Showing posts with label CitySquare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CitySquare. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Together We Rise!

Spoken word, crafted on the spot at our annual retreat by Michael Guinn, from CitySquare staff's single word descriptions  of the CitySquare experience over the past 18 months!  "Amazing" was my word.  Look for it below!

Together We Rise by Michael Guinn

 

Its been 1 year, 5 months, 20 days since we’ve had to pivot.

But there is no stopwatch that can clock the hours of unwavering dedication to our neighbors and to each other.

During this time. We’ve been the epitome of social philanthropy. Proud curators of collaboration through chaos. Undaunted and fearless warriors on the front lines whose endurance and determination has provided an indestructible display of teamwork.

Together we have risen, relentlessly reliable and persistently resilient. Brilliant in our chase to provide supportive services so that our families gratefully receive intense case management and resources no matter the circumstance. 

We didn’t let stress get the best of us. Instead in one another we learned to share and trust.

We became tenacious in the face of this pandemic via powerful partnerships and a diligent delivery of services that even covid couldn’t mask. 

So here’s to you CitySquarians. Because of you.. hope becomes the music of the moment for our homeless who hunger less. Because of your strength and creativity in serving the community, we’ve been able to push forward this narrative of normalcy no matter how tired we be. See its been exhausting. And You’ve had to socially self-care, privately self-love while selflessly going beyond and above.  

But because of your flexibility and humility, and your heartfelt steadfast impressive one of a kind abilities. Our neighbors continue to see equity in their proximity. 

Because of you, Poverty’s notoriety in our society gives way to a social sobriety that drives us to a new high.. ya see..

You are amazing. We Salute you.  Its been 1 year, 5 months, 20 days since we’ve had to pivot.  But your hearts are the reason why… Together We Rise…


Thursday, December 22, 2016

Monday, September 26, 2016

Important Book Synopsis

On Monday, Setember 19, MDHA, CitySquare, and the Dallas Public Library presented a book synopsis of Housing First: Ending Homelessness, Transforming Systems, and Changing Lives.

The data for client success in Housing First programs in Dallas comes in at 96%!

Watch the presentation below!

Friday, September 23, 2016

Housing First--even Starbucks understands

The data and the experience make an irrefutable case for the best, most logical approach to solving the riddles of chronic homelessness.

 Members of the Dallas Continuum of Care have been using this approach for several years, and it works!

  As more Dallasites turn their attention to homeless encampments, the concerns of property owners in the Downtown core of our city and the pressing needs of the homeless; the best way forward to sustainable solutions will involve a deeper and deepening commitment to Housing First.

 

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Just In: Donor Match Challenge!!!


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This just in!


A generous donor has offered to give CitySquare a bonus of $100,000—if we raise $100,000 through North Texas Giving Day. Visit the North Texas Giving Day website today before midnight and make a gift to CitySquare.

With your help, more neighbors will move beyond poverty.

Sincerely,

Your friends at CitySquare

 

Pitch In today!

 

It's time! Happy North Texas Giving Day!

Visit the North Texas Giving Day website today between now and midnight and make a gift to CitySquare. Any gift greater than $25 is multiplied, thanks to the Communities Foundation of Texas!

Remember, our goal is to raise $1 to represent each neighbor we will serve in 2016. We need to raise more than $50,000 to make that happen. Follow us on Facebook throughout the day to find out how much we've raised.

Thank you so much for standing behind CitySquare today and every day. 

Sincerely,

Your friends at CitySquare

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Monday, September 12, 2016

KERA 90.1 FM on The Cottages

KERA 90.1 FM here in Dallas, Texas, reported last week on the "soft opening" of The Cottages at Hickory Crossing.

Tune here to hear the report!



 
(From L-R): Dallas County Commissioner Dr. Elba Garcia, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, Dallas City Council Member Tiffinni Young, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Monica Egert Smith, John Greenan and Larry James.

Friday, May 27, 2016

Join the fight!

As many of you know, CitySquare, along the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, Jewish Community Relations Council and Catholic Charities, has played a major role in curbing the abuses of payday and auto title lenders. Because of our efforts, the Dallas City Council unanimously adopted the most stringent ordinances in the country to regulate this industry. That ordinance has now been adopted by more than 33 different cities throughout Texas, including El Paso, Austin, Garland, Houston, San Antonio and Grand Prairie and there are other municipalities considering the Dallas ordinance. While we and our allies have not been quite as successful at the state level, we did get legislation requiring disclosure and reporting of these businesses which allows more opportunity to tell of the impact they are having on Texas families.
 
