A New Beginning, Full of Hope

Homelessness comes in many “shapes and sizes.” It can happen to people for varied reasons. I am often reminded of a quip from our good friend, Dr. Iain De Jong, that drives this point home, “If you have seen one person experiencing homelessness… you have seen one person experiencing homelessness!”

Dr. Iain De Jong (Courtesy of the Press Democrat)

One of the reasons people experience homelessness is domestic violence. Though this is not what people usually think of when they hear the word “homelessness”, it should immediately make sense. What else would you call your situation, if you left your home, to escape your abuser? Therefore, the Federal Continuum of Care grants facilitated through the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA), have long included grants for housing programs for domestic violence survivors.

One thing that survivors do share with others who experience homelessness, is that they need more than just housing. Often, they can find themselves with nothing more than the clothes on their back and what they could carry in their hands.

Regina*, a domestic violence survivor, had found refuge with our grantee, Hope’s Door New Beginning Center. She was working hard on rebuilding her life, was admitted into their housing program, and was able to save up enough money to pay her required portion of the rent on her apartment. She was still missing two things, so basic to rebuilding her life and remaining housed, that most of us take them for granted, furniture and transportation.

Regina learned about the Dallas Furniture Bank, whose mission is to provide “furniture to families transitioning from homelessness.” She also learned about the DART Reduced ID card program, a DART-MDHA partnership, which allows those experiencing homelessness to ride on DART using 50% discounted passes. However, she did not have the money to utilize these services.

Aliah Henry, CEO, Dallas Furniture Bank

Now, you might ask why Hope’s Door New Beginning Center could not help her with these needs. It is not that they did not want to help her. As is often the case, the Federal grant that paid for her housing and services, could not be used to pay for furniture and transportation. What was Regina to do?

Luckily, her case manager, Jackie, knew who could help: The MDHA Flex Fund. The Flex Fund was designed by MDHA and United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, with people just like Jackie in mind. The idea of the Flex Fund is simple. A person experiencing homelessness faces a minor but impactful expenditure that impedes the person from (making progress in) ending his or her homelessness. The Flex Fund pays for it. That’s all there is to it.

Jackie told Regina about the Flex Fund. She shared with her that early on MDHA had formed a partnership with the Dallas Furniture Bank to allow clients to obtain basic furniture, with the MDHA Flex Fund footing the bill. Jackie and Regina discussed what furniture would be most helpful to her. Regina chose a sofa, a chair and an end table for her living room, a table and chair set for her dining room, and a full-size bed, dresser and night stand for her bedroom. Jackie also shared with Regina that the Flex Fund could pay for her DART Reduced ID card and the remaining 50% cost of a monthly pass, as well.

A Hope’s Door New Beginning Center staff “Purple Thursday” photo

Jackie filled out MDHA’s simple Flex Fund forms, and submitted them to Shavon Moore, MDHA’s Continuum of Care Resource Manager. Shavon notified the Dallas Furniture Bank, and they called Regina in for her private appointment. It felt great to shop in style at their facility, and choose her very own furniture. Shavon also provided Jackie with a letter Regina could take to DART, certifying her homelessness, as well as a check made out to DART to cover the ID and the remaining 50% cost of a monthly pass.

Hope’s Door New Beginning Center is a true lifeline for domestic violence survivors like Regina, in bringing normalcy back into their lives. With the help of community partners like MDHA, the Dallas Furniture Bank and DART working together with them, Hope’s Door New Beginning Center can better help the “Reginas” of our community in achieving a sense of stability in a new beginning, full of hope.

* Client name has been changed to protect her privacy.

Our Homeless Friends’ Self-Advocacy Bears Fruit

Courtesy of DART

One of the forums that MDHA facilitates is the Alliance Homeless Forum. This is a monthly forum run by and for our friends, who are experiencing homelessness, or are formerly homeless. Shavon Moore, our Continuum of Care Resource Manager helps facilitate these meetings. Already back in 2014, our friends highlighted an acute need – public transportation. In their experience, having access to public transportation to utilize medical and social services, search for employment, and navigate housing solutions was a critical need. This access was impeded by the issue of cost. Though $5 a day might not seem like much for the average reader, this is not a cost most of our friends can afford.

They researched the issue, and discovered that Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) already had well publicized programs in place, that allowed for 50% reduced fares for certain classes of people, e.g. persons with disabilities, seniors and students. They researched the issue further and found that a little-known program existed, where those receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) were eligible for such a 50% reduced fare too. Perhaps since qualifying for TANF in Texas is extremely difficult, this program was not being utilized.

Shavon and our friends approached DART, and suggested that it would make more sense to convert this existing unutilized program into a program that would address their needs. DART agreed to run a pilot program, in collaboration with MDHA for the months of March-August 2016, that would enable our friends to pay a 50% reduced fare. Following this successful pilot, DART agreed to renew the program for all of 2017!

To be eligible for this program, a person must be literally homeless or actively enrolled in a program through safe haven, permanent housing, transitional housing or emergency shelter for at least ten days, and he or she must be have an active record in the MDHA’s Homeless Management Information System.

If such a person and his or her case manager identify transportation as a need, the case manager submits a request to MDHA. MDHA then verifies the person’s housing status and provides a letter of certification to the case manager. The person then submits the letter to the DART Store, and purchases a DART Reduced ID card.

The DART Reduced ID card allows persons to purchase 50% discounted passes at the DART Store, ticket vending machines and on buses. They must show the ID when presenting a DART pass to a bus operator or a train fare enforcement officer. 2-hour passes, day passes and 31 day passes are available. The MDHA Flex Fund can further pay for the ID and/or the remaining 50% of a monthly pass, if needed.

One of the most important lessons of this story is one that should be obvious, but is all too often forgotten. When it comes to discovering the needs of those experiencing homelessness, one of the most important things to do is… ask those experiencing homelessness! There is simply no substitute for true lived experience.

DART-MDHA Operation Lifesaver Event

Gary Thomas

Friday morning DART and MDHA held an event highlighting Operation Lifesaver's "See Tracks, Think Train" campaign. Gary Thomas, DART President and Executive Director, spoke about the importance of safety, and DART's efforts and track record in this area. Mike Faenza, MDHA President and CEO, lauded DART's efforts in increasing train safety, specifically for those experiencing homelessness, in light of how pivotal public transportation is to those experiencing homelessness. Ricky Redd, who formerly experienced homelessness, spoke about how important individual choice and responsibility was in this area. He shared some moving personal experiences, and some stories he heard, that underscore the importance of "See Tracks, Think Train". Thomas, with tears in his eyes, closed the event, with the emphatic statement, that if they save but one life in this effort, it is worth it.

Check out DART's Transit Education Program at www.dart.org/transiteducation and Operation Lifesaver at www.oli.org