Welcome to Houston, Purpose Built's 2025 National Conference!      Welcome to Houston, Purpose Built's 2025 National Conference!       Welcome to Houston, Purpose Built's 2025 National Conference!       

We are Houston’s ‘community quarterback,’ working with residents and stakeholders to end poverty and strengthen our city through place-based investments in Gulfton/Sharpstown

Neighborhoods are the unit of change that can have the greatest impact on people’s lives, changing life trajectories for the lowest-income residents, creating greater equity, improved health outcomes, and increased upward mobility.

Sharpstown and Gulfton, two of Houston’s most densely populated neighborhoods, have welcomed refugees and immigrants from around the globe since the 1970s.

Residents are from over 50 countries
Approximately 19,000 residents
91% speak a language other than Englishat home

45% lack a highschool diploma

35% of residents are youth under 18
Our Impact Zone extends approximately two miles beyond our campus at 6700 Bellaire Boulevard and has the following characteristics:

25

25 schools within a 2-mile radius

$34,000

$34,000 is the average median household income (for Newcomers here less than three years average income is $24,000)

44%

44% poverty rate (over double Houston’s poverty rate)

3%

3% Unemployment rate 

5x

5x greater population density than any other Houston neighborhood

17°F

Gulfton is 17°F hotter than the coolest part of Harris County

Our mission is to amplify local voices to lead positive transformation through education, advocacy, and leadership.

Connect drives change through four key pillars: housing, education, wellness, and economic opportunity. We’re an organization rooted in action and response—committed to building up our community from within.

A key part of fulfilling Connect’s vision for our dynamic neighborhood is HTX Sewn Goods—our economic vitality initiative launched during the pandemic to create fair-wage jobs for residents facing barriers to traditional employment. What began as a small social enterprise has grown into a powerful engine for workforce and small business development, laying the foundation for Fabric Forge, a 9,000-square-foot Textile Lab & Entrepreneurship Center opening in 2025. Through HTX Sewn Goods, Connect is creating career pathways, supporting entrepreneurs, and building a more inclusive local economy.

As the community quarterback for Gulfton and Sharpstown, Connect Community drives the Purpose Built model, playing a key role in mobilizing resources to strengthen both human and capital infrastructure. We focus on integrating the four pillars essential to neighborhood prosperity and growth.

PURPOSE BUILT COMMUNITIES

A nationally-acclaimed non-profit organization dedicated to implementing resident-centered, holistic neighborhood revitalizations.

It provides pro-bono strategic planning, coaching, and support to its Network Members (i.e. My Connect Community) who are operating in 14 states and 27 neighborhoods across the U.S.

We co-create culturally rich, generationally inclusive, and economically diverse neighborhoods for children and families where social connections across socioeconomic and racial demographics are commonplace; the investments in physical and human infrastructure support the ability for the community to thrive; all residents feel welcomed, valued, and integral to the healthy functioning of their neighborhood.

STAY CONNECTED

We’re building something beautiful together — and it starts with you.