Dec 19, 2016
“Selina”
Selina moved to Plano in 2012 and was a student at Plano West High School, where she met a young man who became her boyfriend. They dated for a few months and Selena ended up getting pregnant. She was a senior in high school, had just turned 18 and wanted to have the baby.
Selina’s mother did not take the news of the pregnancy well, deeming her daughter a legal adult and kicked her out of the house as a result.
“My boyfriend took me in, living with his mother and brother in an apartment before moving to Mesquite as a group when his mother got a house,” Selina said.
Unfortunately that situation was not very smooth, didn’t last long and Selina and her boyfriend found themselves without a roof over their heads.
“We did the best we could, living out of his car for a couple of months. It certainly wasn’t fun. I was pregnant and still trying to get through my senior year in high school. There was a lot going on. We were living in the car for about a week or two when a friend told us about City House and that it was a possible option for some help.”
So Selina and her boyfriend came over to City House’s Youth Resource Center and were able to talk with a case manager. Selina was able to move into the TLP girls house in Plano, while her boyfriend moved into the boys house.
“I was really nervous and didn’t know what to expect when I first got in the house,” she said. “There was still a lot going on, but now we had a roof over our head and it was a good situation. He had a car and we took that to high school each day and I also had a job at Garden Ridge. I was pregnant and got tired very easily. I ended up doing home schooling as a result.”
Baby Nadia was born a few months later. After leaving City House, Selina ended up splitting up from the baby’s dad and they went separate ways. Selina is doing fine now and has plans to attend Richland College next semester.
“I’ve since met a fantastic guy named Chase and we’ve been together for about eight months,” Selina said. “I have my daughter and we live together in an apartment. I’m also attending nursing school. My goal is to become a doctor and possibly a pediatric surgeon. Helping babies, I would be very excited about that.”
Selina says she is very thankful and appreciative of what City House did for her, with one of her cherished memories being a baby shower that the staff and fellow residents threw for her.
“My experience with City House made me more mature in my ways of thinking and made me realize not to take things for granted. I should strive hard to do whatever I want to do in life. Being able to have a home and people around me that supported me – that was the best thing. They helped me get to where I needed to get to.”
“Elisa”
Elise describes herself as “your average kid growing up.” Her parents were divorced; Mom was an art teacher and Dad had a normal 9-to-5 job, and she lived in a typical neighborhood. Elise had a dog, friends, Girl Scouts, was involved in youth group. But things started to change for her in middle school and definitely high school.
“I was a chess piece in parents’ relationship, a lot of it over child support,” Elise said. “Mom became less supportive and less responsible. I went to live with Dad but felt like a guest in my own home. He was controlling and verbally abusive; I finally was scared to live there. So I left at 20, filled with depression and anxiety. Nowhere to turn, I lived in my car for a few months, couch-surfed some, but I couldn’t go back to Mom or Dad’s.”
Resilient as they come, Elise leaned on her network of friends, both old and new. She always looked for ways to help them too, even when she needed some herself.
“I actually found City House while researching to help a friend who needed a place to stay,” she said. “I never thought I would be a candidate for it since I had parents’ homes I should have been able to go to. But I couldn’t go back there. So I called City House and they accepted me into the program.”
The program that Elise was part of is City House’s Transitional Living Program (TLP), designed for young adults ages 17-21, who are homeless or in a negative situation at home. Elise was a resident back in 2013.
“City House gave me a ‘home’ for the first time in my life,” Elise said. “They surrounded me with people who supported me and helped me learn to achieve what I wanted to achieve. They’ve helped with resources – financial aid, helped me get into school, taught me some great money management principles. City House has given me a foundation to build on. While I was there, I could concentrate on working and going to school and not where I was going to sleep that night. I saw so much purpose and opportunities that I never would have seen before.”
Now 22, Elise often drops in to visit and see how things are going. Her connection with the organization hasn’t stopped since she left the TLP program and continues to work toward her career goals.
I did a lot during my time with City House. I was able to get my Esthetician’s license and take classes at Collin County Community College. My goal is to eventually earn a degree in theater and pursue a career in the performing arts, and I continue to work towards that.
“I’m so thankful for the people I’ve met through City House, and I enjoy touching base with my friends on the staff. My life has been impacted and changed for the better. I learned how to stand on my own two feet. I always look back at that time of my life and know it is where things turned the corner for me.”
City House is dedicated to providing homeless children and teens in North Texas with emergency shelter and transitional residential services.
