Texas Instruments (TI) Foundation has made a $200,000 grant to Catholic Charities Dallas (CCD) via the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas to support the organization’s St. Jude Center, an innovative supportive housing program for homeless seniors. The grant to CCD was part of a $1 million commitment by the TI Foundation to address and prevent homelessness in Dallas. Executives from the foundation presented a check to CCD on Thursday, November 14, 2019.
As one of the leading social service providers in North Texas, Catholic Charities Dallas (CCD) has a large and multi-faceted approach to assisting those who are homeless and working to address the factors that can lead to homelessness. At the highest level, the comprehensive mission of Catholic Charities is to serve those caught in a cycle of poverty and lighten the financial and other burdens in each client’s life through education, service, direct assistance, mentorship and more.
“This grant will have a transformational effect on our homelessness initiatives,” said Jari Mema, Chief Services Officer for Catholic Charities. “While we are operating a highly successful housing community for chronically homeless seniors, we also work to support clients in crisis before they become homeless, particularly in the areas of providing short-term emergency assistance, along with financial literacy and career development services.”
In October 2018, CCD opened St. Jude Center, a 104-unit permanent supportive housing community in Dallas, in collaboration with the City of Dallas, Dallas County, Catholic Housing Initiative, CitySquare, Metrocare Services, and Veterans Administration Supportive Housing. The center, which is fully occupied, provides subsidized housing, case management and comprehensive wrap-around services for homeless men and women age 55 and older.
Additionally, CCD offers a broad array of services for clients in financial distress through its Financial Stability & Career Services (FSCS) program. From emergency rent or utility assistance and access to food pantries, to financial coaching and access to vocational training to increase wages, CCD works one-on-one with clients to prevent homelessness by moving them out of poverty and toward longer-term stability and self-sufficiency.
“The TI Foundation is heavily invested in improving the quality of life for people living in our headquarters community of Dallas through our support of pressing human service issues, such as hunger, homelessness, and disaster relief,” said Andy Smith, Executive Director of the foundation. “Catholic Charities’ holistic approach of not only housing the homeless but also getting at the root causes of homelessness resonated with our trustees. We are proud to be a partner in their efforts.”
About Catholic Charities Dallas
CCD is an independent, 501(c)3 non-profit organization and one of the leading social service providers in the greater Dallas region. We educate, serve and empower more than 50,000 clients in need annually across a nine-county region of North Texas, addressing the root causes of poverty and homelessness. A large multi-disciplinary agency, CCD provides services in the following core areas: hunger alleviation through boxed food pantries, client choice pantries and mobile community pantries; early childhood education; low-income elderly supports; permanent supportive housing for homeless elderly; immigration legal resources; pregnancy, parenting and adoption counseling; refugee resettlement; shelter and foster care for unaccompanied refugee minors; financial coaching and career development assistance; disaster preparedness and relief; community relations, advocacy and more. For more information, see www.ccdallas.org.
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PHOTO: Texas Instruments Foundation Executive Director Andy Smith (center) presents a $200,000 check to Catholic Charities Dallas team to support its work in assisting the homeless and preventing homelessness (from left Barbara Herron, Director of Children, Family & Senior Services; Dave Woodyard, President/CEO; Cindy Montgomery, St. Jude Center Property Manager; Mel Bangs, Board Chair; Andy Kathy O’Neal, Senior Development & Marketing Officer; Mike Murray, Chief Development Officer; Jari Mema, Chief Services Officer).
