Spotlight Site Ideas

Applicants are welcome to partner with ANY agency of their choosing when designing a project for the ASF application. If you’re short on ideas of where to start, the following Houston-area agencies have expressed high interest in working with a Fellow next year. If you are interested in any of the opportunities in this list, please reach out using the information below for more information. If no contact information is listed, then contact Carol Jacob (carol.jacob@asfhg.org), and she can get you connected with the most appropriate person. To see current projects that can be carried on by new Fellows, please look at the Current Projects page.

We encourage applicants to begin contacting agencies or Carol this Fall so that you can have a strong project plan for your application that will be due in early February 2025.

If you are a site that is interested in having Fellows, please email Carol Jacob at carol.jacob@asfhg.org.

Last updated: 01/16/25

SPOTLIGHT PROJECT SITE IDEAS - THESE AGENCIES ARE LOOKING FOR FELLOWS TO COMPLETE PROJECTS

Alexander Jewish Family Service (JFS)

Alexander Jewish Family Service is a non-profit, human service agency who aids and provides professional resources to the greater Houston area. JFS serves people of all faiths and backgrounds. Our professionals provide Behavioral & Mental Health Services,
Coaching & Case Management Services, Disability Services, Employment Services and Chaplaincy Services. All these projects are the traditional needs assessments followed by the creation of a service project unless otherwise noted. For more information on these projects, please contact Dr. Ada Cheung Chief Clinical Officer at acheung@alexanderjfs.org.
Project sites ideas fall under these Health Tracks:

Mental Health:

Providing short videos to promote mental well-being and self-care.
Providing presentations to educate staff and clients
Writing Be Well column to increase mental health awareness (local newspaper)
Finding resources to support mental health services
Providing consultation to clients of all ages around health topics and resources, when appropriate
Providing educational presentations and compiling resources related to Intimate Partner Violence.
Providing education on mental health topics, as: suicidality, stigma reduction, help-seeking behaviors, and substance use.

Community Intervention:

Providing behavioral and mental health related topics/workshops to community, and schools
Making regular posts on social media to promote mental wellbeing
Facilitating discussions on health and mental health topics at ReelAbilities events

Community Engagement:

Marketing existing services/programs
Identification of strategies in connecting potential clients to existing services
Create mailing list of community partners to increase collaboration and support
Expanding collaboration network to high stressed professions (i.e. veterinarians, first responders, medical professionals, teachers, lawyers)

LGBTQ:
Facilitating presentation and workshop to staff and clients about providing a safe space for LGBTQ population

Elder Health:
Providing presentations to elders about overcoming aging, loneliness, health and mental health challenges.

Children and Adolescents’ Health:

Provide presentations to child clients and parents about specific topics including typical behaviors and developmental milestones.
Provide consultations to parents, when appropriate
Identity appropriate community resources to support children services

Women’s Health:

Provide education on infertility, pregnancy, maternal mental health, menopause, postpartum depression, self care
Write social media posts or articles to enhance awareness

Angela House

Fellowship projects are conducted at Angela House each year. If you are interested in designing an educational project with the female residents of Angela House, please discuss your ideas with the Executive Director, Valencia Lewis. Angela House is a sixteen-bed residential facility helping women re-enter society after incarceration. Angela House is a sober living facility that guides the women on how to live sober lives after incarceration. Angela House offers approximately 30 hours a week of programming to help address the many areas of need for the women. Here are some ideas for Fellow Projects:

Talk to the women about their overall health (their body, nutrition, exercise, sexual health etc)
The importance of eating healthily and how it directly affects them and their quality of life
Vaping and smoking
A step or an aerobics class

Please email Executive Director, Valencia Lewis, at vlewis@angelahouse.org if interested.

