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Health & Human Services’ Marivel Castro, senior clerk, standing, and Sally Flores, senior public health investigator, interview a Near Northside resident during an Assessment, Intervention and Mobilization project. Photo by Porfirio Villarreal

By Dave Schafer

Residents of Clinton Park, Fidelity and Clinton View wanted a health clinic, so Health & Human Services Director Stephen Williams sent employees to do door-to-door assessments.

They found residents didn’t need a clinic; they needed help finding community resources.

This first-person, eye-opening experience inspired Williams to create the Assessment, Intervention and Mobilization Initiative. AIM evaluates the needs of residents in underserved neighborhoods and links them to health and other services.

“It’s one thing to sit in an office and wait for the community to come to you, assuming they know where you are and what you do, and that they’re comfortable discussing the issues in our setting,” Williams said. “We have a responsibility in government to keep in touch with the people we work for.”

Mayor Bill White understands that. Now, the city is using cutting-edge initiatives like AIM to improve life for all residents, including those with disabilities and the elderly.

Making the city accessible
On Feb. 14, the National Organization on Disability awarded Houston the 2007, $25,000 Accessible America Award. “Houston, the most accessible city in America, is a national model for its focus on disability issues and accessible design of programs, services and facilities,” the organization stated.

“The city exemplifies a community that has enriched its civic life by the full participation of citizens with disabilities,” said Tom Ridge, NOD chairman.

Houston scored big points for including people with disabilities in its decision-making about issues that affect the disabled community, said Michelle

Colvard, executive director of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities.

That office and the Houston Commission on Disability were created by ordinance in 1993. Both make Houston more accessible by removing physical and attitudinal barriers, said Colvard, who wrote the city’s 13-page application.

People who have disabilities commonly call Colvard’s office with three issues: housing, employment and transportation. The city also focuses on parking and recreation, she said.

“The city has an opportunity to ensure the public understands and thinks about issues concerning people with disabilities,” said Colvard.

NOD cited seven examples of inclusiveness in the city. (See Exemplary efforts box.) Those don’t include newer initiatives, like meeting with other cities in Austin to discuss the concerns of people with disabilities. Then, Colvard, who was born with spina bifida, and Liliana Rambo, General Services assistant director for parking management, spoke to legislators about how handicap-placard abuse is handled and penalized.

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