Facing facts in Dallas, Texas

By way of reminder, here's a "check list" of facts that I discovered during the past several months working as Chair of Mayor Mike Rawlings' Task Force on Poverty in Dallas.

--Between 2000 and 2012, population in Dallas increased by 5%.  During that same period, poverty grew by 41%.

--Dallas competes with Philadelphia for being the 3rd or 4th poorest city in the U. S.  We go back and forth on this "distinction."

--Dallas is the poorest city in the US among cities reporting a population of 1MM or more.

--In Dallas, 38% of our children live in poverty.

--In Dallas public schools about 90% are eligible for free and reduced lunches.  That percentage is 73% for public school children who live and go to a public school in Dallas County.

--Increasing numbers of us live in area of highly concentrated poverty and the trend is spreading.  In 2000, Dallas reported 18 census tracts of high concentration of poverty (about 10% of all our poor). In 2013, that number had increased to 32 tracts (about 20% of all our poor). 

--Areas of concentrated poverty produce health and social outcomes in a context of "toxic stress," a condition that has been identified and studied in the last decade.  "Toxic stress" results from a pathological, comprehensive "surround" that confronts our very poor neighbors here in Dallas day after day.

--Name the social, community challenge and identify its presenting data, and the poverty maps overlay perfectly:  asthma, health, housing, test scores, wages, employment and access to goods and basic services.  Poverty drives all of our negative, deadly data reports.

What's the answer? 

How do we go forward? 

Any serious plan to cut into poverty must involve serious conversations about wages and tax policy.

We have neglected our human "infrastructure" for far too long.  Our short-sighted policies have caught up with us.  We must act decisively for the sake of our community's future. 

And, the operative value, the back drop for every conversation, debate and action seems clear to me:  COURAGE!

You can "drive out" poverty!

Your old wheels can help us ‘drive’ poverty out of Dallas

Donating a vehicle you no longer need or use will enable us to provide food, health care, housing and many other services to our neighbors in need this holiday season. 

We accept cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles and more. Please contact us as soon as possible if you are considering donating your vehicle in order to receive your tax deduction this year.

•One easy call to 972.231.2220 and CitySquare will have your vehicle, running or not, picked up within 24 hours.

•Donating a vehicle is faster, easier and safer than trying to sell it yourself and lost titles are no problem.  
                                                
•When sold, you will receive a tax receipt

Donate a vehicle today….change a life tomorrow

About CitySquare
For nearly 25 years CitySquare has addressed the root causes of poverty through our work in the areas of our four pillars- Hunger, Health, Housing and Hope.

Over 90 percent of our funds go directly to program services, earning us the highest 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for seven consecutive times.

To learn more, please visit: www.CitySquare.org

Public benefits. . . truly public

Over the weekend I heard a news program reporting that 26% of Americans use a local food pantry on a regular basis.  Of those who resort to charity centers for food stuffs a significant majority were also employed.  Given the number of people who use our pantry and the tons of food we distribute annually, these realities don't surprise me at all.

Ironically, and I would say tragically, far too many of our neighbors work but don't earn enough to properly care for themselves or the their families.  We often hear the flip side/"upside" of this very negative wage and labor reality in Dallas: labor costs in Texas are low; potential employees abundant, especially among the unskilled. 

Do the math.  A single person earning $10-12 an hour on a full-time job finds it very difficult to make ends meet each month.  If the job offers no benefits, the challenge is even tougher.  Add in a family and the mountain cannot be scaled without support from other sources. 

The Texas culture typically chaffs at the mention of "public benefits."  Texans typically don't appreciate "welfare." 

But, maybe we aren't looking at such benefits properly. 

If wages are too low for a significant portion of the workforce to make a life and we continue to depend on that sector of the workforce to make our community work, then public benefits actually benefit all of us in direct and indirect ways. 

Taken further, public benefit programs that place purchasing power in the hands of those at the very bottom of our city's economic pyramid ensure that those dollars surge into the local economy, and very quickly. 

The fact is poor people spend what money they do have. 

In 2010, according to the Texas Hunger Initiative, Dallas County left over $500,000,000.00 of purchasing power on the table due to the fact that all those eligible for the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP--food stamps) did not enroll to receive the benefits available and designed for working people.  Statewide the total unclaimed benefits ran into the multiple billions!

We need to understand a couple of things about that very significant pool of cash. 

