- You had how many days?
- 89.
- How many people did you house?
- 75.
- 89, 75. - Yes, yes.
- And they're all still in housing?
- Yes.
- And that's because you were able to take them
directly from the camp. - Yes.
- Into their own place. - Their own place.
They all got a case manager.
- That's how you end homelessness.
- Yes, it is how you end homelessness.
(dog barking)
(uptempo electronic music)
- Uh-oh, what am I doing here?
Too early in the morning.
(Deanna laughs) Any broccoli in my teeth?
- You look great (chuckles). - Okay.
Hey, everybody, this is day two in
Dallas and I am at CitySquare.
- Yes.
- And this is Deanna. - Yes, Deanna Adams.
- And she is in charge of housing.
- And homeless services. - And homeless services.
Pretty smart, they go together, don't they?
So tell me a little bit about CitySquare
and what we're gonna do today.
- We are a fath-based nonprofit here in Dallas.
We reach out to our neighborhood and just try to assist
people in any way that we can, whether they're
on the streets or here living in the neighborhood.
We have a pantry here at CitySquare.
We have an outreach team that goes out to encampments.
- I did not know you were a fath-based organization.
- Yeah, yeah, we are. - Okay.
Is that how it started, do you still provide
services, explain that a little more.
- Actually, we started as a food pantry and just from there,
we just expanded our services over the years,
just listening to our neighbors and what they needed
and built the agency around that, currently, like I said,
we are faith based, we have a church here
on our OC property, our Opportunity Center property
and it's called Church on the Square and it meets
every Sunday and both local people
and people that are on the street
that come in and we have a great time.
- Being faith-based organization, are services mandatory or?
- Oh, absolutely not, all our housing programs
are housing first and so right where you're at in life,
we welcome you in and if we can get you housing,
we do that, you move into your apartment
and then you get supportive services with your case manager
and we look at what your goals are and form your program
around you and being able to utilize
your strengths through a (faint speaking).
- Awesome. - Yeah.
- Great, I wish more faith-based organizations--
- Yes! - We need you!
- Yes, yes, we do need you, housing first is awesome
and really does save people's lives.
We just got a new grant about a year ago and I had 75 units
that I was able to move homeless people from the streets
into, in 89 days, we moved 75 people in, utilizing
housing first, and all our people are in housing today
and so we-- - So, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait, wait, you had how many days?
- 89.
- And how many people did you house?
- 75.
- 89. - Yes.
- 75, and they're all still in housing.
- Yes.
- And that's because you were able to take them
directly from the camp. - Yes.
- Into their own place.
- Their own place, they all got a case manager.
- That's how you end homelessness.
- Yes, it is how you end homelessness and we're gonna do it.
- Stephanie. - Yes.
- Works at CitySquare, we're gonna go out
to the tent encampments in a moment.
- Yep.
- And tell me about yourself and what you're doing here.
- I'm an outreach worker, I've been doing outreach
for almost a year now, I just graduated college and.
- Why outreach?
- I don't know, it just feels right.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
- Good answer. - Yeah.
The first encampment that we're gonna go to
is the largest one that we're aware of in Dallas.
I would say there's probably 80.
- [Deanna] Yeah, probably about 80.
- There's about 80 people. - A year ago, the city
of Dallas closed down Tent City
and there was about 80 people that had not been housed
or placed somewhere, since then, the city of Dallas
has closed down two other encampments.
- Three. - Three.
Three other encampments and there is, again,
the same 80 people, they may be different people
but we're still (mumbles) the people that were displaced
when they closed down Tent City down, it went from 350
to 80, we were able to place everybody except
for about 80 people, since then, other encampments
were birthed, they've closed down those three encampments.
Now at this encampment was about 80 people, so we get,
the last year, continue to chase
the same 80 people around--
- [Mark] It's just moving people around.
- Yes, yes. - It's (mumbles) homeless.
- Yes, which is retraumatizing them as their trauma.
