Heights Magazine

november + december 2020

SHUCKING IN THE PANDEMIC VISIONARY RICK LOWE'S LATEST ENDEAVOR FREEDOM FOR WHOM? TRANSFERRING WEALTH TO HEIRS SAVING GRACE: ONE FAMILY'S FIGHT

bestofheights.com

WORTHWHILE CONVERSATIONS

THREE KEYS FOR A STRANGE WORLD

J. Harold Williams, CPA/PFS, CFP®, and Nick Ibanez, CFP®, discuss the benefits of sound advice for wealth planning in this new “strange” world.

EVERYONE AGREES – 2020 MAKES THIS WORLD LOOK “STRANGE”. WHAT’S THE IMPLICATION FOR WEALTH PLANNING?

The three things we hear from our families are these. Interest rates are virtually zero meaning that traditional “safe” investments are offering no meaningful return. Our retired clients are mostly in a “higher risk” age category from a pandemic context.

Now more home-bound, they see changing spending patterns. They need to re-evaluate budgets and capital sustainability. Also, living through a bitterly partisan election cycle this year leads to a lot of uncertainty about the future economic and investing environment.

SO, MOST COULD BENEFIT FROM SOME SOUND ADVICE TO ADDRESS THESE QUESTIONS. WHAT SHOULD ONE LOOK FOR IN WEALTH ADVICE?

There are three keys. The first key is to find an advisor legally obligated

to look out for your best interest in 100% of your interactions, throughout the relationship. Despite what most people believe, that is still not a legal requirement for the vast majority of the 300,000+ people in the United States who call themselves “financial advisors”. Get that assurance in writing.

YOU SAID THERE WERE THREE…

Seek an advisor with deep experience and solid credentials. Phillip Hamman, CFP®, CFA, who heads our Wealth Planning Committee has often said, “After our firm’s nearly 50 years of working with families, we like saying, ‘This is not our first rodeo!’”. In a complicated world that finds intersections between taxes, investments, risk management and the like, look for an experienced fiduciary advisor who is part of a well-credentialled team that includes CPAs, attorneys, and other similarly designated professionals to collaborate on your advice.

WITH THE RIGHT ADVISOR, ARE PEOPLE LIKELY TO HEAR NEW AND DIFFERENT ADVICE THAN WHAT WAS SAID BEFORE WE ENTERED THIS STRANGE WORLD?

Probably not as different as one might imagine. Good disciplined financial decision-making is a long-term exercise and should not be unduly reactive. That said, we are finding that our advice has to be somewhat adaptable to these newer challenges.

Our team is ready right now to meet, either in-person, or virtually, to discuss the challenges you see in your current world.

For more information, or a copy of our Form ADV, Part II, with all of our disclosures, call Grant Williams at 713 840 1000 or visit www.linscomb-williams.com.

Linscomb & Williams is located at 1400 Post Oak Blvd., Ste. 1000 in Houston, TX For more information call 713 840 1000 or visit www.linscomb-williams.com.

Linscomb & Williams is not an accounting firm.

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november + december 2020 Send comments, thoughts or ideas to intownmagazine@gmail.com

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ON THE COVER 18

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8 PUBLISHER’S LETTER

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RICK LOWE MOVES THE NEEDLE

12-13 FOOD: SHUCKING

IN THE PANDEMIC

1 8-19, 22

SAVING GRACE

20-21

FINANCIAL FOCUS

PRODUCTION

PUBLISHER

M. A. Haines EDITOR

Lisa June

bestofheights.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Lindsay Mowad William Hanover Marene Gustin Evans Attwell Philip Berquist Minnie Payne

Web Design CSS Art & Design Layout & Graphic Design CSS Art & Design

For advertising rates and information: 713.525.8607 intownmagazine@gmail.com Space reservation deadline is 15 days prior to publication.

Graphic Designer Cris Bell Photographer Wells Brown

Intown Magazine is published bi-monthly by SNS Media. Articles are welcome and will be given careful consideration for possible publication. Intown magazine does not assume any responsibility for unsolicited materials. Materials submitted will be returned if accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Box 980757 Houston, TX 77098. You can also e-mail intownmagazine@ gmail.com or call 713.525.8607. Copyright 2020 by Intown magazine. All rights reserved. Content may not be reprinted or reproduced without permission from Intown Magazine.

