HOPE Clinic is a non-profit network of Houston health centers that cares, in 35 languages, for patients regardless of their ability to pay. Now it has officially started construction on a $33 million, three-story multi-purpose complex in the Alief area. By itself, dynamically upgrading the availability of healthcare in the multi-ethnic International Management District and beyond [...]
The Houston Police Department’s Westside Command Station is the city’s largest, serving a population of 300,000 people (plus businesses, visitors and more) with a staff of about 300 officers per day in addition to a civilian support team. Its boundaries are I-10 on the north, South Gessner on the east, the I-59/69 on the south [...]
Quynh Vora Quynh Vora, an interior decorator and real estate investor, was 8 when she and her family of refugees from Vietnam arrived in Houston: “It was hot and humid and reminded us of life in Vietnam. As a little girl, I remembered taking the Metro bus with my mom to all [...]
Armando Castelan considers himself lucky to be able to live in Houston, known as the most diverse city in the United States. One of the epicenters of cultural diversity is the Alief community, where on any given day one can hear countless languages spoken, from Spanish to English to Vietnamese, Urdu, Arabic, Tagalog, Chinese – [...]
With Hurricane Harvey, the COVID-19 pandemic and this year’s historic winter storm, it’s been a rough time for Texas, and small businesses have suffered. However, there are plenty of available financial resources to help business owners who might benefit from guaranteed loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The traditional SBA loan guarantee program helps [...]
As the Houston Police Department’s Asian community liaison, Officer Don Vo is a familiar face throughout the city and especially in the International and Southwest management districts. He embodies the “community policing” approach of cultivating relationships with residents and business people before they might need HPD’s help in an emergency. The 14-year veteran of law [...]
Alief ISD has opened its new, state-of-the-art 78,000-square-foot facility dedicated to professional growth and talent development of educators. The Center for Talent Development is located at the former Burlington Coat Factory location off Westheimer and Highway 6. And the only thing that fell below expectations with this new facility is that the final cost is lower than [...]
Each plot takes you to a different place at the Alief Community Garden. A dozen cactus plants reach upward of 4 feet on a 25-foot-long bed belonging to Gus Munoz. Up close, against blues skies, the fleshy paddles transport you to arid central Mexico or, in Munoz's case, the Rio Grande Valley, where he grew [...]
When Winter Storm Uri descended on Houston in mid-February, causing massive blackouts and freezing water pipes throughout the state, Patrick Hoang decided to spring into action. Hoang, who with his wife, Stacie, own and operate Fish-N-Pets Unlimited at 11710 Bissonnet, saw an opportunity to give back to the community. His store stayed open in the [...]
An exotic building in the International Management District overflows with symbols. And the site is a treasure in another way: Chinese and Vietnamese cultures are distinct, but this is a place where they visually overlap. Teo Chew Temple, at 10599 Turtlewood Court, is a public place for worship and reflection. Many of the local founders [...]
