History of ECHOS

Epiphany Community Health Outreach Services (ECHOS) mission is to serve people in need by providing access to the health and social service resources that can improve their lives.

Our vision is a community where all people can have access to resources needed to build healthy and productive lives.

In 2001, in response to the dramatic change in southwest Houston’s demographics the parishioners of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany established Epiphany Community Health Outreach Services (ECHOS). To this day, ECHOS remains a ministry of the church and the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.

ECHOS became a non-profit corporation in 2001. The doors opened to provide health and social services to the growing population of immigrants and refugees living in the area surrounding the Church.

Need for Our Services

Since 2001, families have been coming to ECHOS to access healthcare and social services.

ECHOS helps families access health care services and benefits coverage. ECHOS’ families encounter similar challenges. These include:

• • unemployment,
  • incomes below poverty level,
  • lack of access to health care,
  • language barriers,
  • limited or no transportation,
  • educational deficits or illiteracy.

The average monthly family income of ECHOS clients is $1,239.

Numbers Served

During the first full year of activity, some 150 client households were reported to have visited the ECHOS campus for services. The primary service received was assistance in applying for State of Texas Medicaid programs and the Harris County Hospital District Gold Card (now Harris Health Systems Financial Assistance Program).

Since then, ECHOS has grown dramatically. In 2022, ECHOS served:

• 13,592 unduplicated individuals for application assistance, disaster relief, financial assistance, and the food pantry
• almost 2,300 households for the application assistance services, and
• more than 42,000 individuals were fed at our weekly food distributions

Partnerships

ECHOS welcomes other agencies, healthcare providers who provide direct services for the clients that we serve, or who seek to research health care issues in a medically and socially vulnerable community. List of partners.

Mobile healthcare partners include:

• Texas Children’s Hospital
• The Rose
• University of Texas Dental Branch
• Houston Food Bank Mobile Food Pantry

We work closely with the University of Texas School of Public Health, Baylor College of Medicine, Pro Salud, Houston Immigration Services Legal Collaborative (HILSC) and others. Altogether, we partner with 30-plus agencies and non-profit organizations from the Greater Houston Community.

Services

The Church of the Epiphany opened the doors of ECHOS. ECHOS is located on the church property.

Our food pantry continues to provide non-perishable food to an increasing number of people who are impacted by the employment downturn and the pandemic. Other forms of assistance such as domestic violence and healthcare partnerships occur frequently Medicaid, Harris Health FAP (Gold Card) application assistance and follow-up remain our core service.

ECHOS’ financial services are zip code restricted (77036, 77074, 77081, 77035, 77071, 77099, 77031, 77072, 77096). If you do not live in one of these zip codes, please contact 2-1-1 for assistance.

Services are provided free of charge and without restrictions to all who come through the doors of ECHOS, regardless of age, ethnicity, language is spoken, documentation status or sexual orientation.