1-1 1 1-2 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1206 1-3 WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is proud to join 1-4 the citizens of Houston in recognizing Mary Jo May and El Centro 1-5 de Corazon for the outstanding efforts put forth in response to 1-6 the needs of the Second Ward in the east end of Houston; and 1-7 WHEREAS, A community-based social service organization 1-8 begun in June of 1994, El Centro de Corazon arose from the heart 1-9 of families concerned for the welfare and development of their 1-10 children; and 1-11 WHEREAS, Mary Jo May, as executive director, plays an 1-12 integral part in identifying the needs as well as in finding the 1-13 ways to resolve the issues that are faced by these families on a 1-14 daily basis; and 1-15 WHEREAS, With the understanding that poverty breeds 1-16 poverty if the cycle is not broken, El Centro de Corazon offers 1-17 the residents of the area ways to break this cycle through the 1-18 use of teaching, listening, learning, and responding; and 1-19 WHEREAS, As a community, the Second Ward faced challenges 1-20 such as a lack of achievement in school, teenage pregnancy, 2-1 substance abuse, and violence; and 2-2 WHEREAS, Responding to these concerns, El Centro de Corazon 2-3 instituted a home visitation approach to better ensure that the 2-4 families have the proper health care, social services, and 2-5 educational support necessary to provide the children with the 2-6 healthy start required to survive in today's world; and 2-7 WHEREAS, El Centro de Corazon supplements its approach 2-8 with additional services ranging from addiction counseling 2-9 to tutoring and mentoring, from maintaining a community garden 2-10 to providing nutritional and health education; giving people the 2-11 opportunity to learn, understand, and become self-sufficient is 2-12 critical to the success of this organization; and 2-13 WHEREAS, New crises arise almost daily in this community, 2-14 and in March of 1998, came the discovery that underage girls 2-15 were being victimized and enticed into the dangerous practice 2-16 of taxi dancing; Mary Jo May was instrumental in bringing this 2-17 to the attention of the public, and she is credited with the 2-18 formation of a coalition to combat this abuse of disadvantaged 2-19 young people; and 2-20 WHEREAS, Seeking a better future for the Second Ward, 2-21 El Centro de Corazon has shown this community how to break down 2-22 the barriers to becoming self-sufficient that otherwise would have 2-23 remained in place; now, therefore, be it 2-24 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 3-1 76th Legislature, hereby commend and salute Mary Jo May 3-2 and El Centro de Corazon for the humanitarian efforts on 3-3 behalf of the families of the Second Ward; and, be it further 3-4 RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared as an 3-5 expression of the esteem and high regard of the Texas Senate. 3-6 Gallegos 3-7 ______________________________________ 3-8 President of the Senate 3-9 I hereby certify that the above 3-10 Resolution was adopted by the Senate 3-11 on May 31, 1999. 3-12 ______________________________________ 3-13 Secretary of the Senate 3-14 ______________________________________ 3-15 Member, Texas Senate