4 Core Service Areas

In 1994, after operating a high volume food pantry for nearly a decade, CDM's leadership began to look at ways to address poverty in a more comprehensive and holistic manner. Since that time, the organization has developed a network of interlocking programs that work in four basic areas of need:

Hunger

Started as a food pantry in 1988, CDM has been fighting hunger in our community for nearly twenty years. Now operating one of the largest food distribution networks in Texas, CDM's hunger relief program includes:

• Resource Center on Haskell Avenue: The Resource Center served over 20,000 unduplicated people in 2008 (over 54,000 contacts). We expect to host over 50,000 human contacts in 2009, and plan to deliver over 1 million pounds of food, clothing and household goods to our our neighbors who are at risk of hunger. Operated almost entirely by volunteers from the community, this program empowers those who suffer under the weight of poverty to take control of their lives and to join a strong community of friends and neighbors who are collectively fighting hunger in the inner city.

The Resource Center operates under a client-choice model, in which our neighbors can select the types of foods that they want for their family.  This increases our neighbors' sense of dignity while also minimizing waste. Click here for more info on this program.

• HungerBusters: Working in partnership with Romano Concepts' Hungers Busters of Dallas, we deliver hundreds of meals each month to seniors and other people who are at high risk of hunger within the Monarch / Roseland Homes neighborhood of East Dallas.

• Food Pantry at Lincoln Heights Courts in San Antonio: Our satellite program, Urban Connection - San Antonio, operates a food pantry for the people living on the west side of San Antonio, Texas. Based on the work of our primary Resource Center, this pantry provides thousands of pounds of food to residents of the San Antonio Housing Authority's properties each month. Having recently expanded to a new center, this pantry's volume will increase by 20-30% over the coming year. Click here for more info on this program.

• Nurture, Knowledge and Nutrition: Having acquired this program during our 2006 merger with the Greater Dallas Community of Churches (GDCC), we are now sponsors of the USDA's Summer Food Service Program. Through this program, we partner with other non-profit agencies as well as churches to provide meals and snacks to low-income youth who might otherwise go hungry.

Many of these students depend on the public school system for food. Outside of school, particularly during the summer, many are forced to go without meals. We currently partner with over 30 different organizations and churches to deliver meals throughout a network of over 150 youth programs. Reaching over 3350 children per year, we expect to deliver nearly 135,000 meals and snacks in 2009. Click here for more info on this program.

In addition to these services that are directly related to providing food to people at risk of hunger, we provide nutrition education classes at Roseland Homes as well as meal planning programs for diabetics who participate in our Community Diabetes Education program (see below). We also address many hunger-related issues in our work with youth who are emancipating from foster/substitute care in our TRAC program.

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Health

Working in partnership with groups such as the Health Texas Provider Network (HTPN), the Baylor Health Care System (BHCS) and the Dallas County Medical Society (DCMS), we provide a network of health-related services aimed at ensuring that income is never a barrier to receiving high quality healthcare.

• Community Health Services (CHS): With a team of three full-time doctors supported by a staff of nearly 20 other medical professionals, this program expects to host over 17,000 patient visits in 2009. Services include medical, dental and pediatric care for low-income, uninsured people who would otherwise go without care or rely on local Emergency Departments (EDs) for care.

In 2006, the Health Texas Provider Network determined that their support of our CHS program saves nearly Baylor Hospital over $203 for every patient that we see (based simply on decreased utilization of the Emergency Department).

• Pharmacy: Our Class-D Pharmacy will provide over 20,000 prescriptions this year for patients who may not otherwise receive the medication that they need.

• Community Diabetes Education (CoDE): Nearly 20% of the regular CHS patient population has diabetes. As a result, we created the CoDE program as a cost-effective means of both managing this chronic illness while also preventing its spread throughout this high-risk population. Utilizing a specially trained Community Health Worker, CoDE provides a variety of wellness services (i.e. nutrition education) in addition to supporting diabetics' medical/pharmaceutical needs. The program shows an average improvement of at least 20-25% in blood sugar levels among the patient population. For more info, click here.

