According to Our Friends Place Executive Director Sue Thiers Hesseltine,
“Surviving on the street is not a life skill young women should have to learn.
“Our Friends Place empowers an underserved population in Dallas of single young women who experience abuse, neglect, poverty, and homelessness to excel, grow, and flourish. These unique strength-based and solution focused programs utilize trauma-informed care and research to teach and practice skills needed for a successful adulthood.
“Your gift on North Texas Giving Day makes a critical impact to help Our Friends Place house 40 homeless young women to help them create a brighter future and mentor hundreds of at-risk youth to prevent homelessness from even happening.
“In Dallas, over 25% of young women are living in poverty and are at risk for a lifetime of poverty and homelessness. At Our Friends Place:
- “100% of young women increased job skills
- “86% of young women attended school to advance careers
- “100% of at risk youth graduated high school and attended higher education
“When young women come to Our Friends Place, they succeed! One of those young women is Eriana.
“Eriana was finishing her degree at Brookhaven College when her mother lost her job. They couldn’t afford to live in their apartment so she crashed with friends but couldn’t stay with them for very long. The chaos she felt trying to survive led to frequent panic attacks. Eriana was overwhelmed; she was working two jobs, living in her car, and unable to see a future.
“Eriana was able to join our transitional living program where she received shelter, food, life skills such as financial training, and a team of supporters.
“Today, Eriana has her own safe, affordable apartment in Dallas and is building her dream career as an artist, photographer, and cinematographer. Help young women thrive, not just survive, by supporting Our Friends Place today.
“‘Thank you for supporting Our Friends Place. This program changed my life.’ – Eriana”
* Graphic/photo provided Our Friends Place
In 12 years, Communities Foundation of Texas’ North Texas Giving Day has pumped more than $375 million into the North Texas community. In 2020, more than $58.8 million was raised through more than 106,000 donors benefiting over 3,200 area nonprofits.
On Thursday, September 23, support Our Friends Place by linking here and spreading the word. #NTxGivingDay