6 | HEIGHTS | November + December 2020

Home has never been so important.

Does your space fit your life for 2021?

Erica Ann Beyer

Caroline Horsley

Realtor® Associate & HTX Developments Builder Specialist

Buyer Specialist and Realtor® Associate

Whether you are buying or selling, Erica understands that the process can be challenging, complicated, and stressful. Erica strives to make the process as smooth as possible and explains every step along the way so you can make clear and concise decisions throughout the entire process.

Prior to receiving her license, she was in the construction industry for over a decade. Her knowledge in construction coupled with her Real Estate experiences gives her a uniquely nuanced platform for her clients. Erica currently resides with her family in the Oak Forest area.

ING M COSOON

Caroline has enjoyed living in Spring Branch for the last twenty years. Caroline previously worked in property management at a high-end community in the River Oaks area. She then made the choice to realize her dream of becoming a licensed real estate agent. Caroline’s experience includes extensive remodeling in a management position including the office, models, and choosing finishes for the entire high-end River Oaks community.

She has become very familiar with the Spring Branch area as a marathon runner and is always willing to go the extra mile for her clients.

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Publisher’s Letter

Freedom For Whom raditional Broadcasters and publishers have always taken extraordinary measures to get it right. If they don't, they run the risk of being sued.

Accuracy and credibility with readers and listeners have been fundamental.

Advertisers demand it. The fact is social media does not play by the same rules. Let me explain.

My first venture as an entrepreneur was when a friend had called and asked if I wanted to form a company to bid on publishing the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau's Houston Visitors Guide. We won the bid and published 250,000 copies in English and Spanish. We were soon sued by Walt Disney Corp who wanted us to reprint the edition due to an error referring to the newly minted NASA Space Center as Disney-owned rather than Disney-designed Space Center.

The city and the Bureau were very concerned, but luckily, my mother instructed me to hire a reputable attorney before starting my company. My attorney was Fulbright & Jaworski, who informed the Disney Corp that according to the law, we had not willfully created any damages and were not obligated to do a massive reprint, which could have bankrupted us. Fast forward 25 years, and look where we are now. In the internet world, you would take it down. Facebook or Twitter posts articles with many falsities and mistakes and is not held liable.

Internet companies don't adhere to the same standards due to a Provision of the 1996 Communication Decency Act, which protects freedom of expression and innovation on the internet. Is this the kind of freedom we were looking for when they passed this law? I don't think so. Publishing false, misleading, and dangerous posts cannot open them to lawsuits due to these protections. Many are questioning this protection, and companies are increasingly scrutinizing advertising in that environment. Twitter and, to a certain extent, Facebook have started monitoring their posts for harmful or threatening content, but the law still protects them. This law makes traditional news outlets more reliable and accurate, but it is not an even playing field.

Is your freedom trampled on or protected by the 230 code?

The other form of freedom is the freedom of protection from others with COVID. I fully intend to protect others from me, possibly spreading the virus to others and making them very sick. I also expect the same in return when walking around in public during this pandemic. Until we have a vaccine, there is no way to protect the spread without masks or social distancing. This disease will continue to spread and infect people and affect our schools and workplace. It may be infringing on the freedom of others not to wear a mask or social distance by the simple fact of not knowing if you are contagious or not.

8 | HEIGHTS | November + December 2020

Val Arbona

REALTOR, CLHMS, CRS

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David Michael Young Broker Associate, CLHMS, CNE, GREEN

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Beverly Smith

CLHMS Lake Conroe Specialist

Coldwell Banker Realty

(713) 569-2113 www.lakeconroebeverlysmith.com

10 Magnolia Woods | Deer Ridge Estates

265 Promenade St. E | Lake Conroe

Grand 12,708 SF estate on 3.85 acre lot in guard gated Deer Ridge Estates with guest house and pool house. Backyard playground features a large pool, secluded hot tub, many covered patios, 2 outdoor kitchens, fountains, fire pits, palapas and walking trail through the woods.

David M. Young | Compass RE Texas | 713-320-6453

Open water paradise in the exclusive Estates of Bentwater. Light & bright with water views from natural light throughout the home. Open concept chief 's kitchen comes with all stainless steel appliances and granite. Private balconies off four bedrooms.