(mid-tempo electronic music)
- It's hard to imagine this is America, 80 people
living under here, grateful that CitySquare
is coming out, reaching out to them and then getting them
into housing, I mean it's amazing the last summer
that they had 75 people in 89 days, using housing first
took them right from a tent city into housing
and 73 of them are still there.
That is amazing, that's how you do it, folks.
Communities like this are growing, governments
moving them in many cities, when there's a tent encampment,
they will just move and from my understanding,
there was another large encampment.
There was like 350 people, most of them got into some kind
of support and then the 80 were left
and they were moved on, there's 80 people here.
So every time they're moved, this adds to trauma.
Can you imagine how it is just living out here
and then having to move constantly and never knowing?
My heart's broken for people, oh my gosh.
(mid-tempo electronic music)
But he frequently-- (ambulance siren blaring)
(mid-tempo electronic music)
- They really do try to keep their encampments as clean
as they can but if you don't have somewhere
to put your trash, then that's a problem.
- [Mark] What kind of people are here?
- Awesome people, wonderful people, resilient people,
probably the strongest people on the planet,
full of strengths, and we just try to surround them
and help them, activate those strengths
to move forward in life.
- I come walking up and Deanna now,
and I thought I was number one.
- No, this is my number one friend.
- [Mark] Oh my gosh, how long have you been out here?
(faint speaking)
- Too long. - Yeah, way too long.
- Way too long.
I just talked to Stephanie back there.
She didn't wanna go on camera.
She's been here since Christmas.
She was trying to build a door so that she could have
some security, she told me her stuff keeps getting stolen.
- Being a woman out here, being anybody out here
is horrible, but women have huge challenges homeless.
Deanna's talking to somebody new.
He's been here just a couple of weeks.
My heart (chuckles) is really broken this morning.
(dog barking)
- [Mark] So what happened just now?
- With? - Yeah.
- Oh, like what we just did?
- Yeah. - Oh.
- [Mark] You guys are so sharp.
(Stephanie and Deanna laughing)
- Well, we just engaged with our neighbors, hung out
with them for a minute, caught up with where they're at
and what they need, hopefully, brought them
a little sunshine, happiness, and friendship.
We're working with people that don't always engage services,
for whatever reasons and so we want to bring
all the services that we can to assist our neighbors
in moving forward in their lives,
whatever their endeavors may be.
- We just drove a few blocks and visiting
another tent encampment in Dallas and CitySquare staff
says they were here recently, right when they arrived,
there was a drive-by shooting.
(mid-tempo electronic music)
There's this myth that people experiencing homelessness
are lazy, homelessness is hard work.
And homeless people really try (chuckles) to keep
some semblance of dignity while they're out here
living under a bridge in Dallas in a tent community
without bathrooms, water, that's tough.
So it's amazing they keep this place clean.
I just ran into Randolph and his brother lives here
so he comes and helps clean up.
Homelessness is hard and there's this myth
that homeless people are lazy and they're not.
And in this tent community, they're (chuckles) working
to keep it as clean as possible.
Part of my challenge in vlogging is I will never record
video without somebody's permission so I really would like
to tell so much more of these stories.
Walking in, I can't roll tape until I talk to people
and make sure it's okay, it's just a respect issue.
But I'm gonna continue vlogging and figure out
a way of a format that can really be informative
and you guys will enjoy and support.
- [Deanna] And so we thought we'd bring you down here
and there's lots of people that hang out here
because this is where the services are.
- And this is also where people sleep.
When things get a little wild at the camps--
- There's Cory! - Girlfriends break up
with boyfriends or whatever happens, and they're not welcome
at the camps any longer, a lot of them end up here.
- [Mark] They're sleeping outside on the streets?
- Yeah. - They sleep on the concrete
right out here and then they go inside The Stewpot
during the day.
(ambient electronic music)
- Hi, my name is Lauren, I've been working at The Stewpot
for about four years, I've been volunteering pretty much
my whole life, we started at the church
across the street in 1971 and we are called The Stewpot
because we just served a bowl of soup
and that was where we started.