First, these dollars flow back to Texas from Washington, D. C. when claimed by and used by the state.  When we fail to enroll an eligible person, we allow tax dollars that we've already sent to the federal government be redeployed in some other part of the country.  The very small cost to Texas to leverage these benefits back to Dallas is more than worth it to recapture funds we've already invested or set aside for the purpose of assisting low-income Texans. 

Second, and even more powerful, the half-billion unclaimed dollars are not just lost to our neighbors, but they are lost to the retail grocery businesses in our city.  Why these businesses don't insist on better performance by Texas is beyond me. 

And, this is just one public benefit resource available to the working poor in Dallas.  The Earned Income Credit tax program, health care programs, child care subsidies, housing support and other public efforts to benefit the lowest wage earners among us, actually end up benefiting us all. 

When families are financially stronger, the local economy reflects that strength in many ways that impact every aspect of our community's life and quality. 

Properly understood, public benefits turn out to be public indeed.

Tickets going fast! Act today!

CitySquare's 11th Annual A Night to Remember

See Lyle Lovett and His Large Band on Friday, September 7th at 8 PM at the Majestic Theatre. You'll have a great time as Lyle and the band entertain with classic hits, as well as new songs. Your ticket purchase helps CitySquare provide programs and services for our neighbors in need. For more information, please visit http://www.citysquare.org/.

Buy Tickets

Become a Sponsor

The challenges of simple timing. . .a challenge to you

For over 16 years now, I've been involved on a daily basis working directly with low-income people and families.  I've talked to, met with, learned from and come to love countless individuals who suffer in various forms and fashions as a direct result of the poverty they know all too well. 

I think I've learned some important lessons about "the poor" and what it takes to stay engaged in the battle against poverty. 

The picture is not simple. 

There is no romance to be found here. 

The people are wonderful, as I've written here on many, many occasions.

But the work is very hard, and that in numerous ways.. 

Ironically, the more effective an organization becomes, the more difficult the challenges.  Things change as you figure out how to relate to more people in a more efficient and effective manner. 

The cycles of difficulty become predictable. 

We're in the midst of just such a cycle that exemplifies the challenges of which I speak. 

Here's the equation:

Increasing opportunities to serve and to assist in solving the problems facing our poor neighbors come in many forms--partnership offers, new funding opportunities, public grants and contracts.  Each of the opportunities reveals yet another step toward assisting more individuals and families.  Still, no matter how promising or effective, the funding backing each new option never covers all of the costs associated with the endeavor to be funded. 

Add to this reality the fact that most funding from both public grants/contracts and some foundations arrives only after the work is completed.  In other words, most of these funds involve a reimbursement  process.  Depending on the fund--and there are many, the payback can be anywhere from days to months in length.  For some reason the State of Texas is the most notorious in this regard.  We've carried accounts receivable owed to us by Texas for as much as 5 months!

During that "waiting period," organizations like Central Dallas Ministries must carry the expense and endure the cash flow pressure for work already successfully completed. 

Add to this reality the seasonal nature of private donations.  No matter what the economic conditions, the second and third quarters of the year are always the toughest. 

We're in the midst of that calendar reality just now.

Add to this the dismal situation in the current national economy, a reality that hasn't hit Dallas as hard as other cities, but has affected our psychology and our decision making about philanthropy.

Finally, we face the fact that the economic downturn has definitely affected those at the bottom of the economy, as is evidenced by the amazing increase in people who are coming to CDM, many for the very first time, seeking assistance, opportunity and hope across each of our program areas. 

Of course, these folks are the whole point of our existence! 

Currently, we are working hard to raise capital dollars to build what we refer to as an "opportunity center" in S. Dallas near Fair Park.  The time is right for this effort thanks to a large donation for the purpose and to a corporate partner who will help us bring jobs and economic development to this part of south Dallas for the first time in decades. 

Every day we work hard on this important new development--a development that will impact our economy for the better and lift countless individuals and families from below the poverty line.  And, our business plan once in the new center provides for more sustainable financing since we will have partners who actually pay us rents!

But, all of this exciting new development doesn't pay the bills for our already bustling, growing work.  We face a virtual constant, especially at times like this:  we need to increase our unrestricted operations funding as  never before to strengthen the stability of our organization. 

We must develop our means to survive the challenges of, well, the challenges of simple timing,
now and for years to come!

Gotta love this!

If you live in and love my world, you gotta love this!