Kashmere Gardens receives Houston's 1st 'Resilience Hub,' to be used for services after emergencies

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- On Thursday, city officials announced expanded emergency services for Kashmere Gardens, a neighborhood just northeast of downtown Houston.

It is all paid for with city, federal, and grant funding.

In 2017, when Hurricane Harvey made landfall in the Houston area, nearly 3,700 homes in Kashmere Gardens flooded. That is 44% of the neighborhood underwater. There was uncertainty for those who resided there at the time.

According to the latest numbers from city records, 29% of the community lives below the poverty line.

RELATED: Hurricane Harvey, 5 years later: Some Kashmere Gardens residents wait for federal money to rebuild

"When you lose a personal touch to where you feel like people don't care about you, you lose hope." resident Carolyn Jones said. "Without hope, you can't survive."

The announcement crowns the Kashmere Gardens Multi-Service Center as Houston's first Resilience Hub.

That means extra funding for community programs, and when events like Hurricane Harvey or the winter freeze hit, expert planners will be on-site to help residents.

"One out of every five (residents) in Kashmere Gardens do not have a vehicle. They're not transportation-dependent," explained Keith Downey, the president of the local Super Neighborhoods council. "They've had so many shocks and stresses, and they're suffering from PTSD whether we want to admit it or not."

This is the first of three other hubs planned for Alief, Sunnyside, and Acres Homes.

"We have such a broad city, almost 690 miles. So, having them in these central communities for people as trusted sources so people don't have to travel as far," Thomas Munoz, the city's Emergency Management Coordinator, explained. "They can get the information from their own community. That's the long-term goal."

Just days before the new year, the city offered reassurance.

"Lately, we realize that, well, they didn't forget us after all," resident Ella Trahan said.

"We're blessed by the best, and we try to help each other," Jones added.

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