{"id":121781,"date":"2026-01-13T20:46:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T20:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/121781\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T20:46:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T20:46:07","slug":"vanns-posse-shows-how-one-small-act-can-reshape-a-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/121781\/","title":{"rendered":"Vann\u2019s Posse shows how one small act can reshape a community"},"content":{"rendered":"

It started with a bottle of water and a leap of faith. <\/p>\n

Today, a Deer Park<\/a> family\u2019s small act of kindness has grown into \u201cVann\u2019s Posse,\u201d a 1,700-member community changing the daily reality for unhoused neighbors across the Houston area.<\/p>\n

Jim Kloesel first met Vann while working in Deer Park, noticing the same homeless man day after day in the heat. He kept water in his car, then one afternoon took a leap of faith and bought Vann a shake at Sonic. <\/p>\n

That small gesture turned into regular meals, clothing and, eventually, a place to rest at Kloesel\u2019s home. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt just kept growing,\u201d Kloesel said. \u201cI didn\u2019t plan any of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Vann\u2019s needs increased, so did the cost. Kloesel created a simple online wish list and a Facebook group called Vann\u2019s Posse<\/a> to let neighbors help. <\/p>\n

What started with about 15 people has exploded into more than 1,700 members in just weeks.<\/p>\n

The group now provides food, clothing, hygiene supplies and even help navigating court dates and paperwork for Vann and others who are homeless in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my goals is to stop the cycle,\u201d Kloesel said, explaining how missing court dates often leads to warrants and jail time. With community support, Vann currently has no active warrants, something Kloesel calls a major win.<\/p>\n

Now, similar efforts are popping up beyond Deer Park, with people in Houston and surrounding areas asking how to start their own versions of Vann\u2019s Posse.<\/p>\n

To help track just how far Vann walks each day, often from Houston to Humble, Kingwood and beyond, members recently added a smartwatch to the wish list. A donor purchased it within hours.<\/p>\n

Kloesel says he understands the concerns some have about helping the homeless but believes compassion, not avoidance, is the answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to be here,\u201d he said. \u201cThe difference is whether we treat them like problems or like neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vann has become the symbol of something bigger.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bringing awareness that these displaced people are actually people,\u201d Kloesel said. \u201cInstead of avoiding them, the community wants to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

The effort has also sparked unexpected connections. <\/p>\n

After Kloesel posted about Vann\u2019s medical condition, a woman reached out saying the symptoms matched her husband\u2019s, who had suffered brain trauma in a motorcycle crash. The exchange opened the door to new treatment options for her family as well.<\/p>\n

Those interested in helping can find Vann\u2019s Posse on Facebook<\/a> to view the group and current wish list or take the idea back to their own communities and start something similar.<\/p>\n

KPRC 2 Insider<\/p>\n

More Stories Like This In Our Email Newsletter<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It started with a bottle of water and a leap of faith. Today, a Deer Park family\u2019s small…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121782,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[52917,6540,56,58,57,52919,52918],"class_list":{"0":"post-121781","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-deer-park","9":"tag-homeless","10":"tag-houston","11":"tag-houston-headlines","12":"tag-houston-news","13":"tag-resource","14":"tag-vanns-posse"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}