Interfaith Family Services

Since 1985, Interfaith Family Services (Interfaith) has been a leading resource for working poor families in Dallas who are homeless. Of the three predominant segments of poor at risk for homelessness (the chronically homeless, subsidized poor, and working poor), the working poor do not require, nor do most desire, long-term subsidized housing. Interfaith exists to give them the "hand up" they need when a crisis leads to homelessness. Our objective is to not only stabilize families but to also help them decrease or eliminate the need for federal assistance. This is important because 60% of children who grow up living in subsidized housing will repeat the cycle as adults. In fact, our strategy is very unique given that almost all Dallas-area transitional housing providers graduate the majority of their residents into subsidized housing.

During our 25th Anniversary in 2011, we renewed our commitment to family self-sufficiency by launching the True Transformation Project. When we launched the initiative, we set an aggressive goal to help 1,000 individuals (or 400 families) of the approximately 3,028 homeless women and children in Dallas in any given year to transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency by the end of 2015—the year of our 30th anniversary. The initiative was created to affect long-term change for program participants via four key target objectives:

• Equip 400 families to overcome homelessness
• Educate 300 homeless children by advancing their math and reading skills
• Employ 200 adults in careers with livable wages
• Empower 100 graduates to maintain self-sufficiency 1 year or longer

We are in year three of True Transformation and our outcome results prove that our program works.

• As of 3/31/15, we have served 301 families of our goal of 400 families by September 30, 2015.
• The average graduate wage increased from $9.48/hr. to $15.32/hr.
• 69% of children in our tutoring program improved one or more grade levels in reading and math.
• Graduate employment rates increased from 50% at 6 months post-graduation to 86%.


As you can see, the long-term impact of our work results in stronger families who graduate from the program in a better position to avoid and overcome future crises. Our families are also less dependent on public supports. Our comprehensive services help us quickly address some of the root causes of homelessness, placing the entire family in a better position to reach their goals.

Working poor families desperately need programs like Interfaith's because we offer true solutions to four key barriers to their stability.

• LACK OF TRANSITIONAL SUPPORT: Typically, the working poor do not have strong support systems to rely on when they experience a housing crisis. Many are faced with returning to negative environments or applying for subsidized housing (Section 8). Applying for public benefits is understandable. However, it is not usually “temporary" support. In fact, families live in subsidized housing for an average of 8 years. Studies suggest that their children have a 60% likelihood of living in subsidized housing as adults. However, Interfaith provides homeless families transitional housing as the alternative. As a result, 78% of our graduates continue to live free from the need for rental subsidies two years later.

• LOW-WAGE CAREERS: A woman working full-time, year-round at minimum wage ($7.25) makes close to $15,000 a year -- $3,600 below the poverty line for a family of 3 (National Women's Law Center). In the article “Whose Job Is It? Creating Opportunities for Advancement," the Center for Law and Social Policy stated that “job training can help low-income workers increase their earnings and obtain access to better jobs." Interfaith's Career Development program provides every adult a career assessment, coaching, and training to obtain employment with viable wages. Although 75% of adults are unemployed or under-employed at program entry, 91% find jobs with an average wage of $12.99/hr.

• LACK OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION: Roughly three-quarters of Americans live check-to-check and have little to no emergency savings (Bankrate.com survey, June 2013). What's more, 27% of those surveyed had no savings at all. In Dallas, 52% of poor households are headed by women. The Institute for Women's Policy Research states that “in times of economic hardship, savings and retirement accounts provide the safety net needed to keep women, families, and communities above poverty." Interfaith volunteers provide one-on-one financial education and coaching, with a minimum of 20 sessions needed to graduate. Families also receive assistance with debt negotiation when needed.

• LACK OF ACCESS TO CHILD CARE: Child care eats up 35.9% of a low-income family's monthly budget (Center for American Progress, Importance of Preschool and Child Care for Working Mothers 2011). Furthermore, lack of child care is also a significant barrier to moms receiving the training needed to increase their pay. Interfaith spends nearly $40,000 a year to provide high-quality child care at no cost to families in our program when needed. We also provide free daily after-school and summer programs for school-aged children.

Interfaith strives to provide these holistic programs without duplicating services offered by other housing providers. We collaborate with the following organizations to leverage services in our continuum of care and to provide seamless referrals. To help unemployed residents in our program secure viable employment, we partner with several agencies that assist with job training and other services. The Wilkinson Center and the Aberg Center for Literacy provide G.E.D. classes for our clients. Oasis Institute and City Square provide computer training. We also collaborate with H.I.S. Bridge Builders, Family Gateway, and El Centro for vocational training that clients need to secure viable jobs. We collaborate with My Second Chance and Urban League of Greater Dallas when individuals have issues finding employment due to a felony. Child care is provided through partners like Vogel Alcove and Dallas CAN. Networking opportunities are provided by Career Connection, and professional clothing is donated by Attitudes and Attires. Parkland Hospital offers our families preventive screenings. The Children & Teens program is enhanced by program partners such as the Dallas Independent School District, which provides interns and tutors. Dallas After School assists with educational training and curriculum. Rainbow Days provides access to family and summer outings for our children. Essentials like diapers and other supplies are donated by Captain Hope's Kids.

In addition to our collaboration with several partners, Interfaith utilizes and rely heavily on the support of approximately 100 regular volunteers who work directly with families on their journey to self-sufficiency. For example, volunteers serve families each week by providing employment coaching, teaching our financial education curriculum, tutoring students who are behind academically, and assisting teachers with activities in the children's after-school and summer program. Volunteers also provide assistance with preparing apartments for new families entering Interfaith.

Additionally, we work with dozens of churches and community groups such as Watermark Community Church, Highland Park United Methodist Church, Northwood Woman's Club, Park Cities Presbyterian Church, Women of Saint Michael, Lakewood Service League, The Junior League of Dallas, and National Charity League – to name a few. These groups dedicate their time to special projects or family events such as our Pamper and Play Mother's Day event, Summer BBQ, Fall Carnival, and Christmas Store. Interfaith's Board of Directors is also comprised of volunteers. Their backgrounds are primarily in the nonprofit, legal, and financial sectors. The 22-member Board of Directors provides fiscal and program oversight, supports development efforts, and assists in agency governance.

For families who are homeless and want to break the cycle of poverty, Interfaith's Home & Hope Transitional Housing program provides 25 lovingly decorated, furnished apartments that foster dignity and stability, while parents receive the career coaching, financial coaching, and life skills training need to become self-sufficient.

Our Outcomes

93% transition to permanent housing.
88% are employed at exit with an average wage of $14.05 per hour.
87% reduce debt (average of $2,107) and build a savings safety-net (average of $835).
100% of 2016 graduates maintained employment one year later.
100% of 2015 graduates are living without the aid of Section 8 two years later.
Interfaith saves tax payers approximately $8 million annually.

Hope & Horizons

Children and teens attend Interfaith's on-site Hope & Horizons Program. This special program is designed to stabilize homeless children through a combination of arts and crafts that emphasis creativity, play therapy to address emotional and social issues, individualized tutoring to address common academic gaps, and field trips and camps that expose children to the larger world.

Our Outcomes

76 children were served through our program.
30% Advanced By One or More Grade Levels in both Reading and Math
6 out of 10 exited at or above grade level in reading.
Over 300 hours of counseling was provided to children.
90% of exiting children aspire to go to college and felt better about their future.