Executive Summary

Observations and Recommendations Based on the Study’s Findings

The 2008 Community Health Reports: Near Northside Neighborhood is a community health assessment of health and well-being done at the neighborhood level. Our study in the Near Northside is a comprehensive Healthy Neighborhood Initiative (HNI), a multi-faceted study conducted over a two and one half year period with community members involved in each phase of the study. Previous neighborhood studies have been conducted in ten neighborhoods in Houston and one in East Austin and are available at our website (www.slehc.org).

The study utilizes a mixed-method approach, and includes quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data include health, population, birth, death, and socioeconomic information drawn from a variety of sources, such as the US Census and city and state health departments. Much of the data is available through the SLEHC interactive Community Health Information System at our website (www.slehc.org). Qualitative data was collected through key informant interviews and participatory research activities done with and by community members.

The focus of the study is the 77009 zip code in north central Houston and also includes small portions of 77022 and 77026. The boundaries for the Near Northside neighborhood were determined by the community; the neighborhood was designated a “super neighborhood” by the city of Houston as part of the city’s super neighborhood program. The Harris County Hospital District operates three clinics in the Near Northside: Casa de Amigos Community Health Center, Thomas Street Clinic and Carrasco School Based Clinic at Marshall Middle School. The Houston Department of Health and Human Services operates La Nueva Casa de Amigos Clinic. Along with other expanding Hispanic communities, residents in this area are challenged economically and politically.

The area of study is approximately four square miles in size. The major geographical boundaries of the Near Northside are Loop 610 N to the north, Hardy Road to the east, 1-10 to the south and 1-45 to the west. The Houston Heights is to the west of the Near Northside and the Fifth Ward is to the east. There is an upper-middle-class enclave in the northern section of the NNS called Lindale Park. This is a deed-restricted neighborhood with older homes in excellent condition. The Near Northside is located in the Houston Independent School District, Davis High School feeder pattern.

The Near Northside contains one of the highest concentrations of the city’s medically uninsured population, with an average of over 41 percent of uninsured in all the study’s census tracts. This area has been deemed a Medically Underserved Area by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Health Resources and Services Administration.

The study began with a partnership with the City of Houston and the creation of the Near Northside Community Health Partnership (NNCHP), a community-based collaborative comprised of area providers, city health workers, school and church representatives, and community members. The collaborative helped guide the study, suggesting community leaders for interviews, recruiting participatory group members, offering input on study findings, and determining next steps.

Findings from key informant interviews and participatory group discussions reveal some common appreciations and concerns for community members. Most interviewees characterized the community as home to hard-working people who are dedicated to their families and particularly to their children. Among shared concerns are housing, opportunities for youth and access to health care.

Adolescents who are at increased risk for dropping out of school live with stresses related to poverty, teen pregnancy, drugs and gangs. Their contribution to the study was in identifying the types of support they need to help them succeed in their educational goals.

Descriptions of the community by key informants and residents often include references to the religious and spiritual roots of the community. For many, places of worship represent the familiar connection of people to their culture. This community is filled with churches of all sizes; some are large and include campuses and schools reaching out to the nearby community; others are storefront spaces in strip centers or small buildings that tend to focus inwardly on the needs of their own congregations. The NNHCP has identified more than 50 places of worship in the neighborhood.

Many of the interviewees said that there were issues that could be problematic, such as poverty, immigration, crime or lack of transportation to find jobs outside the neighborhood. But even with these on-going issues, there is a feeling of resiliency throughout the neighborhood. The people, for example, have dealt with immigrant assimilation on their own terms. They have put down strong roots that are the foundation of the neighborhood. There is a strong sense of pride in the neighborhood for the strong sense of community that continues to endure. A sense of familiarity is built into the community, from the mercado, or market, feel of the Fiesta Store on a Saturday morning to the brightly colored homes to the murals in the community. It is a community that has focused on its assets to insure its continuation.

Accomplishments to Date

SLEHC was invited to this community as a collaborator to assist with assessment, information and advancement of the health and well-being of the NNS. Accomplishments to date include:

• The development of the Near Northside Healthy Community Partnership (NNHCP). SLEHC continues to partner with the NNHCP and the City of Houston Department of Health and Human Services.
  
