a holistic approach

New addiction treatment facility offers residential care in the Heights

A new health and wellness facility focused on the interconnectedness of mental health, substance use disorders, chronic pain, trauma, and process addictions has opened its doors in the Heights.

Black Horse Health, located at 711 East 20th Street, occupies a nearly 9,000-square-foot renovated former residence. The facility can accommodate up to 16 residential clients, providing around-the-clock care during detox and residential treatment.

"At Black Horse Health, our aim isn’t just wellness, but overall well-being. We’ve created an especially inviting and private environment where clients can discover their inner strength and balance — empowering them to overcome challenges in their lives,” CEO and founding partner Tonda Chapman said in a statement.

Not all services require clients to live on campus. Black Horse also offers a partial hospitalization program (PHP), requiring attendance from 9 am-5 pm on weekdays, and an intensive outpatient program (IOP), which involves three hours of treatment per day, four days a week.

"Our facility has the capacity to assist nearly 400 individuals annually who are undertaking the journey toward recovery,” Chapman said. “Further, Black Horse is proud to contribute 30 healthcare jobs to the local community, which I believe is a testament to our commitment to both individual wellness and to meaningfully uplifting the broader community.”

A team of trauma specialists, chronic pain experts, substance use disorder counselors, and process addiction therapists works with each client to develop a personalized plan that blends evidence-based medical treatments with holistic wellness therapies. Clients also have access to mindfulness and meditation practices, as well as equine-assisted therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic care, and massage therapy.

Amenities include a full gym featuring a fitness and chronic pain program led by a chiropractic doctor, a cold plunge, an infrared sauna, a heated pool, and aqua therapy. An on-site psychiatrist, Master’s-level counselors, 24/7 nursing staff, a full-time chef, and a registered dietitian further support client care.

The facility places an emphasis on attachment theory, a framework that suggests a person’s early relationships influence their emotional and psychological well-being.

“By integrating an attachment-based approach, Black Horse Health fosters secure connections between participants and their caregivers, which is essential for building trust and promoting healing,” said Chapman. “We believe this relational dynamic is central to the recovery process, as it not only enhances emotional support but also encourages individuals to explore and address underlying issues that contribute to their struggles with addiction.”

Courtesy of Jessie Mann

A residential health and wellness facility focused on mental health and addiction recovery has opened in the Heights, offering services such as aqua therapy.

good for the soul

Houston blooms as No. 3 best city for urban gardening in the U.S.

Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash

Let's get gardening, Houston

Folks in the Bayou City have plenty of reasons to develop a green thumb: Houston has harvested new acclaim as the No. 3 best city in America for urban gardening in 2026.

Lawnstarter's annual report, "2026’s Best Cities for Urban Gardening," compared 500 U.S. cities based on their respective public access to community gardens, climate, the prevalence of nurseries and gardening supply stores, and the number of regional gardening clubs and online groups.

Atlanta topped the list as the No. 1 best U.S. city, followed by Miami (No. 2); St. Louis (No. 4); and Jacksonville, Florida (No. 5).

For the uninitiated, urban gardening is the practice of growing plants or food in densely populated areas. Local examples include Blackwood Skyfarm, which is the largest rooftop farm in Texas, or Urban Harvest's 160 affiliate gardens – but backyards, apartment balconies, and vacant lots could also fit the bill. Additionally, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department has an Urban Garden Program where residents can volunteer to help locate sections of local parks to turn into community gardens.

Houston was No. 1 nationally in the "supplies" rank, and Lawnstarter said the city is home to 253 landscaping equipment shops – the most in the U.S. – and the second-highest number of gardening stores (276) and nurseries (132). The city also earned a respectable No. 6 rank for its "support and interest" of urban gardening, meaning many residents are searching terms like "community gardens," "vertical gardening," and others.

Here's how the city fared in the remaining three categories:

No. 115 – Public access
No. 157 – Climate
No. 390 – Private access (based on average yard size for starting an at-home garden)

Cathy Walker, president of the American Community Gardening Association, offered some tips for first-time gardeners to help get their hands in the soil: choose only a few easy growing plants to start; learn which growing zone you're in to determine the plants that will thrive in your area; watch how much sunlight your garden space gets daily; and prioritize keeping soil healthy with compost and mulch.

Ecoregions are also helpful for understanding what plants will thrive. Whereas zones are about temperature, ecoregions are much more detailed groups. Planters can learn about their ecoregion and get personalized growing tips from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation in its new native planting app, Wild Thumb.

Starting your own garden can also have a financial benefit, the report suggested. However, up-front costs can get high in gardening, so gardeners might have to stick to it for a few seasons to see savings.

"With grocery prices projected to rise by 3.1 percent in 2026, there’s never been a better time to grow your own food," the report's author wrote. "Estimates show that growing a 600-square-foot plot for fruits and vegetables can save you around $600 in a single season."

The top 10 best cities for urban gardening in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Atlanta
No. 2 – Miami
No. 3 – Houston
No. 4 – St. Louis
No. 5 – Jacksonville, Florida
No. 6 – Orlando
No. 7 – Cincinnati
No. 8 – Fort Meyers, Florida
No. 9 – Tampa
No. 10 – Austin

urban gardening gardening houston