The outside living area has lush landscaping, vanishing edge pool/spa, and outdoor kitchen creates a resort-style living along with a covered boat dock and 4 jet ski lifts.

Beverly Smith | Coldwell Banker Realty | 713-569-2113

List Price $3,500,000 | MLS #50130592

List Price $2,200,000 | MLS #81793985

Th e G r e at e r H o u s t o n L u x u ry H o m e C o n n e c t i o n w w w. g r e a t e r h o u s t o n l u x u r y. c o m

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CRS, ABR Founding Member KW Luxury

James Selig

Broker Associate, CLHMS, CRS

Keller Williams Realty Metropolitan

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Keller Williams Realty Memorial (409) 256-1274 www.GreaterHouston LuxuryRealEstate.com

Lisa Fay

CLHMS, GRI, ABR, The Woodlands Specialist

Coldwell Banker Realty (832) 447-7718 lisafayrealestate.net

Marilyn Arendt Broker - Owner

Marilyn Arendt Properties (281) 433-9113 mma@castle2sell.com

Dan Monson

Branch Manager/ Mortgage Banker/NMLS 302692

Sente Mortgage

(713) 480-1061 dan.monson@sentemortgage.com

Debbie Strudler

Broker, ABR, CNE, CLHMS, GRI

Debbie Strudler Fine Properties, LLC

Joanne Naponic Broker/Owner

Naponic Properties

(713) 515-3805 JoanneNaponicProperties.com

Michelle Hinton

RealtorÂŽ, CRS, MCNE, CLHMS

(713) 254-2806 www.dstrudlerhomes.com

Compass Real Estate

(832) 795-2246 www.hintonhometeam.com

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Elegant Contemporary Estate custom home situated on a 2+ acre private lot. Completed in 2011 with open floor plan and vaulted & coffered high ceilings. Entry has a steel door and walls of windows. Kitchen includes custom cabinetry, a Viking range w/double ovens. All bedrooms en-suite and walk-in closets. Lot has well for lawn & fruit trees.

Lisa Fay | Coldwell Banker Realty | 832-447-7718

Sophisticated design by Winfrey Design Build.This 5,272 SF home features soaring 11' ceilings, reclaimed Arkansas barn wood, first-floor study/casita, and climatized Cava for 294+ bottles of wine. Professional lighting, gourmet kitchen,quartz countertops and 3 Car Garage. New pool with spa, outdoor kitchen, and walk to Highland Village.

Mariana Saldana | Keller Williams Realty | 832-338-4040

List Price $1,720,000 | MLS #86140461

List Price $1,950,000 | MLS #52003275

Real Estate Professionals Serving the Houston Luxury Home Community w w w. g r e a t e r h o u s t o n l u x u r y. c o m

Dan Monson Mortgage Banker | NMLS# 302692

713.480.1061

dan.monson@sentemortgage.com

Ken Jacobson

CMPS NMLS# 215044 Branch Manager

Republic State Mortgage (281) 369-5535 www.kenjacobson.com

Genevieve Rowland

REALTOR, MCNE, CLHMS Multimillion Dollar Producer, ILHM

Keller Williams Memorial

(281) 904-7014 www.rowland-properties.com

Mariana Saldana

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List Price $835,000 | MLS #56369829

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Immaculate custom home with clean, modern finishes in Upper Kirby with 4 bedrooms and large, versatile open living areas on the second floor. Located on coveted horseshoe shaped street (no thru traffic), which provides a neighborhood feel in the Inner Loop. Very lightly lived in, well maintained. Balconies with western views and large patio for outdoor enjoyment. Elevator capable. Security, cameras, Control 4/Russound whole house sound system.

David M. Young | Compass RE Texas | 713-320-6453

10038 Briar Drive | Briargrove Park List Price $1,050,000 | MLS # 88024987

Nothing compares to this Magnificent Modern Masterpiece. A sanctuary tucked away in sought-after neighborhood Completely remodeled home with a custom iron entrance, soaring ceilings, and a deck & pool viewed through the 17' glass expanse doors. Your Castle Awaits!