Dec 16, 2016
Sharing Life – Client Testimonials
“Mr. D”
We welcomed Mr. D to Sharing Life late on a Friday afternoon this summer. He is an imposing man, at least 6’7”, quite jovial and was accompanied by six children. The children were starving. They rushed the candy jar on my desk like they hadn’t eaten in days. The truth was, they hadn’t eaten much in the past few days. Mr. D, a truck driver, used all of his money to travel to California to pick up his children after CPS removed the children from the care of their mother. Prior to his surprise trip to California, Mr. D was living in a small apartment with his girlfriend. When he arrived home from his trip with the six children, the apartment manager was quick to let him know they couldn’t stay there any longer. Fire safety laws and apartment policies wouldn’t allow so many people to dwell in one apartment. Homeless, hungry and broke, Mr. D came to Sharing Life looking for help. Sharing Life staff worked with Mr. D and his children over the summer providing food, clothing, school supplies and emergency motel rent until the family could find housing assistance to meet their long term needs. Once they finally found their permanent home, Sharing Life filled their house with furniture and sorely needed household items, including a pantry filled with groceries. This story warms our hearts when we think about how far this family has come since July. Because of the funding we receive from the Dallas Morning News Charities, we are able to make a difference in the lives of people in crisis. People like Mr. D and his six children.
“Sarah”
Sarah was a high school student in Mesquite ISD. Sarah was also experiencing homelessness. When we met Sarah she was two months from graduation. A stellar student and athlete, Sarah did not know where to turn when her mother left her to fend for herself after her mom moved in with her boyfriend. Sarah had no job, no money and no place to stay. Sharing Life came to the rescue after a McKinney Vento social worker with Mesquite ISD alerted us to Sarah’s plight. Sharing Life provided food, financial assistance for shelter and other services to create a safety net for Sarah to get to graduation. In early June, Sarah graduated with honors and left soon after to join the US Army. Because of the funding we receive from the Dallas Morning News Charities, we were able to help Sarah overcome a real crisis that could have led to lifetime of poverty. Instead, we have new recruit serving our country after receiving her high school diploma with honors
Sep 16, 2016
A team from The Dallas Morning News Marketing Department recently volunteered at the North Texas Food Bank. Wearing freshly designed Dallas Morning News Charities T-shirts and smiling faces, their efforts produced 13,575 meals for those in need. Great job!
Feb 8, 2016
Duncanville Outreach Ministry
Website: duncanvilleoutreachministry.com
- What do you see as one or two of the greatest challenges to helping the hungry in North Texas?
One of our greatest challenges is being able to get the food we need to keep our food pantry stocked in order to provide the families coming in with a variety of food to prepare meals with.
- How would you describe your mission, and how are you specifically helping the hungry?
We provide food on a monthly basis to families in need in Duncanville.
- Can you give us an example of a person (named or unnamed) who has benefited from your services? How have they benefited? If it’s appropriate, tell us a short story.
We have several families going through cancer treatments, and they have told us that being able to receive food on a monthly basis is a tremendous help. We have also been able to help one family with car repairs to get them back and forth to their medical treatments. Others we have been able to help with rent as the medical bills continue to increase.
- Is there anything new that you are focused on for the coming year? Any new initiatives?
In 2016, we want to make sure we are reaching as many seniors in our community as possible that are living on minimal social security. There are special programs that can help them with their electric bills and we want to make sure as many as possible get set up for the assistance.
Feb 3, 2016
NETWORK of Community Ministries
Website: thenetwork.org
Twitter: @NETWORKimpacts
- What do you see as one or two of the greatest challenges to helping the hungry in North Texas?
NETWORK distributes 10,000 pounds of food each week, and our food warehouse must maintain a minimum of 40,000 pounds of food on hand to meet the demand of the hungry in our community. Currently, the biggest challenge facing NETWORK is getting food donations into the building. We have seen a decrease in food drive participation within the community, as well as a decrease in the amount of food coming in from food drives. Simply stated, NETWORK cannot run out of food if we are to keep addressing hunger in the lives of our neighbors.
- How would you describe your mission, and how are you specifically helping the hungry?
NETWORK often encounters clients whose entire sense of stability rests on a few hundred dollars of rent or utility assistance — not a lot of money to most but, to someone who is facing having their electricity or water turned off or homelessness with their children, it’s everything.
NETWORK remains on the frontlines of basic needs survival for impoverished families, individuals and seniors. Hundreds come to NETWORK each week for help, and 90 percent will request and receive food assistance, and for numerous disabled elderly, we’re making home food deliveries each week. Food is a basic human need, and is the centerpiece of NETWORK’S services.
Second, yet equally paramount, is having a place to live. The fear of becoming homeless is a constant worry among the poor. Our homeless prevention services give temporary lodging to families facing displacement due to abandonment or eviction. NETWORK also will pay utilities to help stabilize a crisis. Clothing is another basic need we address for family members from 0 to 85+ in age. Four times a year, families can select garments from our clothing center.
Our mission is every family’s mission; to care, coach and empower our neighbors in need as they seek an improved quality of life.
- Can you give us an example of a person (named or unnamed) who has benefited from your services? How have they benefited? If it’s appropriate, tell us a short story.
Recently, an extremely intelligent, devoted, and hardworking 36-year-old mother of two came in for rent assistance. She lost her job in November as an insurance claims adjuster, and with Christmas just around the corner, she was barely getting by on unemployment.