The Beacon

The Beacon is a non-profit organization that serves individuals experiencing homelessness by providing daily services to meet basic needs, civil legal aid, and case management including housing services. Their mission is to provide essential and next-step services to restore hope and help end homelessness in Houston. Here are some project ideas:

Lead and coordinate their Transition in Place (TIP) project. The TIP project is an educational component designed and recently implemented by a Occupational Therapy doctoral candidate. The eight to ten sessions provide guidance and practical information in person in a classroom setting for men and women living on the streets and how to prepare for a transition to housing. Beacon staff, social work, and associate level occupational therapy students are assisting with this project. They hope to continue this each semester and expand group offerings based on the individual’s needs. This project takes place primarily onsite at The Beacon's facility in downtown Houston.
Assist The Beacon's Chief Program Officer and Program Directors/Managers to design and implement a programs and services dashboard. They currently use the regional Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and a legal case management system called CLIO. A Fellow could lead their efforts to consolidate the data and best represent their program outcomes and outputs. This could be a hybrid project, working onsite at The Beacon's downtown location and remotely part of the time.
Design and implement socialization and community building activities for the individuals who come to The Beacon's Day Center for services. Adult men and women who are experiencing homelessness come to their facility for meals, laundry, access to showers and other services. Services are provided five days a week, from Thursday through Monday. While individuals are waiting for lunch or their laundry to be finished, there is often a two to three hour window of free time. It would be helpful to have some fun, community building activities to help these individuals feel connected and enjoy that time together with fellow clients, volunteers, and staff. This project takes place primarily on site and the goal would be to create sustainable programming that could be managed by staff and volunteers on an ongoing basis.

For more information, please contact Stephanie Truong at struong@beaconhomeless.org.

Bilingual Education Institute

This site is no longer accpecting new inquiries due to overwhelming interest.

Bilingual Education Institute’s (BEI) Refugee Health Promotion Program helps newly arrived refugees access essential health knowledge and services, focusing on navigating the U.S. healthcare system, healthy living, women’s health, stress management, OTC medications, and medical emergencies. The program offers culturally appropriate health education, connects refugees to local resources, and empowers them to manage their healthcare through workshops and classes.

BEI’s Refugee Health Program is seeking an ASF Fellow(s) to:

Develop a mental and physical health resource booklet and PDF for refugees, listing providers and resources in Houston, available in multiple languages.
Design and facilitate a 4-day class on navigating the U.S. healthcare system, tailored for refugee communities.
Additional health education classes that align with their needs and are relevant to the community in areas including anger Management, building healthy relationships, and Child health and development.

If you are interested in starting a project at BEI, please contact Sarah Zingale at 630-659-6478 or Sarahz@bei.edu.

Bread of Life

Bread of Life, Inc., together with their donors, partners, and volunteers, provides resources and support to vulnerable communities all around Houston, narrowing the fair access to healthcare divide and mitigating the impact of non-medical drivers of health on the lives of our neighbors. This mission is accomplished through a variety of programs and interventions. From food and household supply distributions to accessible educational opportunities, healthcare coordination and disaster relief, it is their mission to ensure everyone they meet experiences love, hope, dignity, and belonging. In the pursuit of equitable healthcare delivery, they pledge to enhance access to supportive resources and programs, so every person, regardless of their background, enjoys the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. They aspire not only to alleviate immediate needs but to pave the way for health and longevity, instilling hope for all.

Ideas for Fellow projects:

Revitalize their community pantry, bringing nutrition/health education to food recipients and reimagining how the space is used to serve community members and address food insecurity
Work with their community health workers to assist/support community members in accessing healthcare/benefits, considering creative solutions to addressing these needs
Design and implement a digital health literacy curriculum for senior adults participating in their Tech Savvy Seniors program

If you are interested in starting a project at Bread of Life, please contact Dr. Ryan Harris at ryan.harris@breadoflifeinc.org.

The Bridge Over Troubled Waters

The Bridge Over Troubled Waters is a comprehensive crisis intervention center serving all survivors of domestic and sexual violence and their families. They offer safety and support through numerous programs and engage in social norms change through community organizing efforts to enhance safety and equity within our communities. They have emergency and permanent housing, a comprehensive children's program with peer mentors, advocates, and a childcare center, a counseling program, and an advocacy program for community members who need safety planning, legal advocacy, community referrals, and crisis intervention assistance and support. The majority of their survivors identify as BIPOC individuals and their organization is in a largely Latine/Latinx and Spanish speaking community.

