THE DALLAS PROJECT
for the homeless

___ THE DALLAS PROJECT is predicated on the simple fact that if every church, synagogue, mosque and temple in America were to take in just one homeless person or family, "homelessness" in America would be eradicated overnight.
___
___ THE DALLAS PROJECT, formally established in 1987, is a methodology that enables churches, synagogues, private charities, and other organizations whose stated purpose is the meeting of human need, to actually take responsibility for individual welfare recipients, doing whatever is necessary to help them turn their lives around.
___
___ THE DALLAS PROJECT works precisely for the reason that welfare programs do not work: interaction is human - not programmatic. Rather than further alienating welfare "clients," we draw them into a caring community, which is what they desperately need both psychologically and spiritually. In this new arena, these "people in need" are encouraged and more apt to make decisions for themselves. New freedom from the horrible addiction of dependency begins...
___
___ THE DALLAS PROJECT serves as a catalyst in this process by identifying, recruiting, and motivating the participants from both sides.
___
___
___ The Project has been successful when it has lost it's reason to be. We will never become a bureaucracy, but will instead strive to work ourselves out of a job.
___
___
___ HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
___
___ Talk to your friends, to members of your religious or fraternal organiza-tions, to your neighbors and business associates. Enlist 10 to 20 people who are willing to commit with you to take in a homeless person or welfare family. Make it clear this involves more than merely giving money. It will take time - time to help them get settled and time to get to know them.
___
___ People in need are all around us. If we would just open our eyes, we would see them. You can locate a family to help through our organization THE DALLAS PROJECT, or one of the many other private social service organi-zations already working with the homeless and the poor. They will be glad to recommend a person or family to you.
___
___ 1. Give them a place to live - in your own home if there is room - or a
___ nearby apartment - a place close enough for daily contact, if possible.
___ Have your entire group get involved - introduce yourselves - help them
___ move in. Let the family know that this is their support group and
___ they're not alone - now they have 20 people committed to their welfare.
___
___ 2. The rest of their needs can be met as you would meet your own. A job,
___ a car or a ride to work, daycare, help with enrolling in school,
___ learning to read - whatever it takes. Use the combined ingenuity,
___ knowledge, and resources of your group. Use government resources only
___ as a last resort.
___
___ 3. One of the reasons your adopted family has been forgotten and voiceless
___ in society is because they don't know how to use the "system," i.e.,
___ they have been excluded from the way things work. But, you can use the
___ system for them. For instance, there are many in the legal and medical
___ professions who have "pro bono" clauses in their codes to provide free
___ services. Help them tap into that. But if that's not available, take
___ them to your own doctor and pay their bills yourself.
___
___ 4. There is no structure in this; no one to complain to later, no one to
___ tell you what to do. Some in your group will want to work with the
___ family more than others. Some in this mix pf people will get along
___ better than others. But whatever form your group takes, there should
___ be enough resources to help this family get off welfare and become
___ contributors to society, maybe for the first time.
___
___ In the end, you will find that your adopted family has given to you and your group more than you will have given to them.
___
___
___