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By Marene Gustin

W

$65

hen the old Chelsea Market was sold and torn last year, for yet another high-rise apartment building, the popular Danton’s Gulf Coast Seafood had to find a new home. And what a wonderful new home they found in the old Mockingbird Bistro spot in River Oaks.

Owner Kyle Teas’s wife, an interior decorator, completely redid the interior, and with a new name— after his father—and updated menu, Eugene’s Gulf Coast Cuisine was born.

“We opened in late October,” Teas recalls, “and things were going really well. Business was better than I expected and then March 12 happened.”

That was when the city and county decided to lock down businesses to try to slow the pandemic. Amid the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 spreading rapidly, getting fresh shucked oysters did not seem as important as it once had.

“We reopened in June for takeout,” Teas says. Now, the restaurant is back, with indoor dining at 75 percent.

“It was hard but I got PPP funding,” he says referring to the Paycheck Protection Program from the Small Business Administration. By the time he reopened he was able to bring a lot of his staff back, although he says some had health fears and didn’t want to come back to work.

“I’ve had some new hires,” Teas says, “and I’d like to have more. But, I’m very proud of the team we have right now.” He’s also very proud of his supportive customer base, many from his long years at Danton’s.

Teas is a native Houstonian, who grew up eating Gulf Coast seafood. Of course, Eugene’s has a little something for everyone on the menu. Inspired soups and salads for small appetites, and a 14-ounce certified Angus ribeye fire-grilled over oak and hickory, for hardy eaters. Chicken lovers can nosh on a pecan-crusted chicken breast with white wine, lemon and caper sauce.

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RAGIN-CAJUN.COM 4302 RICHMOND AVE 713.623.6321 12 | HEIGHTS | November + December 2020

Stuffed Redfish Jumbo lump topping

COVER

STORY

Shucking Pandemic IN THE

Eugene’s Gulf Coast Cuisine Cajun-style Gulf Coast Goodness is Back And, there’s even some pasta dishes. But, let’s face it; the reason to come here is for the daily fresh seafood.

From the delicious broiled redfish stuffed with blue crab claw stuffing to the blackened catfish enchiladas, the seafood is always fresh and always inspired.

Even if it’s not Saturday brunch, you’ll want to try the gulf shrimp wrapped in bacon over cheese grits with a side of boudin balls, the Cajun sausage balls that are so popular.

But, let’s not forget the oysters. Fresh, big, sweet oysters from the Gulf Coast, not those dainty little briny ones from New England. And, Eugene’s likely has one of the largest oyster menus around.

For the purist, get the oysters on the half shell. Fresh, cold, raw oysters with a spicy house made horseradish dollop on top. A dozen make the perfect meal, low in fat but high in the good omega 3 fatty acids and zinc. If you’re not into raw, try the Oysters Kyle, sautéed in lemon garlic butter with green onions, herbs and spices. Served with parmesan bread for sopping up that sauce. Or Oysters Montrose, six fresh shucked oysters laced with garlic butter and topped with jum-

bo lump crab, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and spice, baked to perfection.

And, what could be better this holiday season than the classic Oysters Rockefeller, the king of oyster dishes dating back to 1899 and created at Antoine’s in New Orleans. Here, the dish consists or six fresh shucked oysters topped with spinach, shallots, Pernot, lemon, garlic, breadcrumbs and Monterey Jack cheeses, perfectly baked.

Oh, and then there’s a baked version topped with house made tasso, a hunk of shoulder pork heavily seasoned with Cajun spices and smoked until crispy and delicious. And, it creates a party in your mouth with the juicy oysters. If you’re a fan of Texas’s own Tito’s vodka you’ll want to try the Buffalo Bayou, an oyster shooter layered with cocktail sauce, Worcestershire, Tabasco, horseradish, and fresh squeezed lemon juice topped with ice cold Tito’s vodka.

Teas’s favorites? “I guess our daily fresh fish and oysters,” he says. And, that’s probably why he’s so optimistic about surviving in a pandemic, because his customers love that Gulf Coast seafood, too.