A couple ideas for projects are listed below:

Provide educational workshops and/or organize opportunities regarding culturally specific mental health and health practices to adult survivors of gender-based violence in our emergency shelter and permanent supportive housing programs.
Provide art-based healing activities to their adult survivors of gender-based violence in all of our programs including emergency shelter, permanent supportive housing, and non-residential program. These healing activities could also be offered to their community through their prevention of violence program.
A program focused on nutrition education and cooking classes for permanent supportive and non-residential survivors who need healthy meals on a budget.
A mentorship program for teens within their shelter and permanent supportive housing programs centered around life skills and mental and sexual health education.

For more information, please contact Jessica Bellant at jbellant@tbotw.org.

The Brookwood Community

Through the Grace of God, The Brookwood Community provides an educational environment that creates meaningful work, builds a sense of belonging, and awakens genuine purpose in the lives of adults with disabilities. Currently they are making Integrative Nutrition a priority and have a vision of not only discovering and implementing ways that they can take their own community's wellness to the next level, but also paving the way for others to do the same thing. Please view their introductory video to learn more about what we do: A Joyful Place - The Brookwood Community (youtube.com).

Casa Mateo

This site is no longer accpecting new inquiries due to overwhelming interest.

Casa Mateo is a shelter and 90-day program for displaced immigrants, specifically women and children. Their mission is to welcome displaced immigrants by offering hope, hospitality and support services in an effort to promote self-sufficiency.*

Casa Mateo provides families with the opportunity to build safe, healthy, and productive lives, offering the tools and resources needed to achieve their goals. Individualized case management supports transitions to permanent housing, school enrollment, income opportunities, and financial planning. Through these comprehensive services, Casa Mateo empowers women and children to rebuild their lives and achieve long-term stability. The program is rigorous and offers a unique foundation for success, addressing gaps in services for asylum seekers in Houston.

Project Examples:

Language and Literacy Enrichment Program: Provide regular English as a Second Language (ESL) classes for adults and reading programs for children. Integrate language skills into everyday activities.
Health and Wellness Program Development: Develop a comprehensive health and wellness program that includes mental health support, stress management, nutrition education, and access to regular wellness activities.
Transitional Housing Support: Develop a resource guide designed to help individuals and families settle in and take care of the essential tasks that come with maintaining their first apartment/home.

*Important Notice: The address on their website is for mailing purposes only. For the safety and confidentiality of our guests, they do not share their physical address publicly.

If you are interested in scheduling an interview or visit, please contact them at info@casamateo.org for assistance.

Community Family Centers (CFC)

Year over year, CFC is seeing 65% growth in demand for basic needs services, emergency food distribution, and within this population 45% of clients are in the age group of 50 years+. We know that New Hope Housing is currently under construction for their next project, Avenue C, just around the corner from CFC, to bring an additional 150 units of affordable housing for Seniors this time next year 2025, which will again increase demand for programs and services we make available to this Seasoned Population. We are in direct contact with New Hope Housing to discuss specific program and services needs which we can provide at CFC to support this treasured group of our community. Ideas such as enhanced/targeted immunization offerings in conjunction with our youth back to school immunization clinics, partnering with Texas Childrens and Harris Health, which could also service Seniors, health and wellness partnerships with American Heart Association to provide more immediate results for positive health outcomes for this high risk population of hypertension, introduction of new programs such as Silver Sneakers and walk healthy initiatives, and any additional expertise the Albert Schweitzer Fellow could suggest to enhance overall Senior client experience to this community will be a tremendous boost to La Tercer Edad.

This opportunity is for Senior Fellows; Fellows who are bilingual in Spanish are preferred.

If you are interested in starting a project at CFC, please contact the Director of Family Support Services, Miguel DeLuna, at mdeluna@communityfamilycenters.org.

East Harris County Empowerment Council (EHCEC)

The East Harris County Empowerment Council (EHCEC) is a community-centered organization dedicated to serving unincorporated areas in eastern Harris County. EHCEC aims to uplift communities through a diverse array of initiatives, including economic development, educational enrichment, disaster recovery, basic needs assistance, partner capacity building, and health and wellness programs.

Currently, EHCEC is seeking assistance with two key projects within its Education and Training area. Support for these projects will help advance community empowerment and improve overall health and well-being.

The first project focuses on enhancing reproductive health education and providing resources to improve health access and outcomes.
The second project aims to expand mental health awareness training, increasing access to mental health services through workshops, outreach efforts, and collaborations with local healthcare providers.

