Councilman Mario Castillo unveils Resilient H, a District H neighborhood resiliency initiative

Councilman Mario Castillo announced Resilient H, an initiative aimed at improving neighborhood-level resiliency across District H by combining volunteer action, city department support and corporate contributions.

"Resilient H is an initiative that I've put together that is meant to improve the resiliency of neighborhoods throughout District H and improve the district's ability to withstand the weather events that we are seeing happen year after year after year," Castillo said, describing a program of tree plantings, rain barrels and voluntary home weatherization such as pipe wrapping, attic insulation and air-conditioner tuning.

Castillo said the first neighborhood event will take place the weekend of Nov. 15 in the Near North Side and invited residents to sign up through his office: districth@houstontx.gov. He said city departments including the parks department and Houston Public Works would play key roles and that corporations and volunteers would help fund and staff work on the ground.

"When you think about where the money comes from on our city financial challenges, this is corporations stepping up to support this effort. This is people stepping up to volunteer," Castillo said.

City staff and volunteer organizers will collect sign-ups for trees, rain barrels and weatherization assistance; Castillo emphasized the program is neighborhood focused and relies on partnerships rather than a single-city appropriation. The council member framed Resilient H as a mix of volunteer, corporate and departmental effort to increase local preparedness ahead of recurring weather events.

Castillo's office provided an email on air for residents interested in receiving services or volunteering. The program schedule and details were described on the program segment; implementation details such as final budgets, exact department assignments and long-term funding sources were not specified in the segment.