• Christ's Family Clinic: Operated as a satellite of CHS within the Preston Road Church of Christ, this clinic focuses on providing medical care to domestic workers who do not have health insurance. For more info, click here.

• Project Access: Operated in collaboration with DCMS, this project utilizes Community Health Workers (CHWs) to help connect uninsured patients to the continuum of care, which includes volunteer physicians who provide primary and specialty care that might not otherwise be available to them.  For more info, click here.

In addition to these services that are directly related to providing healthcare to the uninsured, we provide fitness and wellness classes at Roseland Homes as well as at our youth programs at Turner Courts and in San Antonio. We also address many health-related issues in our work with youth who are emancipating from foster/substitute care in our TRAC program.

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Housing

In 1998, after a decades of battling poverty on a daily basis, CDM's leaders realized that the lack of affordable housing made all of our service programs less effective. As a result, we launched the Central Dallas Community Development Corporation (CDC) as a separate 501(c)3 intended to increase the stock of affordable housing in our community.

For more on the Central Dallas CDC, please visit www.CentralDallasCDC.org.

In addition, we also provide direct housing support to clients through the following programs:

• TRAC (Transition Resource Action Center): A one-stop center that offers access to affordable housing, livable-wage jobs and a safety net for young adults transitioning out of foster/substitute care. Reaching 19 counties, this program reaches over 700 youth per year. In 2008, the program provided nearly $600,000 in direct housing support to these youth, who are at extremely high risk of homelessness. Visit www.TRAConline.org for more info.

• Resource Center on Haskell Avenue: Our food pantry also provides limited financial assistance to neighbors who are participating in our case management program, and who have a history of service with CDM. Click here for more info.

• Roseland Homes: Within this public housing community, we provide limited financial assistance to neighbors who are participating in our case management program, and who have a history of service with CDM. Click here for more info.

• Destination Home: Having grown out of the case management program at our Resource Center, this program is supported by grants through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that provide rent and support services to 50 individuals transitioning out of homeless and into self-sufficiency. This number will grow to over 100 in the coming years.

In addition to these services, we work with our neighbors on their housing issues in many of our other programs (see below).

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Hope

Fundamentally, all of our work is tied to renewing the hope of those who struggle every day with poverty. However, in addition to the services mentioned above, we also provide:

• L.A.W. Center (Legal Action Works): Our public interest law firm that now includes four full-time attorneys who provide legal representation to low-income persons who could not otherwise secure an attorney. The L.A.W. Center closes over 200 cases per year, nearly 1/3 of which involve some form of domestic violence. Click here for more info.

• WorkPaths: Our workforce development program is aimed at providing low-income workers with the opportunity to develop livable wage careers. Operated in partnership with the national non-profit, OAI. Click here for more info.

• Educational Outreach: A variety of educational and enrichment services offered to low-income youth who live in public housing communities. Prepares at-risk students for life-long success by teaching them to achieve academically while also developing their own personal/spiritual gifts. Click here for more info.

• Charlie Mae Ransom TLC (Technology Learning Center): Operated in partnership with both Microsoft - Las Colinas as well as the Dallas County Community College District's Bill J. Priest Institute, this program provides computer access and technical training to low-income adults who live in nearby public housing communities. Supports the work of both the WorkPaths as well as the Educational Outreach program. Click here for more info.

• CDM AmeriCorps: Operated in partnership with the OneStar Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service, this program provides over 140 AmeriCorps Members to support all of CDM's other programs. Referred to as "the domestic Peace Corps," this program works to both enhance CDM's existing services while also training future leaders to replicate these services in other communities throughout the region. Click here for more info.

Each of these programs also relates to hunger, health and housing -- but they are fundamentally designed to lift the hopes of our low-income neighbors by providing them with the resources and opportunities that they need to lift themselves out of poverty.

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