For more information, please contact Christina Alley at calley@eastharriscounty.org.

Friends of Columbia Tap

Friends of Columbia Tap, a Houston-based trails and green space advocacy organization in the Third Ward, is committed to advancing community health and environmental resilience through a One Health approach. This integrated, unifying perspective seeks to balance and optimize the health of people, animals, and ecosystems by recognizing their interdependence. As partners in the Third Ward Health Collaborative, they promote equitable green space access and wellness activities, including senior walks, urban gardening, and education on climate resilience. They welcome candidates passionate about trails, sustainability, and non-medical drivers of health, especially those skilled in social media, event planning, grant writing, or GIS mapping.

Project components could include:

Organizing a community health fair promoting holistic wellness
Strengthening connections with the Texas Medical Center for collaborative health resources
Leading bike rides and #Walk30 sessions to encourage active living
Supporting urban gardening and food justice initiatives
Developing educational materials on heat resilience and urban greening
Mapping green spaces and connectivity routes in the Third Ward
Providing guided meditation sessions at the Texas AIDS Memorial Garden

For more information, please contact Ed Pettit at edpettitt@gmail.com.

HOMES Clinic

Houston Outreach, Medicine, Education, and Social Services (HOMES) Clinic is the only student-managed free clinic in Houston and operates under the umbrella of Healthcare for the Homeless-Houston, a federally qualified health center. Their mission is to serve Houstonians who are experiencing homelessness with a broad and holistic approach to healthcare, integrating community outreach, medical and social services, and education for the next generation of empathetic providers and impactful advocates. Their primary operation is a student-managed, physician-staffed clinic open every Sunday in downtown Houston, jointly led by students from the Baylor College of Medicine, UT McGovern Medical School, and University of Houston Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine. They encourage prospective Fellows to approach us with project ideas that would utilize their unique skillset or perspective to advance the mission of HOMES Clinic.

Examples of previous projects:

A former Fellow led focus groups to identify unique needs among people who are female and experiencing homelessness. After identifying high rates of assault and feelings of insecurity, the Fellow brought in martial arts instructors to teach methods of self-defense.
Current Fellows are distributing naloxone pens, generating educational materials, and hosting sessions to explain the risks of opioid overdose, and fentanyl usage.

Please visit our website (homesclinic.org) for more information, learn about their ongoing initiatives and where your interests and skills may fit to provide new and innovative support within an existing effort.

If you are interested in doing a project at HOMES, prior to applying with ASF, please fill out this survey and a HOMES representative will reach out to you with next steps. Please fill this out by December 31st, 2024.

Internal Database Creation Project with ASF

Patient Care Intervention Center (PCIC) is looking to work with students interested in engineering design, to focused on specific real-world use cases to customize the Unified Care Continuum Platform (UCCP). The work will focus on human centered design, using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) concepts, to improve identification of appropriate resources for patients with social needs.

This would be a capacity building project in which Fellows would spend ~180 hours validating existing resources and contacts, talking to previous Fellows and ASF to learn which resources were most useful, and working with PCIC staff in the customization process.

About 20 hours would be used to interview previous PNP Fellows to learn about their experience and visiting sites with whom current PNP Fellows are collaborating. If you have questions or would like to learn more, please contact info@pcictx.org, subject line “ASF Project”.

This project would be best suited for applicants who are in our Texas A&M University School of Engineering Medicine consortium school.

Kindred Kitchen

Kindred Kitchen’s mission is to provide pathways out of poverty for Houston’s young people using the power of the kitchen and the table to achieve their vision of success. They operate as a partnership with Grace Place to provide employment training for youth experiencing homelessness. Kindred Kitchen provides stipends, support services, job placement, and training within the social enterprise component of their program. (Their catering, food trailer, and cafe operation provides stable, real-work experience for their training program while generating a moderate revenue that contributes to their overall sustainability.) Their program utilizes in-house training to teach the hard skills of the hospitality industry while working to cultivate the soft skills of dependability, coachability, financial literacy, executive functioning, and effective interpersonal communication, all of which will be transferable to any future career. (ASF Fellows would be particularly helpful in augmenting our soft-skills curricula). By utilizing case management and referrals to wrap-around services (medical, behavioral health, substance abuse treatment, housing, transportation, childcare, legal services, etc.) Kindred Kitchen helps trainees work towards stability and gives them the best chance for success. Upon graduation, students are placed in permanent positions with their employment partners (either in hospitality services or other fields in which students show interest/competency). In general, the students they serve are economically disadvantaged, suffer from chronic homelessness and generational poverty, and are typically in need of counseling, medical care, legal assistance, education, and, perhaps most importantly, stability through employment. Over 50% of Grace Place youth identify as LGBTQ and over 80% are youth of color. Kindred Kitchen focuses on breaking the cycle of homelessness via self-sustainability.

