Health Navigator Program Transitioned and August Update
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As part of CitySquare’s neighbor-centered plan, we are pleased to announce that we have successfully transitioned the following programs and staff to highly qualified partner organizations during August:
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Our Health Navigator Program grant with United Way has ended, and our Health Navigator Team has transitioned to other roles both internally and externally. This program connected neighbors with health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and other benefits. This grant was in its third year and was expected to finish in August of 2024.
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We continue to work with The Stewpot to finalize the sale of the Opportunity Center. We’ve already begun meeting with program staff to transfer the reins of our Food Pantry and Neighbor Resource Center to their leadership.
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Housing Forward is in the Request for Proposals (RFP) process to fund Housing Stability Case Management for an estimated 250 neighbors enrolled in the Destination Home project. In the meantime, CitySquare is continuing to provide case management services, and Housing Forward is administering the rental assistance. We anticipate this program will fully transition by November 1, 2024.
This past week we had the opportunity to welcome current and former employees of Central Dallas Ministries and CitySquare back to the Opportunity Center for a reunion. We invited attendees to wear their favorite poverty fighter shirts, share stories, and browse through past artifacts (photos included!) from the organization’s history. Staff were encouraged to take home items that resonated with their time here. We remain grateful to those before us, who were instrumental in the shaping of our mission and its impact on thousands of our neighbors.
Thank you for following our transition and for being an ardent supporter of our forward path.
Homeless Outreach Team and Other Services Transitioned
We have successfully transitioned the following programs and staff to highly qualified partner organizations during July. Thus far, we are on track per the timeline we have set for ourselves, in order to successfully wind down by December 1:
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As of August 1, 2024, the members of our Homeless Outreach team (HOT) will become full-time employees of North Texas Behavioral Health Authority (NTBHA). Their skills and training are in high-demand, and they will continue the important work of homeless outreach through the NTBHA.
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We have successfully transitioned the case management for the residents at The Cottages at Hickory Crossing, a 50-unit tiny home community, to Catholic Charities. The Cottages at Hickory Crossing are owned by Central Dallas Community Development Corporation (CDCDC), and Catholic Charities provides the current property management services, so we anticipate a seamless transition for the community's residents. The CitySquare staff who work at The Cottages at Hickory Crossing will stay on with CitySquare to help us transition our other housing programs later in the year.
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In mid-July, we announced that our Board of Directors voted to accept an offer from The Stewpot to purchase the Opportunity Center, located at 1610 S. Malcolm X Blvd, Dallas, TX 75226. The Stewpot intends to continue operating the Neighbor Resource Center and Food Pantry, both vital onsite programs integral to the South Dallas community. CitySquare and The Stewpot have started working to complete the sale and transition.
We continue to stay focused on our long-term goal of transitioning our programs to partner organizations and continuing services for our neighbors with no disruptions. Our on-site programs, the Neighbor Resource Center and Food Pantry, are open and will remain open throughout this transition and beyond, with volunteer opportunities available.
Many thanks to our dedicated staff during this transition, and to our funding community, who has stepped up to help us bridge this transition.
CitySquare Accepts Offer for Opportunity Center
Our Board of Directors voted to accept an offer from The Stewpot to purchase the Opportunity Center, located at 1610 S. Malcolm X Blvd, Dallas, TX 75226, with plans to continue operating the Neighbor Resource Center and Food Pantry. Both CitySquare and The Stewpot have started the process of seeking all necessary approvals to complete the sale and transition the programs to The Stewpot.
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“I feel heartened by this partnership. I know that The Stewpot will continue the legacy of our vital onsite work – to compassionately serve our neighbors through our Food Pantry and Neighbor Resource Center – and further expand the impact of our anti-poverty footprint in South Dallas and beyond,” said Annam.
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“For decades, The Stewpot and CitySquare have worked side-by-side to address the causes and consequences of poverty in Dallas,” shared Brenda Snitzer, Executive Director of The Stewpot. “Relocating The Stewpot’s programs and services to the Opportunity Center will not only allow us to deliver our current programs better in a purpose-built facility, but also offer us the opportunity to further CitySquare’s life-changing work in the South Dallas community through the continuation of the Neighbor Resource Center and Food Pantry. We look forward to welcoming our current clients to our new home, making new friends in our new neighborhood, and continuing to collaborate with community partners throughout our city to help those in need of assistance improve their lives.”
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As a part of the thoughtful process of seeking the right partner to purchase the Opportunity Center and continue the community services CitySquare currently offers, Annam sought feedback from the community. From that input, CitySquare developed a buyer's matrix to ensure the process was equitable and that any future partners have a proven track record and sustainability for long-term success. The Stewpot mission and neighbor-centered focus align with and complement CitySquare’s mission and onsite programming. “CitySquare has been a resource at this location for ten years. We want the resource to stay, and we feel confident that The Stewpot will strengthen and even magnify the existing work already being done by other vital partners,” said Annam.
