an average of 49 extra hours in traffic in 2020 — the third worst in the country. These delays cost each of us about $1,100 a year in fuel costs and lost time, according to the 2021 Urban Mobility report from Texas A&M Transportation Institute.

Ideally, instead of treating them as two independent issues, affordable housing and access to transportation should be aligned. LINK Houston and Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research developed the Quality Affordable Transportation Index (QATi) to map areas of quality, affordable transportation and housing. LINK Houston’s Where Affordable Housing and Transportation Meet in Houston report found that 44% of rental units in Houston are affordable to moderate-income households (defined as a family of four spending no more than $1,907 per month on housing plus utilities), and only one-third of these rental units are near high-quality, affordable transportation.

**Source: LINK Houston, Affordable Housing and Transportation Data**

Inequities in housing affordability

Of course, the decision to buy a home depends on more than its purchase price. There are additional costs to consider like mortgage terms (including interest rates), insurance and taxes. Part of the reason homeownership remains out of reach for many people of color is because of historic and current discriminatory policies and practices.

Banks deny home loans from Houston-area Hispanic and Black applicants at about four times the rate of white applicants. In 2020, banks denied home loans to 25% of Black and 23% of Hispanic applicants compared with 8% of white applicants, according to the Kinder Institute’s 2022 State of Housing report.

Further, among those who were approved for a home loan, Hispanic and Black applicants were given higher interest rates, higher loan-to-value ratios, longer loan terms and were far more likely to be heavily debt-burdened borrowers.

In 2020, banks denied Houston-area home loans to 25% of Black and 23% of Hispanic applicants compared with 8% of white applicants.

Despite declining homeownership rates and the challenges they face in the housing market, Hispanic homeowners were the only racial/ethnic group with a growing homeownership rate both in the U.S. and Houston between 2020 and 2021. Hispanic residents will soon become the largest share of homebuyers in the country.

We observe inequity in the housing market not only in loan denials or predatory mortgages for lower-value properties, but also in foreclosures. According to the Kinder Institute’s 2022 State of Housing report, foreclosures in the three-county area were disproportionately higher in suburban communities of color. Within Harris County, each of the 10 census tracts with the highest foreclosure rates consisted of majority people of color. The report states that these particularly high foreclosure rates are likely correlated with the unfavorable mortgage terms banks typically offer these communities.

Energy costs in Houston are rising, but remain lower than national averages

If the cost of housing is the first thing that comes to mind when discussing a region’s affordability, the cost of energy is likely the second. While Texans pay some of the lowest rates in the country per kilowatt hour for energy, consumption drives electric bills high.

Because Texans endure extreme heat in the summer and cold temperatures in the winter, most Texans keep their climate control pumping year-round. Average monthly consumption in Texas is consistently among the highest in the country — in 2020, energy bills in Texas were the sixth-highest in the nation, despite paying less per kilowatt hour than 31 other states, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

In keeping with the reasonable prices for energy in the region, gas prices in Houston are also relatively low — averaging about 7% lower than the national rate over the last decade. In 2021 the average price for retail gas in the country was $2.91 per gallon, compared to $2.66 in Texas, representing an 8% price break. Despite the recent surge in prices, gas in Texas is consistently cheaper than the national average. At its peak this year in June 2022 the average retail price for a gallon of gasoline in Texas was $4.58, 4% lower than the national average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Inflation’s impact in Houston

Inflation is on the mind for many in the country right now, and for good reason. Inflation rates in the U.S. and in Houston are at their highest since December 1981.

Inflation rose to 9.1% nationwide, according to the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U), in the twelve months ending June 2022. But the inflation rate for the Houston Metropolitan Area rose even more during that time, 10.2%. Houston’s higher rate suggests stronger demand and a hotter economy compared to the nation as a whole, according to Greater Houston Partnership analysis.

Living costs in Houston are 8.3% below the national average, and 36.2% lower than the average of the 20 most populous U.S. metros.

The most recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed only moderate increases in housing costs in the region, suggesting that the true increase in Houston’s housing costs has yet to be fully reflected in the Consumer Price Index, and the real rise in inflation could be higher than what has been reported.

Retrieved from Greater Houston Partnership, Monthly Update: Inflation, June 2022

Despite inflation increasing at a slightly faster rate than the national average, Houston still has the second-lowest cost of living among the 20 most populous metropolitan areas in the United States, according to the Council for Community and Economic Research’s Cost of Living Index from Q1 of 2022. Living costs in Houston are 8.3% below the national average, and 36.2% lower than the average of the 20 most populous U.S. metros.