Email Kinnon Falk at director@kindredkitchenmontrose.org for more information.

Lemonade Day

Lemonade Day is a national nonprofit committed to preparing youth for life through a unique entrepreneurial and experiential program. The organization strategically targets children in grades K-8 with a fun and proactive program that marries STEM, SEL, and project-based education and infuses it with life skills, character development, financial and business literacy, career exploration, and mentorship.

Kids are introduced to entrepreneurship through real-world experiences of starting their own business – a lemonade stand – where they learn the skills to set a goal, make a plan, work the plan, and achieve their dreams. Evidence-based curriculum encourages kids to spend some on themselves for their hard work, save some and open a bank account, and share some with a charity or cause in their community.

With a national office based in Houston, in 16 years, Lemonade Day has grown to become licensed and independently operated in 100+ cities across North America, serving over 1.5 million children to date, with the support of 550+ program partners and 15k volunteer mentors. Through our strategic partnerships, they focus on communities of greatest need. Lemonade Day’s foremost objective is to help today’s youth become the entrepreneurs, business leaders, social advocates, community volunteers, and forward-thinking citizens of tomorrow. They want to build self-esteem and new mindsets that can propel youth to success they likely would not have pursued, or known about, otherwise. They encourage prospective Fellows to approach them with project ideas that would utilize their unique skillset or perspective to advance Lemonade Day’s mission. Here are examples of capacity building project ideas:

Mentor a group of students, teaching them the Lemonade Day curriculum and supporting them along their journey to bringing their business to life. After experiencing the program in action, lead focus groups of various stakeholders to identify unique needs/challenges among students in grades K-8 and assess program impact (e.g. develop questionnaires/surveys, assess/measure soft skills development, asses/measure experience utilizing education technology). Stakeholders include youth, teachers, youth group program leaders/instructors, and parents.
Devise an effective and efficient feedback loop system of measuring impact of all program stakeholders, one that maximizes potential, encourages completion, and increases response rate. This includes assessing how they can better support stakeholders during the registration process and submittal of business results to ensure optimal data/results collection.
Attend workshops, contests, classes, registration and awareness events, getting to know the community players; distribute educational materials to partnering organizations; and host learning sessions and/or entrepreneurship awareness/entrepreneurship education workshops to explain the benefits of youth entrepreneurship education and how Lemonade Day can help meet stakeholder needs. The goal to position Lemonade Day in the grander education and workforce development ecosystem by increasing community and civic engagement and participation in the program.
As an advocate for Lemonade Day Houston, hand out and promote program information to youth organizations, schools, churches and individual families in the Fellow’s community (materials provided by LDH staff).
Develop a framework for a longitudinal study that employs continuous and repeated measures to follow particular individuals over a prolonged period of time. This is an opportunity to sink one’s teeth into the program to assess/measure long-term impact, including interviews of former participants and designing a study or structure to follow participants post completion.

If you are interested in doing a project with Lemonade Day, please watch the Zoom Q&A here (Passcode: Fp*H9+@2) and discuss with ASF staff in a one-on-one for feedback.

Montrose Grace Place

Their mission is to provide a safe, welcoming environment for vulnerable homeless youth of all sexualities and genders, providing nourishment, healthy relationships, and hope for the future. They do this by opening their doors to homeless youth of all sexual orientations and gender identities who are between the ages of 13 and 24 years old every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 6:00pm. Youth night is an evening of food, mentorship, and skills building. The youth and volunteers share a seated, family-style meal followed by an interactive activity, shopping in their closet, and engaging in peer led group discussions. They are looking for Fellows who are interested in leading some of these activity sessions or group discussions focusing on mental health and/or parenting and supporting the youth.

