Dallas nonprofits celebrate success in reducing homelessness

DALLAS – A coalition of nonprofits has announced an ambitious goal to halve street homelessness in Dallas by 2026. They say they are almost halfway to that goal.

On Monday, Housing Forward announced that the All Neighbors Coalition has provided new housing to more than 12,600 people since 2021, a 24% reduction in the number of people living on the streets.

Since July, 107 people, such as Regis Wylie and Charles Williams, have found housing under the first phase of the Street to Home initiative, which launched in July.

Both men lived on the streets near the Śródmieście Library. They now have apartments they call home.

“We know the work is not done,” said Sara Kahn, president of Housing Forward.

The $30 million Street to Home project is the result of a massive collaboration of 150 partner organizations led by Housing Forward. Funding comes from a combination of public taxes and private donations.

“This is a great day on our journey to making homelessness rare, short-term and non-recurring,” said Housing Forward President Peter Broadsky.

“As a community, we have cracked the code to securing federal funding,” Kahn added. “I think we all subscribe to the principle that no one should sleep outside.”

Leaders said Dallas is one of only five major cities in America seeing a decline in the number of people living on the streets.

The first phase of the Street to Home project targeted downtown Dallas and was intended to ensure that the area would not become repopulated.

Subsequent phases will include other locations in Dallas and Collin counties.