Eugene’s Gulf Coast Seafood 1985 Welch Street 713.807.8883 Eugeneshouston.com

November + December 2020

| HEIGHTS | 13

Rick Lowe Moves the Needle on Community Support and Art

By Virginia Billeaud Anderson

A

Rick Lowe portrait by Ernesto Leon. Rick Lowe facebook Project Row Houses campus with Houston skyline. National Endowment for the Arts website 2013. Project Row Houses facebook

ny way you look at it, the MacArthur Foundation’s $625,000 is an eye-popping award. Houston artist Rick Lowe (b. 1961) said he was “completely floored” when he received it in 2014. One year before, President Obama appointed Lowe to the National Arts Council which advises the National Endowment for the Arts. These and a myriad of other honors befell Lowe for transforming 22 abandoned row houses in Houston’s Third Ward into the nonprofit Project Row Houses (PRH.) The organization hosts art exhibitions and residencies, education, a young mothers’ residential program, and a business incubation program. As gentrification pushes out low income residents, PRH punches back by purchasing, renovating, and leasing out at affordable prices. It partners with owners to preserve and make affordable historical properties.

Shyriaka Morris’ participation in PRH’s young mothers’ residential program helped her earn a doctorate. Others landed law degrees. Last month when the Ford Foundation forked over $3.5 million, it called PRH “a cultural treasure.”

“If you think about it, Rick sacrificed his career during that time.” Artists Floyd Newsum and Bert Samples are discussing the cradle days of PRH in an interview with Maria Gaztambide. In 1993, Rick Lowe, James Bettison, Bert Long, Jr., Jesse Lott, Floyd Newsum, Bert Samples, and George Smith tossed around ideas about an exhibition venue that would positively impact Houston’s African American communities. Lowe believed the row houses served their purpose. Samples recalled arguments. “Rick was the catalyst, had swell ideas, and Jesse was what I would call on the basketball court, the enforcer, holding Rick accountable for what he’s gonna accomplish, and he wasn’t just challenging Rick, he was challenging all of us. That was where I think we first saw ourselves as a group, not knowing what we were gonna do,” yet committed.

Newsum recalled nasty dirty work. While removing debris under a row house, his clothes got covered with black specs, “they were fleas,” but he figured fleas were better than discarded drug needles. “This institution brought the whole community, the city, from River Oaks, to Memorial, wherever, every race, class came together to help us, to unify, to transform this area. It was Rick who really was the force, if it had not been for Rick, PRH would not be what it is.”

One imagines their early discussions helped Lowe communicate his vision. And primed him to collaborate with volunteers, donors, grant writers, foundations, ultimately a professional staff.

Factor in innate talent to chat-up others. The middle child in a large family learns to maneuver.

14 | HEIGHTS | November + December 2020

Left, Rick Lowe, Art League Installation shot, Untitled, 2020, acrylic and paper collage on canvas, 96 x 180 in. (10 panels). Art League facebook. Right, Rick Lowe, Untitled (orange), 2020, acrylic and paper collage on canvas, 72 x 60 in. Loan to Art League, Courtesy of the Artist & Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston, TX

Throughout, he considered PRH part of his artistic practice. This fits comfortably within the post-modern era’s broader definitions of art (which idiotically included body functions.)

Lowe’s expanded definition rests on community engagement and revitalization. He extrapolated from German artist Joseph Beuys’ idea of art as participatory activities that shaped the world around us, which Beuys labeled “social sculpture.” Lowe applied social sculpture to the community. He said artists like him who enhance communities are pioneers, for expanding notions what art can be. The New York Times agreed. It la-

beled PRH the most original and ambitious work of art of the past century.

An additional factor set Lowe on his path. Disillusioned with the politically loud figurative art he was making, in 1992 he closed his studio and searched for authentic expression. It resonated that row houses, an architectural form rooted in Africa, held iconographic weight in his teacher Texas Southern University Dr. John Biggers’s paintings. Doc Biggers imbued row houses with “beauty, poetry, inspiration.” Third Ward row houses, he figured, offered a chance to merge activism and art.

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| HEIGHTS | 15

Rick Lowe Portrait by Ernesto Leon. Rick Lowe Instagram

16 | HEIGHTS | November + December 2020

Is his rural Alabama family proud of his accomplishments? “Art stuff” doesn’t interest them, they’d be more impressed if he was helping to pick peas and okra.