Houston’s affordability is being redefined

As the entire country becomes less affordable, so does Greater Houston. However, even as inflation continues to rise, the region’s cost of living remains relatively low when compared to other major metros and the quality of life Houstonians enjoy, including the arts and cultural amenities of a world-class city. However, historic inequities and recent events have threatened this reputation, and the region will never truly be affordable for all until our region’s prosperity provides opportunity for all.

A deep dive into domestic violence in Texas and across the Houston region

Texas has seen three times the number of family violence deaths since 2017 with rates of family violence increasing across all three counties

Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse or intimate partner violence (IPV), is a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. According to the 2010 CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner which equates to more than 10 million individuals every year in the U.S.¹ And while this data is dated, local indicators point to an increase in domestic violence since 2010 – particularly during the pandemic.

20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner

Domestic violence not only impacts the individuals directly involved, but also is a substantial public health problem. The National Center for Injury Prevention estimates the cost of intimate partner rape, physical assault, and stalking exceeds $5.8 billion each year — nearly $4.1 billion of which is for direct medical and mental health care services.²

Domestic violence can occur in a number of intimate relationships such as parent-child, grandparent-grandchild, siblings, ex- or current spouses, individuals who live together, and current or former dating couples. The majority of individuals who report experiencing rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner experienced some form of intimate partner violence for the first time before they were 25.³

To be clear, there is no perfect study or data set that accurately illustrates the prevalence of domestic violence, as cases are often undercounted in official records — the U.S. Department of Justice estimates that only half of domestic violence cases are actually reported to the police.⁴

The 2021 Harris County Health and Relationship study conducted by the University of Texas Medical Branch and Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council found that of their survey participants impacted by domestic violence and who reached out for help, the majority sought help from a friend or family member.⁵

As Houstonians, we should seek to understand, as best we can, what domestic violence is, the many forms it can take, who it may be impacting in our community, and the barriers many individuals face when reporting abuse and seeking assistance. The more we understand about domestic violence in our region, the more we can do, together, to ensure the necessary support is provided to survivors.

“It is not the victim’s fault – STOP victim blaming. We all need to hold the offender accountable. Change the question from ‘Why doesn’t the victim leave?’ to ‘Why does the offender abuse?”
Amy Smith, Sr. Director of Operations and Communications for Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council

A note about terminology

The words we use to describe an individual or situation have meaning and can be powerful.

When tracking the data for any issue area, using common language can be advantageous because it allows all individuals and organizations to be on the same page, creating a mutual understanding of the terms and what is being discussed. However, there is not one set of words that fits all individuals and circumstances.

When referring to an individual who has experienced domestic violence, the word “victim” is often used by members of law enforcement and within the context of courtroom proceedings, but nonprofits tend to use the term “survivor” to provide a sense of empowerment.

In this case, Understanding Houston used data from the Texas Department of Public Safety and matches the language they use when collecting and reporting data, which is the term “victim.”

Forms of Domestic Violence

Often, when people think about domestic violence, they think in terms of physical assault that results in visible injuries to the victim. However, this is only one type of abuse and there are several other categories of abusive behavior.

Control: This can include monitoring phone calls, not allowing freedom of choice, and invading someone’s privacy by not allowing them time and space of their own.
Physical Abuse: Which can include hitting, punching, slapping, biting, etc., but can also include strangulation, withholding of physical needs, injuring or threatening to injure others like children or pets, and hitting, kicking, or throwing inanimate objects during an argument.
Sexual Abuse: Such as exploiting an individual who is unable to make an informed decision about involvement in sexual activity, laughing or making fun of another’s sexuality or body, and making contact with the victim in any nonconsensual way.
Emotional Abuse & Intimidation: Continuous degradation, intimidation, manipulation, brainwashing, or control of another.
Isolation: By keeping the victim socially isolated the batterer is keeping the victim from contact with the world. By keeping the victim from seeing who they want to see, doing what they want to do, and controlling how the victim thinks and feels they are isolating the victim from the resources which may help them leave the relationship.
Verbal Abuse: Coercion, threats, and blame such as threatening to hurt or kill the victim their children, a family member or even themselves, name calling, yelling, screaming, rampaging, or terrorizing.
Economic Abuse: This can include controlling the family income, making them turn their paycheck over, or causing them to lose a job or preventing them from taking a job, which can make it even more difficult for an individual to leave an abusive relationship as the batterer keeps them from having the necessary financial resources to support themselves.