Please contact Courtney Sellers at courtney@montrosegraceplace.org.

New Hope Housing

New Hope Housing’s core purpose is to provide life-stabilizing, affordable, permanent housing with support services for people who live on very limited incomes. Their vision is to be an enduring institution serving Houston’s most vulnerable citizens. New Hope has opportunities in several different programs every year focusing on health education, children's programming and nutrition education. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Introduction to Mental and Physical Health: Cover the basics of mental health, coping mechanisms, and emotional well-being. Introduce local mental health resources and supportive practices. Discuss the importance of routines for physical and mental health. Discuss the role of physical activity and demonstrate simple exercises. Encourage participants to set personal exercise goals. Introduce basic time management skills. Explore techniques for stress reduction (breathing exercises, meditation). Provide resources for ongoing stress support.
Nutrition Basics and Building a Healthy Diet + Workshop: Cover basic nutrition, healthy food choices, and portion sizes. Explore affordable, nutritious meal options and local food resources. Discuss common dietary needs (e.g., diabetes, hypertension) and healthy options. Provide resources on dietary planning. Conduct a hands-on class on preparing simple, healthy meals.
Understanding Health Insurance and Healthcare: Explain insurance basics, common terminology, and how to navigate plans. Address FAQs on Medicaid, Medicare, and local healthcare options. Cover scheduling, communicating with medical staff, and key questions to ask. Include role-play scenarios to practice speaking with doctors. Discuss common medications and following treatment plans safely. Provide resources for medication management (e.g., pill organizers). Empower participants to advocate for their needs in medical settings.
Building a Support Network and Seeking Help: Discuss the importance of support networks. Encourage participants to share and build connections, offer tips for building and maintaining social connections, highlight local community events and groups.
Home Management Skills: Basics of housekeeping and cleanliness, discuss the importance of a clean space and introduce cleaning routines, cover affordable cleaning supplies and their safe use, teach strategies for organizing belongings, offer guidance on managing possessions to avoid clutter.

If you are interested in doing a project with New Hope Housing, please watch the Zoom Q&A here; Passcode: 1Qq9v?Rw

SEARCH Homeless Services

SEARCH Homeless Services provides hope, creates opportunities, and transforms lives for individuals and families experiencing and recovering from homelessness. SEARCH's SOAR (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery) program works with individuals with physical and/or mental health disabilities to obtain disability benefits through Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Individuals in SEARCH's SOAR program may be currently unsheltered or living in one of SEARCH's housing programs, and often experience difficulty communicating their medical needs and understanding information presented by their medical providers. They are frequently in need of assistance with healthcare access, follow-up, advocacy, and education to help substantiate their disability claims and maximize the benefits of healthcare.

SEARCH's SOAR Program is seeking an ASF Fellow to:

Accompany our SOAR case managers and their clients to scheduled doctor's appointments and consultative exams, serving as a liaison between the client and their physician to coordinate care and advocating to ensure the client is receiving the adequate care they need.
For clients in SEARCH's housing programs, assist Housing case manager with connecting clients to primary care and following up to ensure consistent connection to healthcare in order to establish their eligibility for the SOAR program.
Provide health education to SOAR clients throughout the waiting period of their claim; provide health education to additional clients in SEARCH housing programs.
Assist SOAR and other SEARCH clients with accessing resources and decreasing barriers such as renewing Gold Cards and applying for METROLift.

Email: Please contact Kelly Ward at kward@searchhomeless.org if you have any questions.

This project is best suited for a Fellow who is in graduate school for some type of medical training.

Spring Branch Community Health Center

Spring Branch Community Health Center (SBCHC) is a private, non-profit community health center providing quality, affordable healthcare services to the underserved and uninsured communities of Spring Branch and West Houston. SBCHC was developed to reduce area health disparities by creating a neighborhood-based health center and by providing comprehensive primary health care services that are culturally competent, linguistically appropriate and client-driven in a location easily accessible to public transportation.