Once a year, Art League Houston exhibits its “Artist of the Year.” The art he is showing, Lowe said, derives from domino games he plays with Jesse Lott at PRH, their battles ratcheted up with noisy bluffing and table clattering. Their games have “physicality.” After handing the castle’s keys to PRH staff in 2018,

he began to sketch domino patterns as starting points for artworks. He didn’t abandon community engaged art, there’s a project in Tulsa and Athens Greece, more coming, as well as prestigious fellowships and teaching at the University of Houston. In the studio though he’s cranking out aesthetically elevated paintings and drawings concerned with formal properties of color and form.

It’s takes guts to use pink. Lowe renders it seductive by offsetting cooler tones. His handling of collage texture is wicked, painting surfaces have smoothness and tactility in equal measure. Don’t plop yourself at Art League’s door like I did, it’s locked for the virus, but the online appointment process is totally painless. Soon I was gawking at an orgy of color in the exhibition “Rick Lowe: New Paintings & Drawings” through April 24, 2021.

My instinct tells me the domino shapes in the supposedly non-referential abstractions are a soft-core reference to community. Lowe likened the patterns to neighborhood maps. It’s not farfetched to associate them with the urban planning concept of “red lining” in which banks and mortgage companies penalize low income neighborhoods. Nor, to tie them to the old men who play dominoes under trees, know everybody’s business, and have valuable insight into neighborhood conditions. At this level of social commitment, it’s absurd to make nitpicky distinctions between pleasure driven art and social content art. The entire shebang has spiritual gravity.

In 2009, Lowe overlapped social engagement with photography. Drawn to the photo “Brother in Law” of a spiffed-up dude holding a plate of grilled chicken, I mentioned it in a newspaper article. At the time, I assumed he was a popular Third Ward restaurateur, but later learned Eugene Howard had served over twenty years in prison. His pre-prison dream was to own a restaurant, so Lowe staged him that way. Mirroring the row houses’ shift from connoting blight to positive symbols, Lowe re-branded Howard into a positive symbol.

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One Family’s Fight to Save Their Daughter From Human Trafficking

By Jamie Winston

Part ll in our Series on Houston Prostitution

race grew up in Katy, TX, a once quiet little suburb on Houston’s westside, that attracts new families from all over the country with their many district awards and achievements. Despite the opulence of suburban districts like Katy ISD, trafficking is increasing in suburban areas across the country. Grace’s story starts like so many young girls but took a very dark turn when she turned 18. This story begins with Grace as she made her second attempt to leave the life of Human Sex Trafficking after being trafficked for one year. How it all started, what hurt her the most, and what contributed to her choices. The broken system from the top down has failed Grace, and her family, who are working tirelessly to save her life. This story is about the devastation of being pulled back into the hell that is “the life” and powerless to break the psychological would come. What she didn’t know is that grip that her traffickers had on her. Her story her friends, as a group decision, leaving her should inspire the community and lawmak- waiting for them, sobbing at the park, at her ers to step up and fight to change the broken birthday party, would send the message that system that is stealing the lives of so many of she wasn’t good enough for them anymore because she wasn’t “one of them anymore.” our children.

Grace’s life was pretty standard until she Grace was devastated, and when she returned 12. That was the age that everything turned to school the following Monday, the in her world would change. At 11, Grace was bullying only got worse. Grace told me that a student-athlete, attended church with her story with tears in her eyes and said, “that’s family, and was an honor roll student. She the moment I decided,I would never trust was tall and pretty with dark blonde hair and anyone who says they are my friend”. She beautiful blue eyes, so she did what most shut down emotionally, craving acceptance girls her age do (what all of her friends were but never trusting that it would be genuine. doing) and tried out for cheerleading. That Through junior high and high school Grace year Grace didn’t make the squad but her best continued to play sports, continued to atfriends did. These weren’t just any friends, tend church, but emotionally she continued they had been in girl scouts and YMCA vol- to carry the hurt that her friends had caused leyball with her since kindergarten. She was her that day of her 12th birthday and the disappointed that she didn’t make it, but she years of bullying that followed.

In high school, Grace struggled with the and her friends still had volleyball, which was enough for her. On her 12th birthday, Grace inability to feel confident enough to make invited all of her best friends (now cheerlead- friends. She struggled with her self esteem ers) to her small birthday party at the neigh- and was suffering from depression, and even borhood park. She had a cake, balloons, and had thoughts of suicide. That is also when plans to hang out and play volleyball (because she started hanging out with a couple of that is what they all still had in common). kids similarly situated from a social aspect.