According to a report from the Texas Council on Family Violence, in 70% of cases, Texas domestic violence offenders abuse the same victim again, even after a warning from authorities or after a protective order was issued⁶ and many organizations who work in this area agree that the violence almost always escalates over time.

Rates of family violence increased across all three counties in 2020

The annual rate of reported family violence incidents was consistently higher in Harris County compared to Fort Bend and Montgomery counties between 2010 and 2021.

Across all three counties and the state, reported family violence incidents increased between 2019 and 2020 with Harris County seeing an over 28% increase.

Some of this increase was likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic which exacerbated stressors in violent households and/or relationships, thus increasing the frequency and/or severity of domestic violence.

Indeed, the 2021 Harris County Health and Relationship Study found that of their survey participants impacted by domestic violence, almost 52% reported an increase since the COVID-19 pandemic began and about 6% reported that physical violence began during COVID-19.⁷

Research has also shown that economic hardship can increase the rate of domestic violence incidents,^8,9 with one study finding a 30% increased chance of male perpetrated violence linked to job loss, suggesting that the loss of income can create stress within the household and lead to more time at home, which increases a victim’s exposure to abusive behavior.¹⁰

The number of family violence related deaths has increased dramatically since 2017

In 2021, Texas saw the highest number of family violence related deaths in recent history. However, the number of deaths related to family violence had been increasing steadily across the state since 2017 which, according to the Texas Council on Family Violence, could be due to Hurricane Harvey, increased homicide rates overall, and/or a higher prevalence of firearms.

Compared to 2017, Texas experienced nearly three times the deaths in 2021, 529 deaths in 2021 compared to 186 deaths in 2017.

Hurricane Harvey: Studies show that rates of violence can increase in the wake of a natural disaster due to increased mental distress and anger as well as limited capacity of safe houses due to increased demands from the affected community or damage caused to the building by the disaster.^11,12
Homicide Rates: Previous reports from the Texas Council on Family Violence have shown that when general homicides increase overall, lethal violence by intimate partners also show a significant raise.
Prevalence of Firearms: In 2000 there were roughly 215,000 active licenses to carry in Texas and by 2018 that number swelled to well over a million. In Texas, and the United States overall, guns are the number one weapon used in domestic violence killings.

Abusers with access to a firearm are more likely to take their partner’s life. Some studies say that owning a firearm makes an abuser five times more likely to take a partner’s life and that domestic violence incidents involving a gun are 12 times more likely to result in death compared to incidents involving other weapons or bodily force.^13,14

“Leaving an abuser is the most dangerous time for a victim of domestic violence…Survivors often stay because of the reality that their abuser will follow through with threats to hurt or kill them, hurt or kill the kids, or harm or kill pets or others.”
Rachna Khare, Executive Director for Daya Houston

Texas prohibits people convicted of some domestic violence misdemeanors from possessing firearms for five years following their release from confinement or community supervision. This penalty does not generally apply to people convicted of threatening a family or household member with imminent violent injury or to people convicted of violent assaults against a current or former dating partner, known as the “boyfriend loophole.” However, with the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act on June 25, 2022, people who are convicted of domestic violence (against a current or recent former dating partner) will now be prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm for at least five years.

The majority of reported family violence cases occur between “other family members”

Because domestic violence perpetrators are often close to their victims, it is difficult for the abused individual to reconcile that they are being harmed and, once they do, victims face a number of fears and stigmas when reporting the abuse and receiving assistance, which can deter many people from reporting their abuse. Some of the reasons domestic violence is frequently unreported include:

Fear of the abuser due to threats and ongoing violence
Custody issues, shared finances or financial instability
Living arrangements
Judgment/disbelief/blame from friends, family, or community members

Across Texas in 2020, the largest share of family violence incidents reported to the police occurred between the victim and an offender marked as an “other family member,” which can include aunts, uncles, or cousins. The second most common type of relationship was spousal, which impacts not only the spouse suffering abuse but children in the household as well. A boy who sees his mother being abused is 10 times more likely to abuse his female partner as an adult and a girl is six times more likely to be sexually abused compared to a girl who grows up in a non-abusive home.¹⁵

However, the information being collected depends on the person collecting the data and their interaction with the individual making the report. For example, for this data set, information is collected by local law enforcement and then reported up to the Texas Department of Public Safety for analysis and publishing.

