Gulf Coast Leadership Council

[Excerpts:]

A priest from the Vatican visited Houston to gather information for Pope Leo XIV on community organizations like The Metropolitan Organization (TMO) on July 7, the same day that ICE fatally shot a local immigrant on his way to work.

During his U.S. tour, Fr. Mattia Ferrari, Coordinator of the World Meeting of Popular Movements at the Vatican (an initiative of Pope Francis), met with TMO, EPISO, CTI, COPA, and One LA leaders to hear stories of organizing and discuss the importance of popular movements being led by poor and working-class people. They were joined by César Piscoya, Pastoral Advisor for the Latin American Episcopal Council, and Luca Caserini, Founder of Mediterranea Saving Humans.

Houston Chronicle Op-Ed by Bishop John Ogletree, Jr., senior pastor of First Metropolitan Church, and Rabbi David Lyon, senior rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo left home Tuesday before dawn to spend another day building homes for future Houstonians. Instead, during what U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement described as a “targeted enforcement action” on Houston’s east side, the 35-year Houston resident and small business owner was killed.

We are Houston faith leaders, and our congregations belong to The Metropolitan Organization, a nonpartisan group [trained by GCLC] that seeks the justice that so many of our faith traditions demand. We mourn Salgado’s death. And we demand an independent investigation into the enforcement strategy that led to it.

Over a year after Hurricane Beryl and a derecho windstorm made thousands of homes uninhabitable, GCLC-trained leaders from TMO institutions and allies persuaded the City of Houston to boost funding for home repair from zero to $100 Million, using federal disaster recovery dollars. 

In response to widespread power loss during extreme weather events like Hurricane Beryl, Gulf Coast Leadership Council (GCLC) secured a $250,000 grant to construct Houston’s first Community Lighthouse at New Pleasant Grove Baptist Church.

The project comes after repeated outages left millions without reliable access to electricity, exposing gaps in disaster preparedness—particularly in neighborhoods already facing longstanding infrastructure challenges.

This week, Harris Health approved a proposal to name the chapel at the new LBJ Hospital The Metropolitan Organization (TMO) Chapel—recognizing the role GCLC-trained leaders played in advancing the $2.5 billion bond that made the new facility possible.

[TMO receiving the Garnett F. Coleman Health Equity Award from Harris Health]

Weeks after securing a path forward for the expansion of Ben Taub Hospital, The Metropolitan Organization (TMO) was recognized by Harris Health with the Garnett F. Coleman Health Equity Award.
The award acknowledges the role TMO leaders played in addressing long-standing overcrowding at Ben Taub—work that spanned multiple years and required public education, accountability, and negotiation.

The award acknowledges the role of Gulf Coast Leadership Council in preparing TMO leaders to address long-standing overcrowding at Ben Taub—work that spanned multiple years and required public education, accountability, and negotiation.

After nearly three years of organizing, the Gulf Coast Leadership Council (GCLC) and The Metopolitan Organization (TMO) leaders are celebrating a major victory for access to life-saving healthcare. The Harris County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to acquire 8.9 acres in Hermann Park to expand Ben Taub Hospital and address dangerous overcrowding at one of Houston’s most critical trauma centers.

GCLC recognizes the County Commissioners for their vote to help meet the increasing demand for inpatient care in Harris County.

This win follows sustained leadership development and organizing by TMO leaders, including educating their communities, holding a press conference, delivering public testimony, and conducting behind-the-scenes negotiations and meetings with county commissioners to move the project forward.

The Gulf Coast Leadership Council is continuing to train and develop leaders across Harris County to implement what voters already approved: a critical expansion of Ben Taub Hospital that would add 100 new patient rooms and relieve dangerous overcrowding at one of Houston’s most essential emergency care facilities.

GCLC leaders, members of TMO institutions, and Houston residents have been detained and deported while at work, after dropping their children off at school, and upon calling the police for help after experiencing domestic violence. In response, GCLC organized 27 Know Your Rights and Family Safety Workshops and Immigration Civic Academies with over 2,000 community members from 21 congregations in Brazoria, Fort Bend, and Harris Counties.