Inside Today: Editor Landan Kuhlmann on White Linen Night • Page 3
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Saturday, August 13, 2022 • Vol. 67 • No. 32
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Changes damper experience for some at White Linen Night By Matt deGrood news@theleadernews.com For the first time since before the coronavirus pandemic began, residents, business owners and curious visitors donned white linen this weekend and ventured down 19th Street to celebrate White Linen Night – a newish Heights tradition that traces its roots to New Orleans. But while the crowds were back, this iteration of White Linen Night
lacked something of the history magic, according to those who attended. “Major disappointment,” one person wrote on the event’s social media page. “No bands were present, nor tent vendors. Had to be very cautious crossing the streets since they weren’t. blocked off this year… Just not the same vibe as years past. Will not go back.” Another wrote that while the event was still fun, it wasn’t quite as ex-
citing without the streets closed and that the sidewalks got packed with people because no one could safely walk in the street. White Linen Night is typically held the first weekend in August and was founded in 2006 as part of an effort to draw more visitors and patrons to small and independently-owned businesses in the neighborhood. The last time the event See WLN P. 6
Photo by Landan Kuhlmann Community members walk along 19th Street during White Linen Night festivities last Saturday.
Local bikeway improvements on the way By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
Floating Mixed media artist Laura Aurealis will debute Floating Forest at Silver Street Studios this weekend
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Dash of comfort In this week’s review, Jennifer Caldwell made a trip to the Stomping Grounds to check out Rooster and Rice.
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Contributed photo Mental health professionals in the area say that calls for their help have reached unprecedented heights since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Coming home Bojangles Music School, founded by former Heights resident Shawn Parks, is open in the area
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THE INDEX. Church........................................................... 3 Classifieds ............................................... 7 Coupons ...................................................... 6 Food/Drink ................................................ 5 Opinion ........................................................ 3 Public Information............................. 8 Puzzles ......................................................... 3
Demand for mental health reaches new heights By Matt deGrood news@theleadernews.com
When businesses began shutting down and people went into isolation at the start of the coronavirus pandemic locally in March 2020, Amy Rollo worried about the future of her mental health business, Heights Family Counseling. “I don’t know exactly how much of our practice we lost, but it felt like overnight we had this huge hit,” she said. “And I thought to myself, ‘are we going to make it?’” Like so many other industries, the employees at Heights Family Counseling, 2500 Summer St. Suite 1220, planned for an uncertain future. But just a few short months later, the phones began ringing more and more frequently, Rollo said. And they haven’t stopped ringing since. Mental health professionals across the region and country have spoken out about an unprecedented demand for their ser-
Contributed photo Severeal local health professionals say that they have seen a huge influx of patients over the last several years.
vice since the start of the pandemic. More than 40 percent of respondents reported feeling depressed or anxious during the height of the pandemic, compared to about 11 percent before it began, according to one report from the Association of American Medical
Colleges. That comes in a country where experts project the shortage of psychiatrists could be between 14,280 and 31,109 in just a few years, according to the report. Local mental health professionals say the situation in the area hasn’t gotten that dire, but they
have noticed a significant uptick in demand for appointments. “It’s to the point where I’ve seen the biggest influx of patients of my whole career,” said Barbie Atkinson, the founder and a practitioner at Catalyst Counseling, 810 W 21st St. Both Atkinson and Rollo, along with a host of other mental health professionals, say the isolation and other pandemic-related issues combined with mental health problems that existed before to cause an avalanche of new demand for counseling. “People were used to doing a lot of things to cope,” Atkinson said. “Maybe it was travel or something else. But when those distractions and coping mechanisms were taken from us, people had nowhere for that to go.” Joey Sorenson, a therapist offering teletherapy in the area, agreed. “I and many of my colleagues have noticed a big
Local residents could soon start seeing small fixes or improvements to parts of Houston’s bikeways in the area as the result of a new budget initiative recently approved by Houston’s Bicycle Advisory Committee. During a July meeting, the Bicycle Advisory Committee approved a motion that would set aside 10 percent of the annual Houston bike plan budget for incremental improvements to existing bikeways and connectors. A report from Axios said the committee is given $1.1 million each year to help construct nearly 1,800 miles of trails and connectors as part of the Houston Bike Plan that Houston’s city council approved in 2017. According to a PowerPoint presentation during a July 27 meeting, the funds set aside as part of the 10 percent would be held separate from the plan’s “priority” projects. Those funds would instead be used for spot safety improvements along existing bikeways. This year’s projects will include several in the Heights area, according to BikeHouston, a local advocacy group. Among them will be improving the transition from Micheaux to the White Oak Bayou trail in Stude Park, and there are also plans to install either a traffic signal, four-way stop, or raised intersection at Heights Boulevard and the MKT Trail near 7th Street. Also planned for this year is installing a stop sign and a high-visibility crossing where the MKT Trail crosses North Shepherd Drive. As strategic opportunities are identified, the project concept will be presented to the BAC committee for guidance and confirmation. If BAC supports, that will be staff ’s direction to implement. The committee could then take action to fund it. Once that year’s funds are spent, additional proposals will be held until the following fiscal year. An email request for comment from Bike Houston Executive Director Joe Cutrufo was unreturned as of Wednesday afternoon.
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