Banner photo: Carrie Rai, FBCHHS Performance and Innovation Specialist This article is the first of a two-part series that describes the community engagement plan and process to create Fort Bend County’s first Community Health Assessment and Health Improvement Plan since 2007. In the summer of 2022, Fort Bend County Health & Human Services (FBCHHS) completed …
Category Archives: Health
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 …
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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 …
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Out and Proud for Science
The first PRIDE was a riot. No glitter, parades or corporations eager to release their brand-new shiny rainbow collections. The Stonewall uprising was ignited by constant police harassment and discrimination toward LGBTQ folx at the time. June 1969 was a turning point to state that we are here, we are queer, and we are not …
How community gardens support the fight against food insecurity in Greater Houston
Houston ranks among the top 50 cities with the highest obesity rates in the U.S., with 34% of Houston children now struggling with obesity. At the same time, Feeding America reports that Harris County has the second-highest number of food insecure individuals across all US counties, with 869,000 individuals not knowing when or where their …
Houstonians’ Experiences with Hurricane Harvey and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Analyzing major challenges facing vulnerable populations For many residents in the greater Houston area, two recent disasters have had lasting impact on their lives — Hurricane Harvey and the COVID-19 pandemic. The former dumped up to 60 inches of unrelenting rain that devastated neighborhood after neighborhood. COVID-19, of course, has hit the entire world and …
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Children’s Mental Health in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Understanding and supporting our most vulnerable youth The impact of COVID-19 on the Greater Houston community has been, and continues to be, unpredictable. However, there is one thing we know with certainty — the pandemic is affecting children’s mental health. Adults and children alike feel the psychological impact of the pandemic, which often includes anxiety …
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It’s “Okay to Say™” that you or a loved one have a mental illness
How evolving perspectives on mental health lead to more effective treatment and prevention. I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could! As a new Houstonian and the new Executive Director of The Hackett Center for Mental Health, I am honored to join the Understanding Houston initiative to address important …
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The 21-Year Gap
Exploring how life expectancies vary across Houston-area neighborhoods. Houston is home to the world’s biggest medical center, which includes the largest children’s hospital, the nation’s top-ranked cancer hospital, and internationally recognized pioneers in research and medicine. Yet, if you drive less than five miles southeast of the Texas Medical Center, you will find clusters of …
NAMI executive director, advocate for a broader perspective on mental illness
Neal Sarahan: Doctor — Ally — Advocate for mental illness Annual physicals are a natural rhythm in a modern adult’s life, but nearly 15% of Americans haven’t had contact with a health care professional in the past year. Mental-health check-ups are even less common. Approximately, 1 in 5 adult Americans experiences mental illness in a …
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