That day is the day that Grace describes as They were smoking pot and drinking, so she the worst day of her life, which is pretty tried it too, and discovered not only how powerful given what she has been through. easy it was to get but also the escape it proSomeone left Grace left sitting at the park vided her from the pain of the bullying and waiting for her “friends” who all said they torment that she had suffered at the hands 18 | HEIGHTS | November + December 2020

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of her once best friends. Drugs and alcohol were her escape, and they allowed her to be someone else. In her own words, she felt like for once; she could be free. During her senior year (now 17 almost 18 years old), she did not want to go to school; she just wanted to be done, so her parents (not wanting her to drop out) compromised and allowed her to participate in a smaller “high school” in the district. It offered an accelerated program to help kids finish school at their own pace, and for most, much faster. The problem was that this small campus connects to the district’s Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP). The JJAEP campus consists of some of the most troubled youth in the community who have committed serious offenses that allowed the district to deem them unsafe to be present at their home campus. While attending her accelerated program, she was around JJAEP students (imagine being at a restaurant when a bus full of prisoners comes to eat). On the shared school bus with one of the JJAEP students, she is invited to hang out and smoke weed.

For the first time since junior high, Grace felt like maybe she could fit in and possibly even have friends who didn’t think she wasn’t good enough. While hanging out with these new kids, under the influence of marijuana, they asked her to try meth for the first time. They convinced her that it was fun and would make her forget all of her problems.

She didn’t want to disappoint or lose her new friends, so she tried it, and she liked it. Over the next several weeks, she started pulling away from her family. Although she continued to go to school and work, she was rapidly spiraling out of control. She spent more and more time with her new friends using drugs and falling further and further into addiction. Soon after, she turned 18 and decided she didn’t want to go home anymore because her parents were “too strict and didn’t want her to use drugs and alcohol”. Grace temporarily stayed with a friend and his mom, but that was short-lived because of her addiction.

She continued to finish school and her parents were trying to work with her, keep her as close as they could, and keep an eye on her.

The police had already told them that because

she was 18, she could leave if she wanted to.

One morning in September, Grace was found sleeping outside her high school by one of her counselors. The counselor consulted with a second counselor and decided to take her into Houston to a homeless shelter near Montrose, which Grace knew nothing about.

This shelter was for homeless teens, and every night there is a lottery drawing for beds. If you draw a bed, you get to sleep inside, and if you don’t, you have to figure it out on the street. It was on a night Grace was sleeping in the cold at a gas station, with nothing but a borrowed hoodie for warmth, when she is approached by a man twice her age. He offers to let her sleep in his hotel room, and out of the cold.

This man would become her “boyfriend” and her first pimp. Grace was an 18-year-old high school senior, who had developed a drug habit, was insecure, and vulnerable. She was the perfect target.

Grace would spend an entire year being trafficked all over Houston, Dallas, Austin, the midwest and the east coast. During that year, Grace filed charges against one of her traffickers. She walked right into a police station and asked for help. They took her report and gave her a cell phone to reach her, the DA accepted the charges, and to date, no arrest has been made, although her trafficker is currently out on bond on a separate traf-

ficking charge. No one offered her services or a way out. Grace went to the hospital numerous times with abdominal pain from damage done to her insides from the months of violent sexual encounters. Each hospital worker knew she was a victim of human trafficking, but instead of getting her services, they handed her a pamphlet. When her parents tried to get mental health warrants, they were told they needed an exact address and time to serve the warrant, which was impossible because they lived out of hotels. They can’t have her involuntarily committed because the law does not recognize addiction or human trafficking as a credible “threat to oneself or others.” As it stands, a person has to express their desire to commit homicide

or suicide to be committed. The system and the law have failed Grace at every turn.