Project Idea:

Childhood Nutrition and Wellness
Design an intervention to help caregivers with low literacy levels understand the nutritional goals of their children based on their age and growth curves to ensure proper nutrition from an early age. This can support pediatricians' plan of care related to nutrition guidelines at different developmental stages. Parts of this idea can include:

Developing a method to educate and create behavior change in parents with low literacy and language barriers to become effective in understanding nutrition and wellness risks for their children.
Utilizing a pre-existing and validated tool to measure changes in attitudes and behaviours of caregivers as well as changes in attitudes or behaviours for 5-12 year olds.
Evaluating success of the intervention at 6 months and 12 months, measure improvement of growth curve for children over a 12-month period along with other qualitative indicators that take a holistic approach.

For more information, please contact Bruno Gonzalez at bgonzalez@sbchc.net.

Star of Hope

Star of Hope is a Christ centered community dedicated to meeting the needs of homeless men, women, and their children. Positive life changes are encouraged through structured programs which focus on spiritual growth, education, employment, life management, and recovery from substance abuse. They are funded through public and private donations, churches, civic/community groups, corporations, grants, and foundations. In addition, they are assisted by more than 7,300 volunteers.

Star of Hope Programs is seeking an ASF Fellow(s) to:

Identify the top 3 health concerns for residents residing at their Men's Development Center (MDC) and the Women and Family Development Center (WFDC) facilities through quantitative and qualitative methods.
Develop a minimum of (5) one-hour workshops that would bring awareness to those affected by the top 3 health conditions identified at MDC and the WFDC.
Evaluate the effectiveness of workshops through both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Plan, coordinate, and implement quarterly health fairs at each of Star of Hope facilities which include individuals from the following locations:
- Star of Hope Mission (Administration)
- Men Development Center (MDC)
- Women & Family Development Center (WFDC)
Work with program staff to prepare a paper for publication on the health disparities and common health conditions of those served by Star of Hope.

For all inquiries please contact: John Cooks at (713) 440-5346 or jcooks@sohmission.org, or Dr. Michelle Alexander, VP of Programs, at malexander@sohmission.org.

Tony's Place

Tony’s Place supports and empowers LGBTQ+ youth under the age of 25. Tony’s Place serves as a much-needed refuge and safe space for LGBTQ+ youth in the Greater Houston community. They do this by providing youth with safe access to survival resources including food, clothing, hygiene supplies, and laundry services. When homeless or unstably housed LGBTQ+ youth are able to fulfill their basic needs like food and clothing, only then are they are able to really focus on finding a way out of homelessness and address mental health concerns. LGBTQ+ youth in crisis are at much higher risk of having poor mental and physical health outcomes. Tony’s Place is often the only place they can go to find free, consistent access to the care they need.

They affirm and empower LGBTQ+ youth through after school programming, support groups and activities. As more policies are put in place to limit LGBTQ+ youths’ access to social support groups, Tony’s Place is actively working to fill that gap for high school and college-age queer youth to engage with one another in a safe space. With programs like their art series, they are able to provide access to empowering methods of self-expression, and to a supportive community.

And finally, Tony’s Place provides education about the queer youth they serve by partnering and collaborating with other LGBTQ+ organizations, charities and businesses. By participating in local initiatives like Pride celebrations and LGBTQ+ campus events, they are able to generate a greater network of resources for our youth and grow awareness of their needs. Through educational presentations, their organization is able to advocate for our LGBTQ+ youth and effect important change in our society towards greater equity for queer individuals.

Some project ideas include:

Developing engagement strategies and operationalizing a plan to engage LGBTQ+ youth who could benefit from Tony’s Place services but may are not connected to schools, institutions of higher learning, or current community services.
Developing a plan to increase high school youth participation in Tony’s Place programs and services.
Developing and implementing support groups specifically for trans youth of color, queer youth, and questioning youth.

YES Prep Public Schools

With over 18,000 college-bound students across 20+ campuses, they are a system of high-performing public charter schools proving that students from underserved communities can achieve at the highest academic levels. Their exceptional results demonstrate that better outcomes are not only possible, but also probable, when school systems build a culture of high expectations, and create effective support systems to ensure that student achievement is at the forefront of every decision made. YES Prep Public Schools empowers all Houston students to succeed in college and to pursue lives of opportunity. They commit to providing supports and services that meet the holistic needs of all students. They have 7 projects at YES Prep this year and are excited to continue to build projects!

If you are interested in doing a project with YES Prep, please reach out to Nichole Hoang at nichole.hoang@asfhg.org for more information.