Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center

This is a neat place for those in need and those curious about how Houston has a neighborhood center to literally help thy neighbor!

Some teachers and I decided to visit the Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center and were impressed by its amenities and services. They offer GED, ESL, and other classes to aid immigrants, refugees, and others begin to acclimate into an American lifestyle. They also have a Charter School that's based on a lottery. The ethnic diversity is heartwarming! Seeing all of them play together, work together, and even just voluteer at the neighborhood center revives my hope in humanity.

Just when I thought Houston couldn't get any better...

This review is for the Neighborhood tax center.

It's very busy on Saturday. The wait time could be an hour or so. Just varies.
They are open all year round.
Tax filing/preparation is free here. Done by IRS-certified preparers.
Depending on the assessment of your taxes, you'll be placed with a novice or more skilled volunteer. Even if you are placed with a novice, there is a more experienced tax volunteer who will oversee your tax form(s) before you sign off.

Baker Ripley Ripley House has untrained and rude people for tax assistance. As soon as you walk into Baker Ripley the people that give you the stickers are performing less than zero. They are very rude and treat you with micro aggression to out-right blatant disrespect. This is a community organization to assist people not treat them subhuman. They are hiring the wrong people to put on the front desk to check in people. There is a heavy set Hispanics male at the front desk with a beard that is more interested in flirting with women working with him than helping people that come in for assistance. He is a paid employee and more concerned about what to have for lunch and putting down people explicitly. We are not all from the hood. Talk with manners and be respectful. These people are working in a field that they are unfit for. There is no kindness or compassion just plain rudeness and not concerned about their jobs. As for the tax volunteers, they are also untrained, not mentored, and will not help you with basic questions like a current tax chart and standard deduction amount. The Department of State, Irs, governor, and mayor would be ashamed. Taxes are needed for the city to run including Baker Ripley and United Way. Baker Ripley is telling people that they can go home and pay tax online on their own. When asking for Irs forms they won't print a copy and say "your asking for too much!" Libraries are more friendly and have the forms during tax season. Avoid the place and save your dignity. This place should be defunded. They are hiring people who are taking money from charitable organizations and charters organized by well intentioned people and failing to step up in helping communities and people that need the assistance.

Very disappointed in BakerRipley. Had heard nothing but good comments from them until it was my turn. They would rather help the people who are not on top of their stuff, than to help the ones who are constantly asking what the next step is. They take their time on answering emails and getting back to me. I would give 0 stars but unfortunalty, that is not an option.

Baker Ripley is there to Help. For 2020 the office might be closed but you can still get assistance for paying for your lights. you can call 211 for their number and get a application mailed to you and you can mail it back or drop it off at the drop box at some locations. Or the newest feature is fill out you application online. The great thing is this isn't a one time deal they can help you this year and you can reapply for next year to get help.
And it's just not one month they can help through out the year with your highest energy usage bills. So with everything going on now a days a little help like that goes a long way. It does take some time for the application to process and make sure you got everything you need( goes faster) But if you might get a disconnection notice they can maybe help with that too!

Unfortunately the ladies working the front as "receptionist" for the tax services season are always very rude to the customers. I understand that the service they are doing and appreciate their free services but that is still no reason why to be rude to anyone in anyway. Besides that everyone else is always great with their customer service!

So it won't matter one bit if you get there an hour before they open or 10 minutes before they open. They do not understand any kind of crowd control. Everyone just piled into the building when the food open and no one makes any effort at all to organize the people, so if you have been waiting for an hour or more, you have just as good a chance as being called first as who ever was at the back of the line. They could very easily have used a sign in sheet to record who was first, who had been waiting an hour, vs who just showed up 5 minutes before they open. Many places use a take a number system, such as Baskin Robbins, or grocery deli counters. But, as a friend told me, you get what you pay for, and this service is FREE. So what the hell. It is managed chaos, but if it saves me the stress of messing with tax forms, it may also save from a heart attack. They mean well. Kind, competent, making an effort.

Just visited this place for an interpret job. Very nice building. Staff is very nice as well. Looking forward to work with them again soon!

This review is for the clinic inside the Baker - Ripley center. The doctor and nurses are very nice, polite, and professional. Sadly, however their front desk staff does not reflect that. There are about 2 or 3 people at the front that seem to have a bad attitude whenever you sign in or ask any questions. Especially when making appointments you can get blood work done in February and have your appointment to get the results until like May or June. Did I mention you cannot get your lab results unless you see a doctor for a consultation ? Yea, by the time you get them read they will not be up to date. The staff can see you waiting to sign in and they will keep talking amongst each other or you could be waiting to make an appointment and they will be deciding about what to have for lunch. Last time they were describing how to pronounce Sriracha sauce, if they should order pizza or just go get tacos. Very unprofessional. The clinic is aimed more towards people of low income bc they help lower your costs however you will wait months to get results read and to come back for a follow up. Unless you have time for that and can wait about 3 months to get lab work then this is the clinic for you.