Reflecting on an independent study of the long-term job training program on which Capital IDEA-Houston is modeled, Houston Chronicle business columnist Chris Tomlinson writes that: 

"Programs to train low-skilled, underemployed adults to move up the economic ladder are notoriously ineffective, but Project Quest in San Antonio has hit on a formula with a now-proven track record....

In a nine-year longitudinal study, Project Quest participants made more money, obtained more skills and worked more hours than a demographically-identical control group."

Marc Elliott, CEO of Economic Mobility Corp, asserts that “to see earning differences this large and for this long is unprecedented in the workforce development field.”  Economic Mobility is the organization that conducted the nine-year evaluation.

Capital IDEA-Houston, which was established by TMO, is modeled on Project QUEST.   In right-side photos above, trainees learn to conduct PERRLA evaluations and cradle newborns.  [Photo Credit: Jerry Lara, San Antonio Express-News]

San Antonio Program Moves Low-Skilled into Middle Class, Houston Chronicle [pdf]

Nine Year Gains: Project QUEST's Continuing Impact, Economic Mobility Corporation [pdf]

Rev. Darrell Lewis from The Metropolitan Organization (TMO) and Rev. Olin Knudsen from Dallas Area Interfaith (DAI) testified before the House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services Committee to oppose House Bill 3292.  Both pastors argued that payday loans are immoral and spoke of how predatory loans trap families in their congregations in vicious cycles of debt.

50 TMO leaders joined 250 other Texas IAF leaders at the Capitol to call on state legislators to increase state finance for adult and K-12 education, including the ACE fund. 

After a morning briefing on school finance, the Texas Innovative Career Education (ACE) program and other issues -- including healthcare, payday lending, and infrastructure in the colonias -- leaders were honored for their establishment of noteworthy labor market intermediaries, including Capital IDEA-Houston.  Immediately afterward, they convened on the South Capitol steps.  Legislators representing districts from across the state stood in solidarity with leaders and pledged to continue working for investments in people.  

In photo above, the Rev. Dr. Rhenel Johnson is accompanies by TMO leaders and leaders from sister organizations, including Dallas Area Interfaith (DAI), San Antonio (COPS/Metro), Central Texas / Austin Interfaith,  West Texas Organizing Strategy (WTOS), El Paso's Border Interfaith & EPISO, and the Rio Grande Valley (Valley Interfaith). 

After the press conference, leaders broke out into smaller delegations to meet with legislators representing their geographic regions.     

Organizations Call On State Legislators to Support Adult Education, Univision 62 [Spanish video] 

Piden a Legisladores Texanos Más Fondos Para Apoyar la Educación de Adultos, Univision 62 

Valley Interfaith: State's Share of School Funding Has Dropped From 50% to Barely 36%, Rio Grande Guardian  

Minister Jaqueline Hailey of New Hope Baptist Church and TMO testified with Fr. Miles Brandon of St Julian of Norwich Episcopal Church and Central TX Interfaith on behalf of the Network of Texas IAF Organizations at the Texas House Public Education Committee hearing on school finance.

The Network of Texas IAF Organizations is calling on legislators to 'invest in people' through increased spending on public schools and adult workforce education programs.   

[Excerpts below]

As the state legislature prepares to convene, local clergy and The Metropolitan Organization on Sunday held a gun control vigil at Trinity United Methodist Church. Those present spoke passionately about gun safety policies.

“Despite the fact that we’re supposed to be a first-world country, a civilized nation, a nation of laws, we continue to see the scourge of gun violence in the United States,” said Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo....

David Lyon, senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel, read an opinion piece he wrote for the Houston Chronicle in January of 2013. After every mass shooting in the years since, he has referred to the article and says he could still write it word for word. He eventually published a version for his congregation with blanks instead of the words “Sandy Hook” so that members could fill in the name of the latest disaster.  

“Our purpose here is to stop filling in the blanks and change the narrative,” Lyon said.

For the Rev. Ed Jones, the pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church, the urgency of the vigil that he had been planning for months had been underscored by personal tragedy that very week. 