Now we have the opportunity to substantially impact the small dollar loan industry on a national level…
 
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the federal agency which provides oversight over abuses in the financial industry, is taking comments from citizens throughout the country regarding their dealings with payday and auto title loans. These comments will be considered as the CFPB recommends to Congress federal legislation that will save the people we care about across the nation, from the debt trap caused by this type of predatory lending.  

What can you do?

If you, or anyone you know, have been victimized by payday or auto title lenders, tell your story! Write it down on this form and send it to United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Attn: Stephanie Mace 1800 N. Lamar St Dallas, TX 75202, or attach as PDF document and send it to DallasStopTheDebtTrap@gmail.com.
 
Check out this Payday Lending Alternative sheet, which is a resource provided by the Anti-Poverty Coalition with counsel for those may be going through hard financial times, along with a list of legitimate lenders who may be able to help.
 
Also, ask your neighbors, co-workers, or fellow community members if they have ever been ensnared in debt because of taking out a payday or auto title loan. If they haven’t, do they have a close relative or friend who may be in debt because of one of these loans.
 
Payday lenders are one of those businesses that help keep poor neighborhoods poor. People who take out these loans are not stupid, they aren’t lazy, they aren’t trying to get something for nothing. People who take out these loans are in desperate situations and get in trouble attempting to pay them back.  For so long, we were told that there was nothing that could be done. Now we have a chance to fight for those in poverty, our friends, and our families!
 
In this fight together!
 
Rev. Gerald Britt Jr.
Vice-President of External Affairs
CitySquare

Monday, April 18, 2016

Battle vs predatory lenders. . .

How a Texas Church Drove Out the Predatory Loan Industry     
For one Garland pastor, living out the gospel means collective political action.
 
Payday lenders have been having a tough time in Garland, Texas.
 
Their storefronts have closed, their gaudy signs spray-painted over in black. In recent months, about a third have left the city of 230,000, situated 18 miles northeast of Dallas.
 
Nobody could be more delighted at their demise than Keith Stewart, senior pastor of Springcreek, Garland’s largest church. Springcreek will not tolerate what Stewart calls the “predatory loan business.” Stewart estimates something like a third of his congregation of 1,700 have been put through the wringer after they (or their family members) secured loans with interest rates easily within the range of 200 to 500 percent.
 
Read more here.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Holiday needs, holiday greetings. . .


 

CitySquare

Friends,
 
Everything we do costs money. That’s the nature of the world today, right? It takes money to fight poverty. Lots of it.

It costs $15 million to operate CitySquare each year. Annually, that amount allows us to touch the lives of tens of thousands of neighbors. Sometimes we see that neighbor only once when they visit the food pantry between paychecks. Other times, we see them daily as they access a wide range of CitySquare services.

In the month of December, we’ve set out to raise $1 million. That amount of money will allow our WorkPaths training courses to continue to provide 100% of graduates with industry standard certifications. It will allow our clinic to be a medical home to 3,000 uninsured individuals. It will once more allow our food pantry to put more than one million pounds of food in the hands of neighbors who worry where their next meal will come from. A $1 million goal maintains hope in the heart of our organization.

This is why we have set such a lofty goal by the end of 2015. Please consider making a gift today to make this work possible.

We can’t do it without you.

For our city,
Larry James
Chief Executive Officer, CitySquare

 
CitySquare 511 N Akard Street, Suite 302  |  Dallas, TX  |  75201
P: 214.823.8710  |  F: 214.824.5355  |  Email: communications@CitySquare.org


© 2013 CitySquare

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Plan for "great reads" without needing to read a single book!


Book Selections for the
 
2016 Urban Engagement Book Club

The Third Thursday of Each Month

CitySquare Opportunity Center
                             1610 S Malcolm X Blvd.
                                  Dallas, TX 75226

January -- Broke, USA From Pawnshops to Poverty, Inc. - How the Working Poor Became Big Business by Gary Rivlin

February -- Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption - by Bryan Stevenson

March -- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

April -- Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

May -- Soda Politics: Taking on Big Soda (and Winning) by Dr. Marion Nestle

June -- Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado

July -- Strength to Love by Martin Luther King Jr

August -- Under the Affluence: Shaming the Poor, Praising the Rich and Sacrificing the Future of America (City Lights Open Media) by Tim Wise  

September -- Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That's Transforming Education by Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica 

October -- All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America? by Joel Berg 

November -- Latino America: How America’s Most Dynamic Population is Poised to Transform the Politics of the Nation by Matt Barreto and Gary M. Segura 

December -- Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few by Robert B. Reich

 

Wednesday, September 09, 2015

Hall and Oates on their way to CitySquare!

Rock sensations, Hall and Oates will take the stage at the Majestic on Friday evening, September 25 benefiting CitySquare! Enjoy!