Home for our Neighbors!
The Greater Dallas Justice Revival will launch in August of 2010 the “Faith in the Homeless” campaign to serve the families and individuals placed in transitional and Permanent Supportive Housing. This effort will mobilize the faith community to serve those individuals as new residents of local neighborhoods by mentoring, bible studies, and working with support services on site,
neighborhood landscaping and church affiliation. The GDJR will also work with local neighborhood associations, schools, civic and business leaders to ensure a healthy quality of life increases in those areas.
The Greater Dallas Justice Revival supports the City of Dallas plan for the development of 700 permanent supportive housing units for chronically homeless individuals by 2014. For over the past two years more than 300 leaders and 3,000 volunteers have committed to work with the Greater Dallas Justice Revival to achieve this plan. Now is our best opportunity.\
Dallas is at an exciting crossroads in its efforts to end chronic homelessness. The Dallas Housing Authority and the Dallas Metro Homeless Alliance have developed strategies to house over 600 currently homeless individuals in permanent supportive housing in 2010.
In view of the community’s need and the stated goals of the community’s elected leaders, the Greater Dallas Justice Revival will partner with these organizations and busy itself in supporting these objectives in the following ways:
1) Outreach and Public Education:
Implement the Faith in our Homeless Campaign in the Dallas Metro Homeless Alliance and Dallas Housing Authority by: (a) activating outreach, public education and spiritual strategies with more than 1,000 church and other and non- profit partners. (b) GDJR will assist in the development and dissemination of educational materials, (c) neighborhood forums that will create dialogue between churches, neighborhoods, homeless neighbors and the organizations that provide health and human services to our homeless friends. Our goal is to ensure a healthy and safe environment for formerly homeless people and their new neighbors.
2) Volunteer Support for Residents of Permanent Supportive Housing
Play a central role in providing volunteer support to over 600 formerly homeless people who will move into permanent homes in an effort to do all that we can to make certain that permanent supportive strategies are successful. We will call on church leaders and volunteers that are located in proximity to new housing programs across the City to achieve this goal.
We believe that the church will serve as a healing agent to humanize these efforts and address the fears, concerns and/or misconceptions about homeless individuals and families, including those in recovery with mental illnesses, addictions and physical disabilities.
The Justice Revival is committed to supporting the servant-leaders in our city who have been at the forefront of creating and implementing solutions to the challenges of homelessness. We believe that the many individuals and organizations who have been leading but most often quietly serving the needs of the homeless are answering the call to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to our homeless friends.