Houston and Homelessness

Mayor of Houston, Sylvester Taylor on reducing homelessness in Houston, TX

A recent article in the New York Times brought Houston’s successes into the light.

A decade ago, Houston had one of the highest per capital homeless counts in the country. But thanks to Texas Mayor Sylvester Taylor, Houston is one of the few cities on track to reducing its homeless population--by 63 percent since 2011. No other city even came close. They achieved this by using a method called Housing First , a practice, supported by decades of research, that moves the most vulnerable people straight from the streets into apartments, not into shelters and without first requiring them to wean themselves off drugs or complete a 12-step program or find God or a job. The idea being that "when you’re drowning, it doesn’t help if your rescuer insists you learn to swim before returning you to shore. You can address your issues once you’re on land."

Here are current statistics on the 10 states with the most homeless people in the United States:
1. California (161,548)
2. New York (91,271)
3. Florida (27,487)
4. Texas (27,229)
5. Washington (22,923)
6. Massachusetts (17,975)
7. Oregon (14,655)
8. Pennsylvania (13,375)
9. Arizona (10,979)
10. Ohio (10,655)

Buena Vista Social Club Chan Chan

The Buena Vista Social Club documentary, directed by Wim Wenders and produced by Ry Cooder

Recently heard the song Chan Chan again--it brought me right back to a different time in my life as music often can do, and I thought I would serenade you with it this morning. It is a beautiful catchy tune written by Compay Segundo of the Buena Vista Social Club.

Dance Group Grupo Corpo

I've been in California for the last ten days, doing a lot of driving to appointments on $6.50+ gallons of gas, being schooled in Brazilian music and culture by my wonderful assistant, Poliana Espirito Santo. Even her name reflects the beautiful soul that is at her core...

Here is a dance group she introduced me to: Grupo Corpo, performing one of their beautiful signature dances entitled Parabelo. Music for this piece was composed by one of Tropicalia's foremost musicians, Tom Ze

Pam Smilow, Portrait of Poli 84” x 36” mixed media on canvas

Charity of the Week:
Coalition for the Homeless Houston

Coaliton for the Homeless, Houston, https://www.homelesshouston.org/

Painting of the Week

About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.