The Coalition for the Homeless as lead agency to The Way Home Continuum of Care (CoC) is working with local governmental entities to advocate on behalf of people experiencing homelessness to ensure their needs are being considered as a cold front approaches our region.

To keep everyone informed, they have created a page about the anticipated winter weather on the Coalition’s website: https://www.homelesshouston.org/winter-weather-alert.

They will use this web page to post and share information about the cold front and resources for people experiencing homelessness as it becomes available. Please check the web page for the latest information.

What's happening with warming centers?

What the Houston Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Harris County OEM are doing:

• The Houston and the Harris County OEMs are monitoring the situation and are coordinating plans for warming centers if the triggers are met for the extreme cold operating guidelines.
• "Extreme cold" is when there is a freeze advisory of two or more days at or below 32 degrees F or a hard freeze warning of below 25 degrees F for two or more hours.
• Houston OEM will make a final determination about whether to open warming centers approximately 48 hours before the anticipated extreme cold event. These centers would implement safety procedures as necessitated by COVID.

We will share information from the Fort Bend County and Montgomery County OEMs as it is made available to us.

Each year, the entire month of February is dedicated to raising awareness about Teen Dating Violence (TDV). This month, which is honored nation-wide, is essentially a call to action to shatter the silence and engage in difficult conversations. While this is a month-long awareness campaign, the second week of the month is TDVAM’s Respect Week. The big day is, Tuesday, February 9, which is known as “Go Orange Day” as orange is the awareness color for TDV! NAM and our Family Violence Center extend an invitation to the community to join us this month in raising awareness about TDV. You can show your support on social media by sharing information about TDV and posting a photo of yourself wearing orange on February 9. Be sure to tag NAM and use the hashtags #NAMGoesOrange, #YouAreNotAloneDV, #tdvam, #teendatingviolence.

Read more about TDV and how schools, parents, and caregivers can talk to teens about healthy and unhealthy relationships in NAM's TDVAM Toolkit (click here or on the image below to download).

Next week, to honor Respect Week, NAM will share short videos, created by our Family Violence Center, for each day of the week covering various topics to get teens inspired by the movement. The videos are short and to the point, but can have lasting impacts. Our hope is that you will visit this website February 8 - 12 to watch the videos and share them each day during Respect Week.

If you would like more information about teen dating violence or our Prevention Education programs please contact our Violence Prevention Educator, Marina Montemayor at [email protected], or our Community Outreach Specialist, Cynthia Butler at [email protected].

Thank you for your continuous support. We really cannot bring about change without you!

If you or someone you know is suffering from domestic violence or abuse, please call NAM's 24 hour Family Violence Center hotline number at 281-885-HOPE (4673).

NAM partnered with CHRISTUS Healthy Living Mobile Clinics on Thursday, August 15, 2019, to provide back to school immunizations for students. The shots were free to children between the ages of 2 months and 18 years old who did not have health insurance, or who have Medicaid or are under-insured.

The CHRISTUS Healthy Living Mobile Clinic was parked in the front area of NAM’s parking lot from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Families started arriving in NAM’s lobby at 8 a.m. to register their child and wait for their name to be called.

Once CHRISTUS left at 1 p.m., those that were not able to receive shots were not turned away. NAM’s Pediatric Health Center handed out coupons to everyone who was left waiting to receive shots for their child. These coupons will allow families to bring their child to NAM’s Pediatric Health Center at any time during business hours to receive all of their immunizations for only $10.

The Pediatric Health Center at NAM provides top-quality primary care for children from birth to age 18, as well as integrated comprehensive healthcare.

As a partnership between NAM and the University of Texas Health Science Center, the Pediatric Health Center care for everyday medical needs of children with or without insurance, including Medicaid and CHIP. But it goes far beyond that to address issues that may be impacting a child’s health, such as financial needs, their home environment, nutrition and exercise, coordination with specialists, or the need for behavioral health therapy.

If you would like to make an appointment for your child to visit the Pediatric Health Center at NAM please call 281-885.4633 or click here for more information regarding the Pediatric Health Center services.

On Friday, February 15, 2019, Northwest Assistance Ministries (NAM) took to social media to ask for donations of meat to fill the empty freezer in its Joanne Watford Nutrition Center (JWNC).  The freezer in the JWMC – a choice food pantry – had become bare that morning and the call to action was immediate.

“As soon as we found out the JWNC ran out of meat we needed to react quickly,“ said Brian Carr, NAM’s Chief Advancement Officer. “We knew the fastest way to get the word out would be on social media,” he explained. “We posted on NAM’s Facebook page asking the community for meat donations and one of our wonderful congregations responded.”

Houston Bishop’s Storehouse of The Church for Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints answered the call for help and delivered 1,600 pounds of various meats of beef, chicken, pork, and turkey to the JWNC on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks to their generosity, the freezer in NAM’s food pantry is no longer empty and clients can take home fresh meat to feed their families. Houston Bishop’s Storehouse of The Church for Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a true representation of NAM’s mission of Neighbors Helping Neighbors.

“We are so grateful to them,” said Debbie Peterson, NAM’s Director of Assistance. “NAM does its best to offer a variety of healthy food options for our clients to choose from,” she continued. “And this donation will help a lot of families and seniors from going hungry.”