If an individual does not feel comfortable disclosing certain details about themselves, how they identify, and/or their relationship with the abuser to police, then the information reported is not completely accurate. In other instances, how the individual identifies or how the relationship is defined may not be a specific option that is collected on a form so those instances could fall under a broad “Other Family Member” category.

This data set shows that in 2020 across Texas there were 261 reported incidents of family violence where the individuals involved were in a same-sex relationship. However, this does not mean that domestic violence in same-sex relationships is less prevalent than in heterosexual relationships. In fact, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports that within the LGBTQ+ community, intimate partner violence occurs at a rate equal to or even higher than that of the heterosexual community and that transgender individuals may suffer from an even greater burden of intimate partner violence than gay or lesbian individuals.

Domestic violence in the LGBTQ+ population is likely to be underreported due to unique barriers faced such as the dangers associated with “outing” oneself, potential homophobia from police and/or service providers, or the lack of, or survivors being unaware of, LGBTQ+-friendly assistance resources.

A boy who sees his mother being abused is 10 times more likely to abuse his female partner as an adult.

Nearly three-quarters of reported incidents of family violence had a female victim

It is estimated that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men in the U.S. experience severe intimate partner physical violence, contact sexual violence, and/or stalking.¹⁶

In Texas in 2020, there were over twice as many family violence incidents reported where women or girls were the victim than incidents where men or boys were the victim. However, the National Domestic Violence Hotline reports that there are likely many more men who do not report or seek help for their abuse due to many barriers including men being socialized not to express their feelings or see themselves as victims, pervading beliefs or stereotypes about men being abusers and women being victims, the abuse of men often being treated as less serious or a joke, and the belief that there are no resources or support available for male victims.

A disproportionate number of reported family violence incidents are for Black and white Texans

In 2020, the percentage of reported family violence cases for Black and white Texans was higher than those demographics percentages of the population across the state. White Texans in particular comprised 50% of all reported family violence cases. Black Texans make up about 12% of the population but compromise 21% of reported family violence incidents.

However, these numbers are not a perfect representation of family violence as they only represent incidents that are reported to authorities and certain populations are less likely to report.

In the United States, limited English proficiency is one of the obstacles individuals can face when reporting domestic violence. While all survivors and victims of domestic violence can encounter difficulties when reporting abuse, according to the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, those with limited English proficiency face additional challenges such as: being seen as uneducated, helpless, or resistant to acculturation or learning English; not being provided adequate language services; and/or an abuser who speaks English deliberately misrepresenting or falsifying facts to first responders or law enforcement claiming that they were assaulted leading to the arrest of the real victim.

Moreover, across Houston’s immigrant communities, victims face barriers related to language access, cultural taboos, immigration status, cultural mismatches with mainstream agencies, violence from extended family systems, and a lack of knowledge of their legal rights and protective options. As a result, domestic and sexual violence is underreported and underestimated in these communities.

Along with language barriers, culture can also impact an individual’s likelihood of seeking assistance when experiencing abuse from someone they have a personal relationship with. The Urban Institute points to research shedding light on underreporting of domestic violence in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community which shows that deeply internalized patriarchal values could contribute to minimization and underreporting and cultural values of prioritizing family and community over individuals can lead this population avoiding talking about their domestic violence experiences. One study shows that one of the most common barriers to reporting violence Asian American and Pacific Islander women cite is fear of bringing shame on their family.

Additionally, the Women of Color Network reports within the context of a particular community of color, common factors and considerations exist which may account for underreporting of domestic violence by women of color. They include:

Cultural norms and/or religious beliefs that restrain the survivor from leaving the abusive relationship or involving outsiders.
Distrust of law enforcement, criminal justice systems, and social services.
Lack of service providers that look like the survivor or share common experiences.
Lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate services.
Lack of trust based on the history of racism and classism in the United States.
Fear that these experiences will reflect on, or confirm, the stereotypes placed on their ethnicity.
Attitudes and stereotypes about the prevalence of domestic violence and sexual assault in communities of color.
Legal status in the US of the survivor and/or the batterer.
Oppression, including re-victimization, is intensified at the intersections of race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, legal status, age and socioeconomic status.

