It’s that time again(!)—an issue of the famed #52Causes, where we take some time to explore how some pretty inspiring people are working in this beautiful city we get to call home. It makes Houston even more appealing (is that possible?), knowing that there are people who’ve seen a problem and said, “Hey. You know what? That’s not okay. You guys wanna fix that?” And their crew is just like, “Yeah. Let’s do it.”

A round of applause for them. These are the hard-headed and the stubborn. These are the people who never gave in. The people who weren’t okay with mediocrity. Because of them, Houston is better every day. Here are four more causes that are sure as hell gettin’ it done:

United Against Human Trafficking

Did you know that the average age of a child enslaved by human trafficking is 14? FOURTEEN. That’s utterly inexcusable. Trafficking is widespread around the world, and we’re sad to relay that according to the Department of Justice, Houston is one of the most intense jurisdictions for trafficking in the U.S. And while more attention is given to sex trafficking, labor trafficking is even more widespread and can even include involuntary domestic servitude, panhandling, construction work, restaurant work, maid services in hotels and homes, lawn services, agricultural work—or even a boys’ choir.

But there are incredibly persistent and passionate people who can’t accept this as normal, and fight everyday to end these victims’ experiences. United Against Human Trafficking is a coalition of Houston-area nonprofits, organizations and government agencies that are determined to end trafficking. In preparation to tackle this injustice, they created a four-part approach:

  • Outreach, Training and Prevention: They lead the effort to spread awareness and educate the community and frontline professionals such as law enforcement, healthcare, and social service providers to identify victims of human trafficking.
  • Investigation, Rescue and Prosecution: They work together with area social service organizations to identify and assist the victims of human trafficking and to effectively identify, apprehend and prosecute those engaged in trafficking offenses.
  • Victim Services and Protection: They provide holistic case management services to all victims of human trafficking, including safety planning, housing, medical and mental health assistance, job training, ESL and GED classes as well as many more services.
  • Partnerships: They partner with community-based organizations to implement outreach projects to bring more attention to this issue in their specific communities.

If you’d like to get involved, join their mission and see the end of human trafficking in Houston, go here to sign up.

United Way: Houston

MAKE WAY FOR UNITED WAY. One of the largest nonprofits in the city of Houston (and beyond), United Way works to transform lives and bring long-lasting systemic change to real issues that permeate our lives.

Did you know? One in five families has trouble buying groceries. And 62% of families are worried about the current financial status. One, that’s heartbreaking. Two, issues like that keep families from focusing on important things—like encouraging their kids to overachieve in school or enrolling them in extracurricular activities. Three, we can help fix this.

United Way sees what needs to happen and fights to get it done, and they do it with the utmost consideration. They plan and execute their mission with volunteers evaluating and overseeing every service to make sure they are achieving measurable outcomes through continuous monitoring AND oversight.

We’d call that responsible, and at the end of the day, they just want to be the safety net for the community. The fight isn’t over, though. There’s SO MUCH to do. United Way Houston needs help—if you can (and if you’re willing), donate here.

Kinder Institute

The Kinder Institute for Urban Research is a multi-disciplinary “think-and-do tank”—doesn’t that sound intense?—housed on the Rice University campus in central Houston. The institute focuses on urban issues in Houston, the American Sunbelt and around the world and their work is crucial to reform projects all over the city. Created in 2010, the Institute was endowed with a $15 million gift from Houston philanthropists Richard and Nancy Kinder. Hence, Kinder Institute. Not to be confused with anything elementary school-related.

The Kinder Institute is an independent campus-wide institute working with a wide variety of partners on the Rice campus, while also collaborating with a wide variety of other universities and think tanks, including the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program, the Urban Institute, the University of Texas School of Public Health and the National Resource Network. Their mission? To advance understanding of the most important issues facing Houston and other leading urban centers through rigorous research, policy analysis, and public outreach; and collaborate with civic and political leaders to implement promising solutions to these critical urban issues. Basically, all those problems that we’re aware of in Houston? They discover them AND solve them. Like, damn.

If you’d like to learn more, you can follow them on Twitter at @RiceKinderInst, or head to their website for info on their latest objectives, how you can get involved and how they’ve worked with other organizations in Houston for optimal impact.

Camp For All

Camp For All is a unique camping and retreat facility that works in collaboration with other non-profits to provide life-changing programs for children and adults with challenging illnesses and special needs. Campers have the chance to gain self-confidence and independence skills while having fun, learning new skills and bonding with others who share their challenges in a safe and understanding environment.

At Camp For All, campers learn what they CAN do—not what they CAN’T do. Let that sink in for a second. For the first time, they are surrounded by others with the same challenges and their feelings of loneliness can melt away. You know that it’s a special place when each camper knows that they’re surrounded by acceptance. Campers have an opportunity to focus on the joy of life, and that feeling of independence and confidence goes home with them. And regardless of their time spent in this life, “they are not just survivors, they have become strong survivors.”

There aren’t very many places in the world as impactful as Camp For All. We’re strong advocates for this program and we know that every day that passes there is more special than a day anywhere else. If you’d like to learn more or volunteer, head here for the pertinent info.

These organizations aren’t finished, and neither are we. We hope you’ll join us in our mission to support these impact-driven organizations around the city of Houston—and beyond!

 

We’ve been following nonprofits and impact-based organizations for almost a year now. If you’d like a recap on who we’ve covered and how they’ve tirelessly worked to improve our city and the lives of those living here, head to our previous posts here and here.