  
• The work of the NNHCP was used to support and inform the Casa-Casa project. The Casa-Casa project was designed to streamline health services, diminish duplication of services and add additional services between adjoining city and county public health clinics.
  
  
• The NNHCP also sponsored a business breakfast to introduce locally owned and operated business in the NNS to the NNHCP and to educate small business owners about health care assistance programs and insurance options.
  
  
• NNSHCP co-sponsored community forums that were used to gather community input and information that guided work group development and survey development for initial community needs assessment.
  
  
• SLEHC participated with the City of Houston’s Assessment Intervention and Mobilization program by assisting with quantitative instrument development and by participating on the Community Touch Service Response Team.
  
  
• SLEHC produced a video to document a slice of the youth’s story of life in the NNS. This video was produced by SLEHC’s high school and college interns.
  
  
• SLEHC sponsored a seniors’ writing group to document elders’ contribution to community.
  
  
• NNHCP has been instrumental in offering several community health fairs and events designed to increase visibility of neighborhood-based health services and promote utilization of these services.
  
  
• NNHCP has formed a partnership with the Houston Police Department and serves on the Houston Police Department Advisory Committee and the Houston Safe Program. These partnerships with the Houston Police Department have allowed the community to have a direct connection to the police department, which has increased police presence in the neighborhood.
  

SLEHC has granted more than $40,000 to three programs addressing basic needs and services in the Near Northside. Several
of these grantees are members of the NNHCP. SLEHC will continue to identify funding priorities that align with the community-defined recommendations.

Recommendations

Priority areas identified include specific populations, such as children and youth, seniors and those needing basic services
such as health care, food, shelter and/or utility assistance. Additional priority areas include issues affecting the neighborhood
at large, such as quality of housing stock, gentrification, safety, mobility issues such as new rail lines and environmental issues
such as air quality. Recommendations for potential next steps toward improving community health and well-being rise out of
the study’s qualitative and quantitative data and include, but are not limited to, the following suggestions.

Community Resources for Basic Needs

• Work with the NNHCP to identify needed resources and coordinate delivery of resources and services at the neighborhood level; identify current programs and services, including any overlap or duplication of services; promote sharing of information and inter-agency collaborations with area service providers. This is especially critical for vulnerable populations such as seniors.
  
  
• Continue to collaborate with community partners who have a commitment to serving the Near Northside community. SLEHC has partnered with the NNHCP to support their projects, including health fairs, immunization drives, and health promotion and prevention efforts to the Near Northside community.
  
  
• Inform NNHCP and the community at large regarding the City of Houston’s Assessment, Information and Mobilization (AIM) project results, findings and immediate needs or concerns identified.
  
  
• Collaborate with existing providers to offer a promotora program in the neighborhood. This would help disseminate prevention information and referral for services and address the need for preventative women’s health education.
  
  
• Determine feasibility of establishing community gardens. Community gardens allow for access to locally grown produce. In a community with few food store options and with food insecurity as an identified concern, the NNS could benefit from the addition of community gardens.
  
  
• Introduce community providers to the Capacity Building Toolkit. Many providers talked of the complexity of being a front-line service provider yet finding ways to expand with little or no resources. Additionally, help to identify potential funding sources for service and program expansion.
  

Children and Youth

• Work to bridge the disconnect between educational and social service agencies and the community. Many providers were surprised to learn that residents felt not enough was being done in the neighborhood to encourage completion of high school and higher educational pursuits even though there are some initiatives that are active in the community.
  
  
• Raise community awareness and initiate community-orientated dialogue to address educational attainment issues such as high number of high school dropouts in the community.
  
  
• Initiate and support community and schoolbased health education programs and services to address adolescent health issues identified as high priority by the community such as teen pregnancy prevention.
  
  
• Engage youth in on-going discussions and actions to address youth concerns. For example, investigate feasibility and interest in developing a youth-grant-maker program with SLEHC that could fund programs that focus on youth development.
  
  
• Work with the Gulf Coast Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Coalition to increase enrollment rates for CHIP and Medicaid among children in the Near Northside.
  

More Information:
To learn more about The Near Northside Neighborhood, please contact us.