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Covering the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest & the neighborhoods of North Houston
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Saturday, August 3, 2024 • Vol. 69 • No.31
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Back To School activities in and around the Heights
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By LISA MORALES The Leader News Contributor
Leader’s Choice BEST ATTORNEY
As the new school year approaches, the Heights and surrounding Houston areas are buzzing with back-to-school activities designed to help students and families prepare for a successful year ahead. From essential supplies to health services, here’s a roundup of what’s happening.
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place on Saturday, Aug. 3, from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. at the George R. Brown Convention Center. This event is specifically designed to assist economically disadvantaged elementary school students and their families as they gear up for the new academic year. The festival aims to distribute 25,000 backpacks filled with school supplies, ensuring that every student starts the year equipped for success. In addition to the essential supplies, the event will offer a range of onsite health screenings, including dental screenings and sealants, vision screenings, and routine immunizations. These services are cru-
cial for maintaining student health and readiness for learning. Moreover, the event will connect families to a wide array of health and social services provided by community agencies. This holistic approach helps address the ongoing need for basic school supplies and health screenings, bridging gaps for many Houston-area students. Parents can register their students for the Mayor’s Back 2 School Fest at houstontx.gov/btsf/ registermystudent.html
A BEARy IMPORTANT MISSION
Compassion Over Criticism: Mytiburger’s viral post defends support for homeless employee
EVENTS Mayor’s Back 2 School Fest
The annual Mayor’s Back 2 School Fest, presented by Shell, is set to take
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INSIDE.
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Comings & Goings: What’s new around town?
By STEFANIE THOMAS editor@theleadernews.com
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to “shop” and case workers to select needed basics. Diapers, formula, and shoes are also available for pick up. “Hygiene products are always in high demand. We provide deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrushes, bodywash and other essentials so the children can feel clean and comfortable,” said Katie Magee, with Development and Events at BEAR. “Some of these children are taken into custody while they are at school, which is one of the safest places to take a child who is at risk, and they have no personal care products with them. Through BEAR Necessities, we can fill that gap.”
By LISA MORALES The Leader News Contributor
Nonprofit Compudopt celebrates 17 years, 610K people served
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How this Oak Forest nonprofit supports the city’s most vulnerable children
Stomping Grounds enters WLN excitement with own event
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BEAR’s seasonal back-to-school program helps over 13,000 at-risk and CPS-involved kids in the area receive the school supplies they need for the upcoming school year. This program is crucial in ensuring that these children can start the school year on an equal footing with their peers.
Photo courtesy of BEAR
The Heart Gallery showcased at Willowbrook Mall.
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A recent viral social media post from Mytiburger, a beloved local eatery in Oak Forest, has sparked widespread attention and praise for its compassionate response to concerns about employing a homeless man. The post, shared on the restaurant’s Facebook page, addressed concerns about the hygiene and ethics of employing the man, who has been working at Mytiburger for over three years. The post began by acknowledging concerns by some restaurant patrons: “It has come to our attention that some people in the neighborhood are concerned we have a homeless man working for us,” Mytiburger owner Shawn Salyers wrote. “They have said it’s unhygienic and we’re taking advantage of him.” However, the post quickly clarified the restaurant’s stance, highlighting the individual’s mental health struggles and their efforts to support him. “We pay him well over minimum wage to clean, pick up trash, dump trash cans, and move boxes. He does not cook or handle food,” the post explained. The restaurant’s management also detailed their attempts to provide assistance beyond employment, including efforts to track down the man’s family, provide clean clothes, and arrange meetings with resources to help him get off the streets. Despite these efforts, Salyers said, the man has been unable to accept the help due to his mental illness. “We don’t want to run him off. He’s a good person, and we may be the only stable thing in his world,” the post continued. The message emphasized the restaurant’s commitment to supporting those in need, inspired by the former owner Kathy Green’s philosophy: “There but for the grace of God go I.” The post has garnered significant at-
For the past 25 years, Oak Forestbased nonprofit BEAR (Be A Resource for CPS Kids) has stood as a vital lifeline for abused and neglected children in the greater Houston area. As the only 501(c)(3) organization partnering with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and Harris County Resources for Children and Adults, BEAR offers unique programs that provide not only the basic needs of children recently uprooted, but also supportive services that ensure their comfort, dignity, and celebration of successes. This partnership with county and state agencies has been instrumental in BEAR’s success, enabling the organization to allocate $0.85 of every dollar earned through fundraising directly to its four core programs. From an annual operating budget of $7,000 at its inception, BEAR has grown to over $2 million, reflecting the increasing need for its services.
Photo courtesy of BEAR
BEAR’s back to school drive is in full swing.
BEAR’S CORE PROGRAMS 1. BEAR Necessities
The BEAR Necessities program annually serves nearly 30,000 at-risk children or those classified as wards of the state. New clothing with tags, pajamas, and hygiene products are available in an onsite store, allowing older children
2. BEAR Back to School
2024 Storms: The emotional fallout By STEPHANIE SHIRLEY The Leader News Contributor
Coco’s Donuts & Coffee Bar opens in Oak Forest
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While Houston residents continue to struggle with anxiety long after the storms have passed, one organization is dedicated to making them whole again Meredith Baker has been a lifelong resident near Woodland Heights. Because she’s a long-time Houstonian, the two destructive storms that have recently provided an ominous omen for this year’s hurricane season, were not her ‘first rodeo’. And yet, this is a resounding example of how experience and repetition do not make trauma any less painful.
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Photo by Stephanie Shirley)
Unbeknownst to many Houstonians, the 2024 Storms have left them with a heightened level of mental and emotional stress, a type of lingering ‘debris’, that is not so easily cleared.
“I’ve been here through the likes of Tropical Storm Allison, Hurricane Rita, Hurricane Ike, Hurricane Harvey and, this year already, the Derecho and Hurricane Beryl,” she said. “Every time it happens, you try to convince yourself it is an anomaly. You begin the repair process for the physical damage and, in some cases, start over. But, every time it happens, it erodes away at your faith, confidence and sense of security. When I hear really loud thunder and lightning lately, I feel like I have a form of storm P.T.S.D.” It has always been said that death, divorce and moving rank in the top three of stress-inducing life events. But increasingly, Texas storms are jockeying for this echelon.
“Feeling totally helpless and not in control, especially for a prolonged period of time, leaves me feeling stressed and anxious,” Baker said. “That emotional stress, if allowed to accumulate, seems to manifest itself in some unfortunate ways, including overall physical health and the quality of my personal and professional relationships. Many of us have sought out self-help types of meditation or relaxation avenues over the years to deal with work-related stress, yet we fail to see how other traumatic situations like these can be just as detrimental to overall health.” Carlie Krueger and her husband also live in The Heights and have See BERYL P. 2
Allegiance Bank and CommunityBank of Texas have come together as Stellar Bank. While our name has changed, our commitment to serving our customers and supporting our local communities will stay the same. We look forward to a bright future together.
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