“By fleeing, a survivor ends a cycle of violence. As survivors take this dangerous and difficult step, we must demand societal norms that uphold equality, respect, and safety in all relationships, in good times and bad. This should not be an idealistic goal, it should be the bare minimum.”
Rachna Khare, Executive Director for Daya Houston

Resources

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, several resources are available to assist and answer any questions you may have, including but not limited to.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788
Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA): 713-224-9911
Daya Houston: 713-981-7645
Fort Bend County Women’s Center: 281-342-4357
Houston Area Women’s Center: 713-528-2121
Houston Police Family Violence Unit: 713-308-1100
Montgomery County Women’s Center: 936-441-7273
Montrose Center: 713-529-0037
National Domestic Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE)
The Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Get involved

One of the biggest barriers survivors face to reporting, leaving, or recovering from an abusive relationship is the lack of means to support themselves and/or their children financially or lack of access to cash, bank accounts, or assets. Safe, secure, and affordable housing remains a critical need in order for survivors to flee. As we work to end domestic violence, it is imperative that housing programs and nonprofit organizations that serve survivors have access to flexible funds.

Consider donating to, or volunteering with, any one of these organizations who provide housing, financial assistance, legal representation, counseling, advocacy and a number of other services to domestic violence survivors in our community.

“Getting rental assistance has been one of the most important parts of my life, and it was a turning point. When I first held my keys [to our new home], I cried tears of joy. It was life-saving. The kids were so excited to be able to say they finally had their own place. To this day, my youngest son who was eight years old has the exact date and time memorized for when we first moved into our apartment. If Daya had not helped me and my family with housing, I have no idea how my life would have turned out.”
Anonymous Survivor from Daya Houston

Learn More

If you’d like to learn more, the following organizations provide educational resources.

AVDA – Get Involved
Daya – Community Trainings, Prevention & Youth Education
Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council – DV Training
Houston Area Women’s Center – What is Domestic Violence?
love is respect – quizzes (e.g. How would you help someone in an abusive relationship?, Is your relationship healthy?, etc.)
Montrose Center – Get Involved
National Network To End Domestic Violence – Frequently Asked Questions
The City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence

References:

¹National Center for Injury Prevention. “National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Summary Report.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-a.pdf

² National Center for Injury Prevention. “Cost of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ipvbook-a.pdf

³ National Center for Injury Prevention. “National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Data Brief.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/2015data-brief508.pdf

⁴ Rachel E. Morgan, Ph.D., and Barbara A. Oudekerk, Ph.D. “Criminal Victimization, 2018.” U.S. Department of Justice.

⁵ Center for Violence Prevention The University of Texas Medical Branch. “The Harris County Health and Relationship Study.” Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council. https://www.hcdvcc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/HCHR-Study-Brief-Report_March-21-1.pdf

⁶ Texas Council on Family Violence. “Domestic Violence High-Risk teams (DVHRTs): 2020 Statewide Data Report.” https://tcfv.org/wp-content/uploads/tcfv_dvhrt_statewide_data_rprt_2020.pdf

⁷ Center for Violence Prevention The University of Texas Medical Branch. “The Harris County Health and Relationship Study.” Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council. https://www.hcdvcc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/HCHR-Study-Brief-Report_March-21-1.pdf

⁸ Schneider, Daniel et al. “Intimate partner violence in the Great Recession.” Demography. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4860387/

⁹ Medel-Herrero, Alvaro et al. “The impact of the Great Recession on California domestic violence events, and related hospitalizations and emergency service visits.” Preventive Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7315959/

¹⁰ Bhalotra, Sonia et al. “Domestic violence: the potential role of job loss and unemployment benefits.” The University of Warwick. https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/centres/cage/manage/publications/bn34.2021.pdf

¹¹ Gearhart, Sara et al. “The Impact of Natural Disasters on Domestic Violence: An Analysis of Reports of Simple Assault in Florida (1999-2007).” Violence and Gender. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/vio.2017.0077

¹² First, Jennifer et al. “Intimate Partner Violence and Disasters: A Framework for Empowering Women Experiencing Violence in Disaster Settings.” Journal of Women and Social Work. https://nnedv.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/First-2017-Intimate-partner-violence-and-disasters_-A-framework-for-empo….pdf

¹³ Campbell, Jacquelyn et al. “Risk Factors for Femicide in Abusive Relationships: Results From a Multisite Case Control Study.” American Journal of Public Health. https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.93.7.1089

¹⁴ Saltzman, Linda et al. “Weapon Involvement and Injury Outcomes in Family and Intimate Assaults.” Journal of American Medical Association. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/397728

¹⁵Vargas, L. Cataldo, J., Dickson, S. (2005). Domestic Violence and Children . In G.R. Walz & R.K. Yep (Eds.), VISTAS: Compelling Perspectives on Counseling. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association; 67-69.

