Safety lessons start for Houston students before they hit the classroom.

When school starts at the 25 schools and university campuses near or along METRORail, METRO Police Officers and METRO staff will be on several platforms sharing life-saving information with parents and students.

Here are three tips for parents to keep their children safe this school year and save money.

1. Download MPD Connect –  MPD Connect, allows our customers to talk directly to an MPD officer.
2. Attend Community Events – Parents can visit our booth at the Mayor’s Back to School Fest tomorrow, Aug. 12, 2017 at the George R. Brown Convention Center.  METRO staff will be on site issuing METRO Q® Fare Cards and explaining how students can plan a trip.
3. Register for the Summer of Fun Pass – Students who have not yet received the Summer of Fun pass can pick one up at the METRO booth inside the GRB at the Mayor’s Back to School Fest.  The Summer of Fun promotion offers school children free unlimited rides until Sept. 1, 2017.  After the promotion, the card can still be used as a student METRO Q® Fare card and be reloaded at any time.  Students pay half the price of a single trip, which includes Park & Ride routes.

The U.S. Soccer Foundation (The Foundation) recently awarded a $175,000 grant to the Houston Parks and Recreation Department’s Soccer for Success program. Funds will be used to provide field equipment and player kits to 1,500 participants and provide for instruction and implementation of the program. The program is available to youth ages 6 – 14 at 24 school and park sites and one Boys and Girls Club location.

“Houston has an avid base of soccer players and fans, and Soccer for Success is a very popular youth recreation program here,” said Steve Wright, Director, Houston Parks and Recreation Department. “We thank the U.S. Soccer Foundation for its continued support and dedication to improving the lives of Houston’s youth.”

Soccer for Success is a free, sports-based youth development program that uses soccer as a tool to improve the health and behavioral outcomes for children. The program provides after school activities, including soccer and nutrition education, in a safe after-school environment.

H.P.A.R.D.’s Soccer for Success program is a timely adjunct to Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Complete Communities Initiative, a new program designed to improve the quality of life in five targeted areas: Acres Homes, Gulfton, Second Ward, Near Northside, and Third Ward. The Soccer for Success program at Benavidez Elementary School, Jefferson Elementary School, Burnett-Bayland Park and Moody Park will benefit children living in Complete Communities neighborhoods.

The U.S. Soccer Foundation is the major charitable arm of soccer in the United States. Soccer for Success is a partnership program between H.P.A.R.D., the Foundation, and Houston, Aldine, and Spring Branch Independent School Districts’ schools. Additional grants to support the program have been provided by the U.S. Family Health Plan, South Texas Youth Soccer Association, and the George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation.

About the Houston Parks and Recreation Department
The Houston Parks and Recreation Department (H.P.A.R.D.) stewards and manages over 37,851 acres of parkland and greenspace for the City of Houston and develops and implements recreational programming for citizens of all abilities. For more information on the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, call (832) 395-7022 or visit www.houstont.gov/parks.

HOUSTON (AP) — Three city employees and their spouses who are concerned that Houston could be forced to stop paying benefits to same-sex spouses due to an ongoing civil case on Thursday sued the city, asking for a court order to stop any such action.

The employees’ lawsuit, filed in federal court, comes after the all-Republican state Supreme Court in June overturned a lower court’s decision favoring same-sex marriage benefits and ordered the case back to a civil court in Harris County, where Houston is located.

After the Supreme Court’s decision, the conservative activists who had initially sued Houston filed a motion seeking an injunction that would block the city from paying same-sex spousal benefits to its municipal employees while the case goes to trial. The activists also asked that any such benefits that have already been given be paid back by employees.
Kenneth Upton, an attorney for the three city employees and their spouses, said his clients and others who have received benefits for their same-sex spouses would be greatly harmed if they lost access to health insurance, disability and other benefits and also if they were forced to pay back such benefits.

One of the employees suing is a Houston police officer who is worried that if she is hurt or killed in the line of duty, her wife would not be entitled to the same benefits that the spouses of other police officers would have access to, said Upton, a Dallas-based attorney for Lambda Legal.

