WHAT: Harris County Commissioners Rodney Ellis and Lesley Briones will join other county leaders and labor officials to introduce Harris PROSPERS, set of investments to ensure everyone has a safe roof over their heads, an income floor to support basic needs, and access to good jobs that pay a living wage. Harris PROSPERS (Pathways to Realize Opportunity, Security, Potential, Equity, Resilience, and Safety) aims to create paths to good-paying jobs and fair opportunity while ensuring families have the basic building blocks to thrive. Key components of Harris PROSPERS include affordable housing, healthy food, childcare and digital access.
WHO: Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis
Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones
Dr. Barbie Robinson, Executive Director of Harris Public Health
Dr. Jo Estrada, Harris County Community Services Department
Linda Morales, Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation
WHEN: Thursday, August 10, 2023, 5-6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Youth Education Town at Finnigan Park (Behind Community Center), 4900 Providence St., Houston, TX 77020
Harris County Commissioners Rodney Ellis and Lesley Briones on Thursday will unveil Harris PROSPERS, a comprehensive vision to ensure everyone has a roof over their heads, good-paying jobs, and other necessities to fulfill the American dream.
“Despite the region's remarkable economic growth, many families face near insurmountable odds of breaking out of the vicious cycle of generational poverty,” Commissioner Ellis said. “Opportunities for education and workforce training are out of reach for many, exacerbating the cycle of poverty.”
Harris PROSPERS (Pathways to Realize Opportunity, Security, Potential, Equity, Resilience, and Safety) is a vision that aligns existing programs with new initiatives, such as guaranteed income, to create a set of investments with a singular purpose: to make Harris County a place where everyone has a path to prosper, thrive, and build a better life for themselves and their families.
The programs encompassed by Harris PROSPERS are designed to create paths to good jobs and fair opportunity, and to make sure families have the basic building blocks to thrive. As part of the initiative, for example, the Advantage Apprenticeship program collaborates with labor unions and nonprofit organizations to provide training opportunities for individuals in underserved areas. Additionally, the Employ2Empower program supports individuals experiencing homelessness by helping them enter or return to the workforce. Additional programs supporting this vision include:
- Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) and small business development
- Policies establishing a living wage for county employees and requiring county contractors to pay workers a living wage on construction projects
- Worker safety requirements for county contractors
- Inclusive economic development through a tax abatement policy that supports MWBE participation and mandates that businesses offer living wages, healthcare plans, hire locally, and have fair chance hiring policies
- Healthy food and nutrition through partnerships with Houston Food Bank and Urban Harvest
- Childcare and education though the Early REACH program
- Digital access and literacy through essential tools and training
- Safe and affordable homes through increased access, protection of tenants’ rights, promotion of home ownership, homelessness reduction, eviction defense, and mortgage relief
Already, the push to support minority- and women-owned businesses has led to a 32% rise in contracts going to MWBEs in three years.
“Harris PROSPERS is more than just a program,” Commissioner Ellis said. “It is a promise – a promise to make Harris County a place where everyone has a stable foundation and a clear path to prosperity, growth, and a better life for themselves and their families.”