New federal data released under court order shows more than 50,000 Texas companies received loans over $150,000 from the Payroll Protection Program, designed to help small businesses stay afloat though the pandemic.

Nine months into COVID-19, workers are idle and owners face seemingly insurmountable financial strain. Some are on the verge of losing their properties to foreclosure.

As Houstonians’ lives shift in ways both finite and immeasurable, a lucky, plucky few have seized this moment, turning layoffs and shifts in habits and needs into an opportunity to focus on their bliss.