She went from having a dependable salary of $46,000 a year to the constant struggle of caring for her two children on a meager subsistence of less than $23,000 per year. Because searching for a job was proving futile, she was terrified that she and her children might become homeless. This single mother did not need much, a mere $200 would solve her problem, but she was at a loss as to where to find the help she needed.
This NETWORK client had suffered such a streak of harsh luck that when NETWORK interviewers met with her, she was positive that she would not receive the help she so desperately needed—she was ready to hear “no.”
When she was told NETWORK was going to help her, she wept tears of relief. The dedicated volunteers at NETWORK went the extra mile that day, and took this mother to our Toyland Express Store to see to it that this family got holiday presents. Eventually our client got a job with United HealthCare, where she will be able to work from home, ensuring that she can provide adequate care for her children while also earning a living.
- Is there anything new that you are focused on for the coming year? Any new initiatives?
We have several exciting additions coming up that will make NETWORK the go-to resource for the job seeking community. One of our big upcoming projects is the renovation of our Job Resource Center.
We’ve discovered the most effective way to fight poverty is to support our clients in securing jobs which will allow them to earn a good living. Many of our clients desire a stable career, but they need help in developing the skills required to get a good job. Our job Resource Center will provide the three missing pieces to the employability puzzle; GED, language proficiency, and entry level job skills.
- What else should North Texas residents know about your work?
An unexpected crisis could change any of our lives. Each of us at any moment could find ourselves in a situation requiring the care and compassion of an organization like NETWORK. The Richardson community has stepped up consistently through NETWORK to help neighbors in need. It takes everyone pulling together as a community to make the work we do possible. We at NETWORK continue to be amazed and humbled by the support of generous donors, and the work of committed volunteers, they make NETWORK what it is, a beacon of hope in the community.
Jan 29, 2016
Promise House
Website: promisehouse.org
Twitter: @PromiseHouse
- What do you see as one or two of the greatest challenges to helping the homeless and the hungry in North Texas?
Meeting the immense needs of the local homeless youth population using limited resources can be a great challenge. According to the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, more than 1,264 Dallas County youth experience homelessness on any given night. Only 30 emergency shelter beds in Dallas County are available to community youth who are not under the state’s care, and they are all located in the Emergency Youth Shelter at Promise House.
Promise House currently works with six area high schools to combat the issues of hunger and homelessness by staffing drop-in centers where homeless children enrolled in the high school can receive crisis intervention, food and hygiene supplies.
This service is key to supporting youth. Expansion to more high schools would be helpful in our community, however accruing the necessary resources for success can be challenging. The Dallas Morning News Charities campaign is instrumental in helping agencies like Promise House provide the homeless and the hungry with food, clothing and other basic essentials.
- How would you describe your mission, and how are you specifically helping the homeless and the hungry?
Promise House moves abused, abandoned and neglected youth toward safety and success. The organization offers no-cost emergency shelter, transitional housing, pregnant and parenting teen support, outreach services, counseling, life skills training and education assistance to homeless and runaway youth ages 0 to 24. Our comprehensive programs connect at-risk youth with the resources and support they need to become healthy, self-sufficient adults.
- Can you give us an example of a person (named or unnamed) who has benefited from your services? How have they benefited? If it’s appropriate, tell us a short story.
Justin* could never picture himself earning a high school diploma. At age 17, his parents found out about his sexual orientation and kicked him out of the house. Forced to drop out of school, Justin moved from couch to couch before enrolling in the Transitional Living Program at Promise House.
This summer, Justin finished his coursework and graduated with his GED. He plans to begin college next year, where he will study interactive simulation design.
“The people at Promise House are so supportive,” Justin said. “I have always had trouble staying focused on achieving what I want, but the great people at Promise House taught me that I can do things if I push myself hard enough. Everyone just needs support, and that’s what Promise House did for me. They make me happy every time I see them.”
*Note: Name has been changed to protect the privacy of our client.
- Is there anything new that you are focused on for the coming year? Any new initiatives?
Because our residential programs face increased demand from both community youth and minors in state custody, Promise House has expanded the Emergency Youth Shelter’s capacity to provide temporary housing to more children and teens with nowhere else to turn.
We recently re-repurposed existing rooms on our campus to house 10 new Emergency Youth Shelter beds and began serving 30 shelter clients at a time in November 2015. In 2016, we will focus on providing all of our youth with basic necessities, educational opportunities, mental and physical health care, and placement in safe, loving homes.
This year will mark a an exciting opportunity to renew our strategic plan. Assessing the community demand and creating residential expansion and service enhancements will continue to place Promise House in a responsive mode ensuring that community needs are addressed as the client landscape is continually changing.
- What else should North Texas residents know about your work?
We would like North Texas residents to know about the many ways to support Promise House youth through volunteering. Our agency could not function without the support of our more than 1,200 annual volunteers.
Individually, they act as much-needed positive role models and mentors, and they help with everything from coordinating recreational activities to leading life skills training for our youth. Group volunteers host special events – from holiday parties to community field trips – and also provide invaluable assistance during our fundraising events. For more information, please visit http://promisehouse.org/how-to-help/volunteer/.