The Joanne Watford Nutrition Center is a choice food pantry that operates like a grocery store. Clients choose their own food from designated categories, including fresh produce, meat, dairy and frozen items. During fiscal year 2017-2018, the JWNC provided food for 10,615 individuals. As part of the Senior Food Program, 125 low income seniors received monthly supplemental groceries. In 2017 almost 900 families received Thanksgiving meals and food for a week and in December almost 1000 families received the same for the holidays.

Be sure to follow NAM on Facebook and Twitter.

Northwest Assistance Ministries (NAM) raised over $200,000 during the 2019 NAM Endowment Fund Dinner —an annual event held to raise funds to enhance the financial stability of NAM and to offer security for the future.

The event took place at the Marriott Springwoods Village on Monday, February 4, 2019.  This year, NAM welcomed guest speaker Bart Millard, front man of award-winning Christian group MercyMe.  The iconic song, “I Can Only Imagine” was written solely by Millard and made history in 2014 as it surpassed 2 million digital downloads, making it the first song in Christian music to go platinum and double platinum in the digital domain. The song is also the inspiration behind Millard’s first memoir and the critically acclaimed film of the same name.

The evening started off with a lovely cocktail reception where Bart Millard greeted guests, posed for pictures and signed copies of his book.  After the reception, the program began with an amazing performance of the National Anthem by Halie Cormier, a talented young singer from Copperfield Church.  Later, Millard shared his inspirational story with over 300 guests in attendance and answered questions in an intimate conversation moderated by FOX 26 news anchor Melissa Wilson, who also served as this year’s emcee.

Millard spoke of growing up with an abusive father and his father’s transformation after being diagnosed with cancer and letting Christ into his life.  He talked about how close he and his father became during that time and how he cared for his father during his final days.  He also told the audience how he wrote the song “I Can Only Imagine” in 10 minutes while on his tour bus and the process of turning his song and memoir into a movie.  It was an inspiring and motivating evening for everyone.

Special thanks to this year’s major supporters:  Renée and Danny Rea, Denise and Buddy Bolt, Cindy and Scott Chenoweth, The Engraved Pencil Foundation, Linda and Joe Fowler, Wendy and Jim Fryfogle, Darlis and Tom Fuller, Houston Methodist, Jeannie and Nolan Lehmann, Southwestern Energy, Kroger, and PurePoint Financial. 

Book sponsor Barnes & Noble Champions Village, who were at the event selling Millard’s memoir, MercyMe CDs and “I Can Only Imagine” DVDs, donated 15% of the evening’s proceeds to the NAM Endowment Fund.

Northwest Assistance Ministries is a non-profit, community-based social service agency that strives to meet basic human needs through Neighbors Helping Neighbors. NAM provides assistance in areas such as food, shelter, health, education and domestic violence awareness and intervention. During its last fiscal year, NAM touched the lives of more than 130,000 people through its many programs and services.

NAM ENDOWMENT FUND DINNER RAISES OVER $200,000

HOUSTON— Northwest Assistance Ministries (NAM) raised over $200,000 during the 2019 NAM Endowment Fund Dinner —an annual event held to raise funds to enhance the financial stability of NAM and to offer security for the future.

The event took place at the Marriott Springwoods Village on Monday, February 4, 2019. This year, NAM welcomed guest speaker Bart Millard, front man of award-winning Christian group MercyMe.  The iconic song, “I Can Only Imagine” was written solely by Millard and made history in 2014 as it surpassed 2 million digital downloads, making it the first song in Christian music to go platinum and double platinum in the digital domain. The song is also the inspiration behind Millard’s first memoir and the critically acclaimed film of the same name.

The evening started off with a lovely cocktail reception where Bart Millard greeted guests, posed for pictures and signed copies of his book. After the reception, the program began with an amazing performance of the National Anthem by Halie Cormier, a talented young singer from Copperfield Church.  Later, Millard shared his inspirational story with over 300 guests in attendance and answered questions in an intimate conversation moderated by FOX 26 news anchor Melissa Wilson, who also served as this year’s emcee.

Millard spoke of growing up with an abusive father and his father’s transformation after being diagnosed with cancer and letting Christ into his life. He talked about how close he and his father became during that time and how he cared for his father during his final days.  He also told the audience how he wrote the song “I Can Only Imagine” in 10 minutes while on his tour bus and the process of turning his song and memoir into a movie.  It was an inspiring and motivating evening for everyone.

Special thanks to this year’s major supporters: Renée and Danny Rea, Denise and Buddy Bolt, Cindy and Scott Chenoweth, The Engraved Pencil Foundation, Linda and Joe Fowler, Wendy and Jim Fryfogle, Darlis and Tom Fuller, Houston Methodist, Jeannie and Nolan Lehmann, Southwestern Energy, Kroger, and PurePoint Financial. 

Book sponsor Barnes & Noble Champions Village, who were at the event selling Millard’s memoir, MercyMe CDs and “I Can Only Imagine” DVDs, donated 15% of the evening’s proceeds to the NAM Endowment Fund.

Northwest Assistance Ministries is a non-profit, community-based social service agency that strives to meet basic human needs through Neighbors Helping Neighbors. NAM provides assistance in areas such as food, shelter, health, education and domestic violence awareness and intervention. During its last fiscal year, NAM touched the lives of more than 130,000 people through its many programs and services.

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