A family member, 17-year-old Drew Conley, had been shot and killed the Monday before.

[Photo Credit: Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle]

Houstonians Recall Sandy Hook Victims and Push for Gun Law Changes, Houston Chronicle

Legislators on Quest to reform Gun Laws, Houston Chronicle

One day before Thanksgiving, the Houston Chronicle published a letter submitted by TMO clergy Rabbi David Lyon, Rev. Albert Zanetta and Rev. Simón Bautista.  

[Excerpt below]

This past week, many of us sat down with our extended families at Thanksgiving celebrations. As faith leaders, we teach that family is sacred. We are moved to keep families together, so they may thrive together.

The Trump administration has proposed a policy that would force immigrant families to make an impossible choice between caring for their children, parents and grandparents and keeping their family together in the United States. The proposed changes to the 100-year-old “public charge” regulation will make it more difficult for an immigrant to become a legal permanent resident or obtain a visa to visit the United States if he is not wealthy, have a preexisting health condition, or participate in programs that support health, nutrition and housing stability....

Don't Penalize Children for Being Poor, Especially After Harvey, Houston Chronicle [pdf] 

Push Back Against Proposed Changes to 'Public Charge', TMO

TMO leaders knocked on hundreds of doors and contacted thousands of voters by phone through organized Get Out The Vote walks and phone banks around their churches in Houston, Cypress, and Pasadena.  While 63% more people voted in Texas this year, targeted precincts far outperformed the statewide average.  In one targeted Cypress precinct, leaders called hundreds of voters and voter turnout increased by 95.65%. In another targeted precinct, in Pasadena, leaders called hundreds of voters and turnout increased by 117.65%!

In advance of the fall midterm elections, TMO leaders gathered and publicly challenged candidates running for office to, if elected, commit to working with them on immigration, job training, expansion of health care, flooding mitigation and Harvey Rebuilding, public education, college debt, and payday lending.  Participating candidates publicly stated their stance on these issues and made commitments to TMO leaders to support and/or craft policy in these areas.

Candidates challenged included U.S. Rep. District 29 Phillip Aronoff (R) and Sylvia Garcia (D), Harris County Commissioner Precinct 2 Adrian Garcia (D), Harris County Judge Ed Emmett (R) and Lina Hidalgo (D); Texas Senate District 17 Rita Lucido (D), House District 133 Marty Schexnayder (D), House District 135 Jon Rosenthal (D), and House District 144 Mary Ann Perez (D).

After the assemblies, leaders organized neighborhood walks and phone banks through which they knocked on hundreds of doors in targeted districts and contacted thousands of voters by phone.

In response to the tragedy in Pittsburgh, Houston religious and TMO leaders stood together in solidarity in support of the Jewish community at a Congregation Beth Israel event.

[Photo Credit: Mark Mulligan / Houston Chronicle]

Houston Interfaith Leaders Urge to Fight Hate with Love and Voting, Houston Chronicle [pdf]

Diversas organizaciones religiosas expresan su apoyo a la comunidad judía tras la masacre en Pittsburgh, Univision 45

Fulfilling a commitment made to TMO earlier this year, Houston Police Chief (and incoming president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association) Art Acevedo publicly urged American Outdoor Brands Corp., formerly Smith & Wesson, to examine its safety practices and standards. 

The joint letter, signed also by Rabbi David Lyon, Senior of Rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel and leader with TMO, and Montgomery Police Chief (and outgoing MCCA president), J. Thomas Manger, was accompanied with a supportive statement by the Do Not Stand Idly By campaign.  Do Not Stand Idly By is a national IAF campaign made up of law enforcement leaders, medical and public health professionals and religious leaders to promote the production and use of smart guns.

[Photo Credit: Bloomberg Business]

Police Chiefs, Clergy to Gunmaker: Cut Shootings by Making Guns Safer, Houston Chronicle

Cops, Priests Urge Smith & Wesson to Make Guns Safer, Bloomberg Business