¹⁶ Jennifer L. Truman, Ph.D. and Rachel E. Morgan Ph.D., “Nonfatal Domestic Violence, 2003-2012.” U.S. Department of Justice. https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/ndv0312.pdf

Key insights from our Mental Health Data Dive + Workshop

Greater Houston Community Foundation hosted a program on July 20, 2022, to convene experts, researchers and practitioners around the increasingly severe mental health crisis affecting children and adolescents.

The program began with a brief data presentation from Understanding Houston, to set the stage for the deeper dives from guest speakers that would follow. The convening featured presentations from the following experts:

We explored data and different approaches, which included ways to improve child resilience; treat children who are coping with trauma and grief; identify and serve children in both school and community settings; and the various policy and legislative issues that influence the workforce, funding and efficacy in the mental health space. We have provided a few critical insights below, and we invite you to watch the event here.

Concurrent and consecutive disasters and events have battered our mental health

The past couple of years have been tough on most of us, but research and studies have shown that this time has been especially difficult for children. Not only due to having to navigate an entirely new way of living caused by a pandemic but also because of several successive, traumatic events in recent years. These events, combined with 24/7 news cycles and social media, can contribute to increased feelings of anxiety and unhappiness. However, the data indicates that things weren’t so great even before 2020.

In roughly the last decade from 2009 to 2021, the share of American high-school students who say they feel “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” rose from about a quarter to nearly half, which is the highest level of teenage sadness on record, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But kids are not only struggling with feelings of anxiety and depression brought on by traumatic events. They are also grieving — more than 215,000 children nationally have lost a parent or caregiver who died as a result of COVID-19. Dr. Julie Kaplow, Executive Director of the Trauma and Grief Center at The Hackett Center for Mental Health, calls this the “silent epidemic of childhood trauma and grief.” She emphasizes “silent” because trauma and grief symptoms in children can be disguised which reduces the likelihood of receiving treatment.

Community-based organizations that work to identify and treat mental and behavioral health challenges in children in school settings or otherwise, have been seeing this with their clients for a few years. As Shubhra Endley, Director of Mental Health and Wellness at Communities in Schools of Houston, noted, “We had barely wrapped up our mental health support we were doing in response to [Hurricane] Harvey, and we are now having to deal with housing instability, food instability — because of jobs that got cut during the pandemic — and it’s all impacting the well-being of our students.” Heads around the room nodded in agreement.

Jessica Cisneros, Chief Clinical Officer at Family Houston, noted that it is one thing to identify students in need and offer help, and it is another issue entirely for a family/child to accept support. She notes the historically lower uptake rates among Latinos. Similarly, a survey from Episcopal Health Foundation and Kaiser Family Foundation found that Latinos were the least likely to receive mental health treatment after experiencing negative effects on mental health from Hurricane Harvey compared with Black and white residents.

Aside from the typically lower insured rates among this demographic, cultural norms within the broader Hispanic community can stigmatize mental health treatment. But, that tendency could be reversing. Cisneros shared, “In the Latino community, we have seen a greater focus in reducing stigma by introducing psychotherapists on Spanish-speaking networks,” and she has seen positive results.

There is a clear need for mental and behavioral treatment and therapy. But even if everyone who needs and wants help seeks it out, how available and accessible is treatment?

A local mental and behavioral health provider workforce shortage is exacerbating treatment challenges

Texas ranks last among states in mental health care access according to Mental Health America’s 2022 State of Mental Health report. And, residents in our three-county region have even less access to mental health treatment than the state average. Fort Bend County has the least amount of access to mental health treatment with only one mental health provider for roughly every 1,200 residents.

