Why This Matters

• For Renters: Rent jumped 9% in one year. Many families must choose between rent and other basic needs.

• For Homebuyers: Home prices rose faster than incomes. The typical family can't afford the typical home.

• For Communities: Over 500,000 people live in areas threatened by floods, heat, and bad air.

• For Policy Makers: Climate and housing problems are connected. Solutions must address both.

• For Our Future: Houston is becoming less affordable and less safe to live in.

When parents have good child care, they can go to work. When they can go to work, Houston's businesses run better. That's why child care is part of how our city works.

But many home-based child care providers struggle. They don't have money saved for emergencies. They don't know how to run the business side of child care. They can't get loans like other small businesses can.

What the Pilot Program Did

• Gave money to 30 home child care businesses

• Taught owners how to run their businesses better

• Helped them prepare for storms and emergencies

• Tracked what worked and what didn't

• Learned lessons to help more providers

Who is having the hardest time:

• Families making less than $25,000 per year

• Only 1 in 3 low-income families say they have fully recovered

• People who couldn't afford to make all the repairs they needed

• Families who lost food, wages, and had to pay for emergency costs

Compare this to higher-income families:

• 8 out of 10 families making over $100,000 say they have fully recovered

• They were more likely to have savings to pay for repairs

• They were more likely to have insurance that covered damage

Why Church Safety Matters

Your church should be a safe place. Everyone should feel welcome and protected. But many churches don't know where to start with safety planning.

What churches deal with:

• More than 75% of churches don't have a safety team

• Many churches don't know what rules they need to follow

• Church leaders want to help but don't know what to do first

• Communities need safe places to gather and worship

This event will help you learn simple ways to make your church safer for everyone.

It all begins with an idea.