Austin Street Centre
Austin Street Centre received funding for a new park and playground area for the 1000+ children staying in the shelter. The shelter itself provides emergency service to men, women and children of all ages in the Dallas County area. Included in the plans is playground equipment, a basketball area and an open area for physical games and other athletic activities. The park and playground area will provide a wholesome and healthy form of recreation and an opportunity to learn about team play and the importance of sportsmanship for all the children living in the shelter. The area will also be used by mentally challenged and physically handicapped clients during the morning while the shelter kids are in school. The goal of the new area is to make a shelter stay less traumatic for the children who are there because of the circumstances of their parents. ($25,000)

Child Abuse Prevention Center
The Child Abuse Prevention Center received funding for the Dallas Healthy Families Program, which serves 30 teen mothers and their babies in high poverty zip codes in Dallas County every year. The purpose of this program is to prevent and reduce the rate of child abuse by teaching families of newborns positive parenting techniques through in-home visits and other services. The other services include monitoring the child’s basic care, brain development, play and stimulation, and social-emotional development. These services start at the beginning of pregnancy and run at least until the child is three years old. This is the only service of its kind offered in Dallas. ($25,000)

CONTACT Crisis Line
CONTACT Crisis Line received funding for the Teen CONTACT program. This program includes a hotline for teens in crisis. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to listen to teen callers, talk to them about positive coping skills, in a non-judgmental way, to help them make appropriate choices and to provide them with transportation from a dangerous or life-threatening situation to a safe shelter. 150 teens call the Teen Crisis line each month and there are more than 1,400 hits to the Teen CONTACT web site each month. This project serves approximately 300,000 teens and their families per year. The teen callers talk about problems such as drug and alcohol abuse, gangs, violence, pregnancy, suicide, family problems including domestic violence and sexual abuse. This is an ongoing program and it is the only one of its kind in the D/FW area. ($25,000)

Genesis Women’s Shelter
Genesis Women’s Shelter received funding to renovate the Client Dining Room serving between 180 and 350 youth per year. The shelter has been in business for 20 years and the dining room has served over 10,000 children in that time. The facility itself is 194 years old. The shelter itself serves to pride safety to women and children endangered by domestic violence and to break the cycle of violence through counseling and outreach efforts. They provide a safe place for battered women and their children who were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge from violence. The shelter provides the basic necessities, as well as professional, individual, and group counseling, children’s and adolescent therapy, medical and legal aid, job training, and bilingual services. The Foundation has naming rights to the dining room. ($25,000)

Vogel Alcove Childcare Center for the Homeless
The Vogel Alcove Childcare Center received funding for the “Stepping-Stone” program for homeless families and teen parents. The Vogel Alcove provides free childcare for homeless children six weeks to six years old living in emergency shelters, violence shelters, and transitional housing units. This program is designed to provide short-term, temporary childcare to homeless mothers who have exited their shelter and recently re-entered the community. This program will increase the number of families successful transition to independent living, reduce the number of families returning to homelessness, and create a safe haven and provide a culturally sensitive curriculum to homeless children. This program serves as a bridge for single mothers working toward economical and emotional recovery, and provides the added support needed for teen mothers to overcome the indignity of poverty and re-enter the community as viable and contributing citizens. ($25,000)