3 solid ways to stretch your grocery budget as food prices rise<\/a><\/p>\nThe program is open to people entering the workforce, veterans, people returning to work and those looking to improve their skills, she said.<\/p>\n
For Vanessa Guerra, the program provided an alternative to a traditional four-year college degree. Guerra graduated from high school in 2022 and was working at a convenience store when she learned about apprenticeship through Facebook.<\/p>\n
She is now a third-year union insulator apprentice earning $26 an hour, compared with the $10-an-hour wage she earned previously, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year I got a raise,\u201d Guerra said. \u201cI\u2019m earning and learning. That\u2019s what I really like.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guerra\u2019s apprenticeship is a four-year program. She works while attending school and plans to earn her journeyman license after completing the program.<\/p>\n
She encouraged people who are unsure about entering a trade to take a chance, even if they have no prior experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you think that you\u2019ll like it, take a risk and join,\u201d Guerra said. \u201cIt will help you out a lot in your future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Briones said Harris County also is trying to lead by example. The county\u2019s minimum wage for its employees is $20 an hour, while the minimum wage for county contract workers is $21.65 an hour, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne job should be enough,\u201d Briones said, recalling that her parents often worked multiple jobs when she was growing up.<\/p>\n
The county\u2019s affordability efforts also include health care. Harris Health operates Ben Taub Hospital, Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital and community clinics that provide care to vulnerable residents.<\/p>\n
Briones said Harris County Public Health offers free vaccinations throughout the year. At Bayland Community Center, the county has partnered with Baylor College of Medicine to provide free wellness visits, sick visits, immunizations and mental health services for people ages 13 to 26.<\/p>\n
The county also works with Memorial Hermann to bring a mobile unit into communities for women\u2019s health exams. A mobile dental unit provides free services in neighborhoods across the county, Briones said.<\/p>\n
Briones said the programs are intended to help residents who may be forced to choose between medical bills and basic necessities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re choosing between feeding your children dinner and paying a doctor bill, that\u2019s survival mode,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The county also is investing in affordable housing, eviction diversion and legal aid, as well as food access. At La Tiendita, a small grocery store at Bayland Community Center, residents can receive free food, nutrition counseling and educational resources through a partnership with the Tejano Center, Briones said.<\/p>\n
Briones urged residents to contact Harris County Precinct 4 to learn more about available resources, including apprenticeships, health care, food assistance and exercise classes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose resources exist,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are here to serve, and we want to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HARRIS COUNTY, Texas \u2013 As families across Harris County struggle with rising housing, food and health care costs,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":449858,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[154767,154768,18830,154769,405,2244,56,58,57,154770],"class_list":["post-449857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-affordability-relief","tag-apprenticeship-advantage-program","tag-cost-of-living","tag-food-assistance-bayland-community-center","tag-harris-county","tag-healthcare","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-precinct-4-commissioner-lesley-briones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449857","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=449857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/449858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}