Dr. Froswa’ Booker, President of Soulstice Consultancy, was on the transition team and reflected on this transition, “I am grateful that Annam has been inclusive in listening to community leaders to learn of their concerns. Throughout this entire process, centering the community has been at the core of the decision-making. So often, organizations make decisions in isolation without including those who will be most impacted and affected. I believe that The Stewpot will continue to build on the foundation of CitySquare and continue to grow its footprint in collaboration with those in the community. Brenda Snitzer is someone that I've known for years, and I've witnessed her commitment to making a difference in partnership with others. I know that will evolve as she collaborates with the many phenomenal individuals and organizations in the South Dallas community. It's been important to ensure that we continue to view South Dallas through an asset framework and as the Stewpot moves forward, I am confident that they will amplify and support the positive, existing work already occurring by so many nonprofits in the community.”
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CitySquare will continue implementing the transition plan to transfer all programs and the Opportunity Center to partner organizations in the coming months to ensure our neighbors and community do not lose any resources.
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Successful Transition of Key Neighbor Programs
As part of our neighbor-centered plan, we have successfully transitioned several of our vital programs to highly qualified partner organizations during the month of June.
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Our Child Nutrition Program, which has historically provided over 400,000 meals to other partner organizations every year, has fully transitioned. Our hard-working Child Nutrition team has secured additional community partner sites who have taken over delivery of these critical meals.
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We have also successfully transitioned our AmeriCorps operations to Equal Heart, at the direction of the federal grant administrator OneStar Foundation. All partner sites are working with Equal Heart to continue to amplify their impact to almost 35,000 neighbors with the support of AmeriCorps members.
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Per the guidance of our Continuum of Care and lead agency, Housing Forward, our Destination Home program, a permanent supportive housing program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is successfully transitioning to Housing Forward. CitySquare will remain as a subcontractor for the case management and neighbor support services for the next few months while Housing Forward releases a request for proposal (RFP) to the community for a more permanent partner. There will be no disruption in care or housing for our neighbors.
We remain committed to making this a seamless process without a break in services for our neighbors.
In our original statement, below, we shared that our long-term goal was to ensure that this campus could become a collective impact site, bringing together partners in shared mission and vision, lifting our neighbors and each other out of poverty, homelessness, and hopelessness. We are getting closer to this goal and we work toward a complete transition by December 1, 2024.
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from Annam Manthiram
Chief Executive Officer
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CitySquare Announces Wind Down Process
Between now and December, with a thoughtful, neighbor-centered plan, CitySquare will transition our vital programming to partner organizations. In the process we will support employees seeking new jobs. After we’ve transitioned the programs, the organization—the 501(c)3—will wind down.
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CitySquare’s founding purpose was to end poverty and to connect our unhoused neighbors to housing and case management. The programs we transition will do that for as long as the community needs them.
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As you know, our programs make a significant impact in our community. Our food pantry serves over 12,500+ neighbors, our housing case management and street outreach team serves almost 1,000 neighbors, and we help 2,341 neighbors navigate connections to health insurance and other vital resources.
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Why now? When I joined the organization at the end of last August, I knew it faced challenges. I believed I had at least three years to get the ship righted, but what I discovered was a much larger funding deficit than even the Board knew about, which didn’t give me the runway to build our brand and regain a solid base of support. We have made all of the right decisions to center our neighbors, including this one.
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Merging CitySquare programs with other, established programs makes the most financial and programmatic sense and will best serve the neighbors. I speak for myself, our Board, and my team when I say that’s why we’re here – for the neighbors. As many of you know, I am a neighbor myself, and I see my own struggles – and my subsequent resiliency and perseverance – in the people we serve.
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Together, with a community-wide effort, we can make this campus a flourishing, thriving center of partners, neighbors, staff and stakeholders, wrapping their arms around each other and our neighbors, lifting them out of poverty and homelessness.
For our community partners who provide housing services: As we work through this transition our campus will remain open. Our goal is to ensure that our onsite programming continues. We will be working with Housing Forward to transition our housing programs to existing providers in the community. We hand distributed letters to our neighbors in our housing programs letting them know they will not lose their housing or services in this transition, but in the coming months the agency managing their services and their case manager may change.
For our campus partners and neighbors who utilize our other services: As we work through this transition our campus will remain open. Our goal is to ensure that our onsite programming continues. We will communicate any changes with partnerships or services as they occur.
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I'm incredibly grateful to Lewis Weinger, our Board Chair, for his support and leadership, and to our key funders who support this thoughtful plan and are appreciative of how much effort has gone into ensuring sustainability for our neighbors and staff. I am also incredibly grateful for my Executive Team, Sara Craig and Karla Goss, who have become fellow heart-led champions of our work, and to the staff who remain faithful to our mission and continually put our neighbors first. You are the real superheroes.
from Annam Manthiram
Chief Executive Officer