These numbers cover mental health professionals for all ages, but if we look at the availability of child and adolescent clinical psychologists and psychiatrists, the numbers get worse. According to data from the American Psychological Association, out of the 100,000 U.S. clinical psychologists, only 4% are trained child and adolescent clinicians. Fort Bend, Harris and Montgomery counties all have a severe shortage of practicing child and adolescent psychiatrists.

A Houston Chronicle analysis of staffing at 1,200 school districts in Texas found that many school districts do not meet the recommended ratios for these positions.

4 districts met the recommendation for social workers
24 districts for counselors
25 districts for psychologists
398 districts for nursing staff

Andrea Usanga, Executive Director of Network of Behavioral Health Providers, works to increase the provider workforce through education and advocacy. She has been sounding the alarm for over a decade.

In 2009, Usanga testified before the Texas legislature on the mental and behavioral workforce shortage — at the time, about one-third of the counties in the state did not have the designation of partial or total Mental Health Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). Now, only one county of the 254 does not have a shortage. She urges action, “If we don’t start getting people in [the mental and behavioral health workforce] pipeline to be able to address these issues down the line, we are going to be in even bigger trouble.” Jessica Cisneros shared that Family Houston has also lost a significant number of staff during the pandemic’s peak which has made it harder to treat anyone who seeks help.

We need to do more to prevent challenges from snowballing and giving kids the tools they need to build resilience

Usanga noted in her remarks, “At the exact time we are seeing increases…our available professional supply is going down.” So, how will everyone get the help they need? As Marcy Melvin, Deputy Director of The Hackett Center for Mental Health, implored at the beginning of her talk, we need to “… reimagine how we think about, talk about and define mental health treatment.”

Preventing mental health disorders and building resilience in children to cope with life challenges should be a priority now, Melvin declares. “We are never going to get to the point where we have enough practitioners to meet all of the needs of youth…We can’t stop bad things from happening, but what we can do is build the capacity so that when trauma, hard things happen, we have children and youth who have the capacity to be able to manage and get through those situations.”

Melvin encourages all of us to engage in conversation, lean into community and equip children and youth with the tools they will need to successfully navigate future challenges. The Hackett Center promotes early childhood education as instrumental in that effort. Since a child’s brain is still forming and developing rapidly at that stage, integrating these tools early will build solid brain formation to help children manage stressors effectively. This preventative and resilient approach, particularly when implemented in early years, potentially avoids worsened feelings of hopelessness that can feel insurmountable when we don’t know how to cope.

Houston is Hot

Houston is hot, and it’s only getting hotter

We all know that Houston is hot. How quickly is Houston getting hotter and why? And what — aside from making us sweat — are the implications of the region’s heat?

The rising heat foreshadows many distressing possibilities as it relates to climate change, as well as less obvious public health and economic impacts. Extreme heat in particular already kills more Americans every year than any other weather-related disaster.

With eight federally declared disasters in the last decade alone, a deadly winter storm in 2021, and consecutive record-setting summers, many of us feel we are already living with extreme weather. The region is currently experiencing its most severe early summer drought conditions in nearly a decade, and Houston is coming off of the hottest June in its history. The data surrounding the rising heat and the populations most affected by it can tell us a little more about both why Houston is hot and why it matters.

How hot is “hotter,” exactly?

Most long-time residents are acclimated to Houston’s summer heat as much as one can be, although the prospect of it getting hotter surely isn’t welcomed by anyone. To answer the important qualifier of how Houston is getting hotter, we look to climate normals.

Climate normals, provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or NOAA), are 30-year averages for climate and weather variations like temperature and precipitation. Because of the 30-year period over which they are recorded, climate normals provide a more clear picture of how our weather changes than annual variances do.

The Climate Normals published by NOAA in May 2021 (with data representing 1991–2020) show that, compared to the previous 30-year average (1981–2010), average temperatures in the Houston region went up by between 0.6 to 1.0 degrees Fahrenheit, and annual rainfall increased by around two inches.

The region has already experienced a significant uptick in the number of days of extreme heat, which is defined by the CDC as days with temperatures of 95 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter. In fact, Montgomery County experienced 231 more days of extreme heat in the 2010s than it did in the previous decade — that is almost two-thirds of a year of added extreme heat over the last decade. Additionally, Harris County saw the number of days of extreme heat almost double over the same period, from 233 to 436.

Montgomery County experienced 231 more days of extreme heat in the 2010s than it did in the previous decade.

How hot could it get?