Grace was out of the life of human sex trafficking for 36 days. She spoke very candidly about the pimps who chased her down the street with guns in an attempt to capture her for their stable (the term used to describe a pimps group of girls), serial killers, and rapist that picked her up. This resulted in her jumping from a moving car out of fear that they would kill her. Also, to avoid the rapes, the men with odd fetishes, the abusive men who wanted to hit her, and the addictions fueled it all. Grace was the girl who didn’t need anything from anyone and knew how to take care of herself armed only with a pocket knife for protection. She talked about it all as if she was describing a movie and that it wasn’t her life. Then there was the other side of Grace that still cried when she talked about her 12th birthday party, the bullying, and the sadness over the relationship she had built with that trafficker who gave a teenage girl a warm place to stay on a cold night. As she described the friends she had made on the street with the other girls in the same situation she was in, it clicked. She felt accepted in a way that she hadn’t since she was 11 years old. She felt like no one was judging her, and no one would be disappointed in her because there were no

Continued on page 22

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Financial

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Heir Flow Transferring wealth to the next generation

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or years, you’ve worked hard and made careful decisions about your life and money. With time and some good fortune, you have managed to accumulate, grow and protect valuable assets. Now, you’re ready to shift your focus from acquiring wealth to transferring it to That transition can be challenging—whether your wealth is modest or considerable—because it is rarely as straightforward as dividing assets into equal parts and assigning them uniformly to designated recipients.

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Family counsel

Wealth transfer is likely to involve people who share a history with a lifetime of feelings, assumptions, and expectations to complicate it.

Thought process That is why the most difficult part of Do you believe your heirs are auto- wealth transfer could actually be commatically entitled to your wealth, or do munication: clearly sharing your intenyou expect them to earn it in some way?

20 | HEIGHTS | November + December 2020

By Evans Attwell Senior Vice President Frost Bank

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tions with your heirs long before assets move from one generation to another.

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Continued from page 19

expectations as long as she met her quota. She had formed a new group of “friends,” and just like the last ones, she didn’t see that they too would hurt her and that she was only with them because of geographic proximity, much like those girls from junior high.

Grace also talked a lot about how much she missed her “boyfriend” (her first pimp), who she saw as some prince charming from a fairy tale, and who is currently on bond and has even done prison time for repeated

convictions for domestic violence. Grace was showed these charges, the convictions, and the charging instruments, and momentarily she realized she was just another woman in the same situation with the same man. She described him being physically abusive toward her, hitting her and choking her until she passed out, but even with all of the realizations about who he indeed was, Grace still loved him. Domestic violence can feel like an addiction, and it’s a tough cycle to break. The

best way to explain human sex trafficking is, it’s the place where domestic violence and sexual assault intersect.

Grace was showing so much promise, and for the first time since leaving her old life, she was optimistic and hopeful. She was finishing school online. She had met with her advocate and even started counseling services. Her advocate explained that she would help her get housing but that it takes a minimum of six months to a year, which seemed like forever in her now 19-year-old brain, but she was excited. She laid out a list of in-patient and out-patient services available to her and the process for utilizing said resources while she waited for housing. She had a plan to move forward with her life. Grace was starting over.

She had the help of some donors who helped her get some clothes, have a little money, and she had a safe place to stay away from the life and everyone she had left behind, but it wasn’t far enough. Everything seemed so normal, and one morning she was gone again. No note, not a trace, she just left. Ten days later, her dad tracked her down at a motel room on the Northside of Houston near Spring, where she had reconnected with some girls that she was with before, her “friends.” Her dad forced her back home, and they were working to find a treatment facility, which is few and far between and require the victim to want to enter the program. When we talked, I asked her what happened and why she left. She said she wanted friends, was feeling restless and alone, and just wanted a place of her own where she would have freedom and independence. She didn’t admit being sucked back into her old life, or to the addiction that started it all, and the “friends” who trafficked her. Not long after that conversation, Grace was gone again. She is back to where it all started, in danger every time she gets into a car with a stranger, controlled by traffickers and drugs, and her parents are powerless to help her. At every turn, someone in her path with the ability to help her had the current legal system or resources available to victims was adequate. Could the school counselors who took Grace to the homeless shelter have avoided putting her on the collision course if they had more training and understanding of addiction, homelessness, and trafficking?

Maybe the nurses who encountered her at the hospital with only a pamphlet to give her could do more with the right services to offer.

The police officer who took her report could have done more if he had more services to offer. It leads us back to the elected officials, prosecutors, and judges’ duties to keep traffickers off the street.

Go to houstonintown.com for Part l in our series - after Grace 22 | HEIGHTS | November + December 2020

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