Houston’s Hidden Crisis: Why Connection Must Become a Civic Priority

Houston’s Hidden Crisis: Why Connection Must Become a Civic Priority

As a teenager growing up in a working-class neighborhood in southeast Houston, Mireya Corona would sometimes sneak into her local YMCA when the front desk staff was distracted taking a call or helping a member.

It wasn’t a desire to play basketball or use the pool that prompted these visits, but a deep yearning to feel connected with others.

“I lived with loving parents who would do everything they could for me, but I didn’t know who to turn to. Many of my peers at school and in my neighborhood had unfortunately resorted to drugs or gang involvement. I felt so lost and alone,” Mireya recalls.

Unfortunately, a recent study of 5,000 Harris County residents, conducted by Dan Potter and Lauren Dawson at Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, shows that these feelings of isolation and loneliness are widespread across our region.  What’s more, while loneliness is more pronounced among certain groups, such as younger adults and lower-income earners, it spans all ages and income levels.

In some ways, these findings mirror national research, including the U.S. Surgeon General’s 2023 report, “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation”. What makes the Kinder Institute study especially notable is not only that it confirms loneliness as a serious regional challenge, but that it reveals how deeply it affects long-term life outcomes.

Alarmingly, the study found that loneliness, connectedness, and social support are stronger predictors of life satisfaction, sense of purpose, and self-efficacy than race or ethnicity, income, or age. It also revealed that the group reporting the highest levels of loneliness is 18- to 29-year-olds — not older adults, as many might expect — raising concerns that loneliness is increasing across generations.

At her YMCA, Mireya found fellowship and mentorship. The staff and members she built relationships with provided emotional connection and belonging, but also helped shape her life trajectory. “They didn’t just become my friends,” she says. “They gave me guidance and even offered me a part-time job so I could become the first person in my family to finish high school and attend college.”

Today, Mireya no longer needs to sneak into a YMCA to find belonging and support. She now leads one of the largest YMCA centers in Greater Houston where she is committed to expanding opportunities for connection for others.

As the leaders of the American Leadership Forum, the Houston Food Bank, the Kinder Institute, and the YMCA of Greater Houston, we call on our community to help build a Houston where everyone can find connection and belonging.

For this to happen, two things must be true. First, we must raise awareness of why connection and belonging are essential to our region’s vibrancy and create urgency around improving them. Thanks to the Kinder Institute’s research, we now have local data to measure progress. Second, we must intentionally build, support, and expand access to spaces and activities — including community centers, parks, churches, volunteer programs, and affinity groups — where people of diverse backgrounds, ages, and interests can come together.

If we want Houston to be a place where people thrive — economically, socially, and emotionally — we must design a region that makes belonging possible. Individual efforts matter, but collective action is essential. Policymakers, nonprofits, government agencies, businesses, and foundations all have critical roles to play. We have the data, the relationships, and the capacity. Now we must commit to building a Houston where connection is a civic priority — and where every person knows they matter and belong.

On March 23, we will be hosting an event at the Tellepsen Family Downtown YMCA location open to the public where the community can come together to learn more, align efforts, and share ideas around how we can elevate achievement and connection in Houston. Please click HERE to learn more and to register.

Dr. Ruth Lopez Turley – Director of Kinder Institute for Urban Research & ALF Senior Fellow

Nory Angel – President of American Leadership Forum (ALF)  & ALF Senior Fellow

Stephen Ives – CEO of YMCA of Greater Houston & ALF Senior Fellow

Brian Greene – CEO of Houston Food Bank & ALF Senior Fellow