According to data from the Office of the Texas State Climatologist, the projected average temperature in Texas in the year 2036 is 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 1991–2020 average, and 3.0 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 1950–1999 average. They also project that the number of days in which temperatures reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the year 2036, will be nearly double the average rate for 2001–2020 in concentrated urban areas.

Long-term projections predict a story of longer summers, longer heatwaves and less rainfall. While, according to the Resilience Science Information Network (RESIN), average annual precipitation amounts are not projected to change significantly, the season in which the precipitation occurs is. Essentially, when it does rain, it is expected to be more intense, but there is also the possibility of longer droughts. It is important to note that although the number of hurricanes the region will face is not expected to rise, the strength of the hurricanes that do make landfall is. RESIN warns that a decline in rainfall, combined with extended summers and heatwaves, could have a serious impact on social vulnerability, critical infrastructure and natural habitats.

Projecting what our weather could look like in the future can be tricky, and doubt has been cast about the ability of climate models to accurately predict changes in temperature and precipitation. Research tells us, however, that climate projections tend to be pretty accurate. For example, a 2020 NASA study compared 17 climate model projections of average global temperature that were developed between 1970 and 2007 with actual changes in global temperature. Ten of the 17 models were spot on while the other seven were off by about 0.1 degree Celsius per decade. The researchers found that there was no evidence that these climate models have historically over or underestimated the impact of rising temperatures. Given today’s advanced technology and climate models, researchers express confidence that current scientists are skillfully predicting the impact of global warming.

Some Houstonians are hotter than others

Heat in Houston’s three-county region doesn’t affect everyone equally. Temperatures often vary by neighborhoods within the same city, where built infrastructure like bridges, parking lots and buildings contribute to pockets of heat known as “heat islands.” Heat islands are most likely to occur in urban areas, where there is too much concrete and too few trees to alleviate the heat. Concrete and pavement retain heat during the day and radiates it back throughout the evening, which keeps the surrounding area hotter for longer. We can feel the difference between walking across a vast parking lot on a steamy July afternoon compared to walking down a street with trees that meet in the middle.

Houston ranks fourth in the nation in urban heat island intensity, and low-income communities and communities of color are most likely to have high nighttime temperatures.

Heat islands are the greatest driver of heat-related health issues according to Houston Harris Heat Action Team. These heat islands can result in daytime temperatures in urban areas 1–7 degrees Fahrenheit higher than temperatures in outlying areas, and nighttime temperatures 2–5 degrees higher.

Houston Harris Heat Action Team Heat Islands — Source: Houston Harris Heat Action Team

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), temperature extremes can worsen chronic cardiovascular, respiratory and diabetes-related conditions, and even small changes in seasonal average temperatures are associated with increases in illnesses and death. Extreme heat already kills more Americans every year than any other weather-related disaster, and WHO reports that extreme heat events are only increasing in frequency, duration and magnitude.

Extreme weather may hurt our economy

The greater Houston region has already witnessed how extreme weather can affect our local economy. Five years ago, when Hurricane Harvey inundated our region over several days, nearly all businesses were forced to shut down for a period of time because it was simply impossible to get anywhere. Much of the storm’s cost, estimated at $125 billion, is attributed to interruptions in business and employee displacement.

More recently, when Winter Storm Uri surprised the region in February 2021, power outages were rampant throughout the state and burst pipes damaged thousands of businesses and homes. The economic impacts are estimated at $130 billion.

Globally, researchers estimate that rising temperatures could reduce crop yields by 30–46% before the end of the century under the slowest (B1) climate warming scenario and 63–82% under the most rapid (A1B) scenario, which would threaten our global food supply. It isn’t just national crops and higher electricity bills; extreme weather puts incalculable stress on local communities.

Heat isn’t going away

Houstonians are already enduring the effects of extreme heat, but those risk factors will only become more acute as climate change continues to affect the region, and our region’s most vulnerable residents will bear the brunt of the harm.

A few reminders as we get through the hottest time of the year:

Learn to recognize the signs of heat illness.
Check in on the elderly, the unhoused and those without access to adequate drinking water and climate control.
Never leave people or pets in a closed car on a warm day.
Find a cooling center!
If you are unable to afford your cooling costs, weatherization or energy-related home repairs, contact the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for help.

Houston is getting hotter, and we should prepare for heat and for a future of weather extremes that could repeatedly test the fabric of our region. Our continued ability to grow and prosper may depend on it.