Najat Elsayed has been helping everyone she could since she was a child.

In middle school, she tried to find ways to send supplies and resources to people in war zones. In high school, she fundraised and crowdsourced supplies for a family in need, often using her own funds and resources to try and give the children normal childhood experiences. She said she wished she had the ability to do more for the family, but at that point, she did not know about the benefits the government had.

“I am a child of immigrants,” Elsayed, whose parents are from Lebanon, said. “Every time I was trying to get help, nobody would help me. It was very hard to get help, and my parents – I love them, they’re amazing. They work really hard and did everything to give us as much as possible, but [they] didn’t necessarily know the systems and the mazes of things.”

Her experience as a child, her faith, and her desire to serve others led her to the healing profession. Elsayed has worked for nonprofits, schools, and universities, been a counselor for students, a therapist for justice-involved children, and the head of Fort Bend County’s Social Services Division.

In 2023, she was offered the role as the Director of Community Assistance at Harris County Precinct 4. She jumped at the chance to be able to serve her community professionally in the way she always did personally.

Elsayed began building her team as soon as she stepped into her role. At the top of her mind was creating and training a team that had the same drive to help others that she and Commissioner Briones did. Now, Precinct 4’s Community Assistance Department (CAD) is known for putting the heart in “heart, hustle, higher standards” by going above and beyond to help residents.

The team of 10 assists community members with everything from getting a pothole filled or a stop sign repaired to connecting people in need with food resources, health care, or shelter. CAD handles thousands of calls, emails, and online requests per month, and team members are often told by residents that they have been the most helpful person they have spoken to in months.

“I want to make sure that others don't have to go and suffer through those types of steps (that I did),” Elsayed said. “That's why we give a little extra in being able to help navigate people through what resources they need. (We) help to empower them on the process of how to get those services – because everyone should have access.”

During disasters, the team’s resource navigators and social workers bring supplies directly to residents who are unable to visit distribution sites, connect seniors with transportation to cooling centers, and get oxygen tanks in the hands of those who need them.

The nature of many requests the CAD team receives would affect anyone’s mental health – even trained professionals. Elsayed believes it’s important that team members take time to decompress and talk about their mental health, which is why she implemented Wellness Wednesdays. The team dedicates an hour once a month to focus on one another. In the past, team members have built a strength garden, used coloring books, and shared what they admire about one another.

They also make time to walk outside together at the Tomball Service Center’s trail. Getting the chance to step away from their computers and let Harris County’s 311 take over for an hour allows team members to clear their heads.

“It just recenters yourself to be able to come back and work harder and better for the constituents,” Elsayed said.

Elsayed and the CAD team members dedicate themselves to helping anybody in need. No matter someone’s problem, they know their knowledge could change someone’s life for the better, and they are determined to share all the resources they have been given. Their work makes sure that anyone reaching out for assistance is connected to something or someone who can help them.

“If you think about when I was a kid, if I had a navigator at a community center that could help me (by) sharing that knowledge and information, I would have been so grateful,” Elsayed said. “I only needed that.”