“It really is a terrible threat to people who are just trying to serve the city and do their job,” he said.

Alan Bernstein, a spokesman for Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, said in a statement the city, as does the state of Texas, offers employees coverage for all legally married spouses without regard to sex.

“As Mayor Sylvester Turner said in June, ‘The city of Houston will continue to be an inclusive city that respects the legal marriages of all employees. Marriage equality is the law of the land, and everyone is entitled to the full benefits of marriage, regardless of the gender of their spouse,'” Bernstein said.

But the mayor might not have a choice if ordered by a judge to stop paying them, Upton said.
“The city is caught in the middle,” he said.
Upton said he expects the Harris County civil court judge will grant the motion for an injunction blocking the payment of benefits because the judge has granted similar requests twice before.

Also named in Thursday’s lawsuit are the two Houston residents who initially filed the lawsuit in 2013 asking that the city stop paying such benefits and who were backed by a coalition of religious and socially conservative groups. Jared Woodfill, their attorney, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.

Social conservatives hope the case will help them chip away at the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 landmark ruling legalizing gay marriage.

The Texas Supreme Court’s decision in June didn’t block same-sex spousal benefits but said the U.S. Supreme Court decision did not decide the issue.

The groups suing also called the case a chance for Texas to defend religious liberty. Texas voters approved a gay marriage ban in 2005.

Upton said he is confident a federal judge will side with his clients because he believes the U.S. Supreme Court has already spoken on the rights that same sex couples are entitled to when they’re legally married.

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among African American women, due to factors such as late diagnosis and long intervals between mammograms. Of even more concern is the fact that the mortality rate from breast cancer is 40% higher in African American women than Caucasian. Awareness and access are key to impact these alarming statistics and the reason behind The Rose’s Annual Pastors and Community Summit.

The Summit is a collaborative event inviting faith leaders and the public to come together and learn how they can help change breast cancer outcomes for women of color. It will be held on August 31, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, in the 3rd Floor Conference Room of The Rose Galleria. The address is 5420 West Loop South, Bellaire, TX 77401.

Houston faith leaders— including pastors, First Ladies, and health ministry representatives—will learn effective ways to promote breast healthcare among churchgoers and share success stories.

“Out of the 845 uninsured African American patients we served last year, 23 were diagnosed with breast cancer and the youngest patient was just 38 years old,” said Dorothy Gibbons, CEO and Co-founder of The Rose. “Events like this help us reach more women and remind them that someone is on their side.”

The mission of The Rose is to save lives through quality breast health services, advocacy, and access to care for all. The Annual Pastors and Community Summit will be held in partnership with several Community Supporters including: Bee Busy Wellness Center, Body of Faith, Dee Coleman/State Farm, The Fort Bend Church, Garden Oaks Church of Christ, Greater Grace Outreach Church, the Greater Houston African American Chamber of Commerce, Houston Health Museum, Houston Museum of African American Culture, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and New Beginning Church.

For additional information and to schedule interviews, please contact Ashley Small at Ashley@medley-inc.com or at (281)-827-3419.

About The Rose

Since 1986, The Rose has provided high quality breast healthcare to all women, regardless of their ability to pay. Their mission is to save lives through quality breast health services, advocacy and access to care for all. As a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence, The Rose is one of only 14 Breast Centers in the greater Houston area to receive this designation. Led by Fellowship trained physicians, The Rose’s advanced digital technology includes 3-D tomosynthesis mammography and diagnostic work-ups including biopsies. The Rose’s nationally recognized Patient Navigation Program ensures access to treatment and a continuum of care for all women. As the leading nonprofit breast health organization in Texas, The Rose is  a major part of the Healthcare Safety Net and a strong advocate for quality breast healthcare, serving 40,000 insured and uninsured women annually. The Rose includes two Houston based comprehensive Diagnostic Centers and a fleet of Mobile Mammography Vans that provide services to women throughout 35 counties in Southeast Texas. For more information, please visit www.therose.org.