Then in 1999, one of the church members across the street,
they bought this building for the Community Ministries
and for The Stewpot and so therefore,
we moved over here and expanded our services.
Our main service that we provide is IDs
and birth certificates for our clients, that way that they,
'cause in the city of Dallas, you must have a photo ID
with you at all times just in case an officer stops you.
One of our clients, if they are trying to get housing,
we'll provide the birth certificates.
That's one of the things that most agencies ask for.
Another one of our services that most of our clients
are able to use now is our dental clinic.
They opened about, I wanna say about three months ago.
They're doing X-rays, fillings, but most of our clients,
of course, need dentures, so that's what they are here for.
Here is our Parkland medical clinic.
On Mondays, the eye doctor and foot doctor's here.
Most of our clients, of course, you don't know is diabetic,
so they have to take care of their feet.
For the rest of the week, it is a regular medical doctor.
And then on Tuesday afternoon, we have a transgender clinic.
- [Mark] Wait, wait, wait, you're at church
and you have a transgender clinic?
- Well (chuckles). - Whoa-ho!
- Yes, they're a part of Parkland Hospital.
They pretty much do everything here.
The only thing is prescription, they do not do prescriptions
here, they will refer them out to someone else.
(ambient electronic music)
- [Mark] And an art studio? (faint speaking)
- [Woman] Yeah, you're about to be super amazed.
- [Mark] Wait, wait, wait, wait, you're the place
that has the choir? - Yes.
- This is our art program, it's been going on
for 20-plus years, what's really amazing
about our art program is that our clients sell
their artwork, they keep 90% of the profits.
10% goes back into the art program.
We have, of course, painters, and we have people
who do jewelry, quilts, sewing, all of it.
We also have, like you mentioned,
our Dallas Street Choir, they've been going on, I wanna say
it's about three years now.
- So awesome, faith-based organization providing
ID services, providing dental, health clinic,
medical clinic for transgender, art, and music.
They have a choir, art studio, this is so awesome.
(upbeat electronic guitar music)
Now we're going over, visiting the Tiny Cottages
they call them, across the street,
which is part of the services they offer.
- Oh, so.
- I do that too.
- I know. - So where are we going?
- Oh, we're going to the cottages.
- And what-- - So these are the tiny homes
that CitySquare's built, they are the first of their kind
in the nation, I believe, with the concept
of this community here with permanent housing, so I'm gonna
show you guys around. - Cool.
- So right now, we have about 50 cottages.
They are at capacity, it's a collaboration
between the city of Dallas, CitySquare,
mental health services, substance abuse services.
The people who live here are the highest utilizers
of the city's money.
- So the people that are using services,
accessing services the most, costing--
- The city the most money are the one who--
- Costing the taxpayers the most money.
- Who qualify for this-- - 50 of them off the streets
and put them into tiny cottages.
- Yep, and they opened Thanksgiving week, so November,
and they've stayed at 100% capacity.
- Wow. - So right here
is the mail center. - Okay.
- And then this is the laundry center.
It runs off tokens.
This is where people have to sign in and out.
If they're going to have guests over,
they have to be checked in.
This area right over here is gonna eventually become
the community garden.
There's parking for whenever our neighbors
get vehicles all around the sides over here.
- As many of you know, I am not a big fan
of the tiny home community, well, let me start this,
please let me start this. (laughs)
As many of you know, I'm not a big fan of tiny homes
because so often, people are more focused
on putting people in a box than providing community
and support, as many of you know,
Community First! in Austin is the most amazing place ever
and now, I have found, what's it called?
- The Cottages at Hickory Crossing.
- The Cottages at Hickory Crossing because they housed
50 people that were the using--
- Most vulnerable. - The most vulnerable,
that are in here, that were accessing services
and there's community and there's, 'cause this is part
of your facility. - Mm-hmm.
- So this is not just some place where they're putting
people into boxes-- - No.
- This is support in housing. - Yeah.
- Something. - A really awesome thing
about the cottage is that I just find truly amazing
is that so often, low-income housing is something
that no one wants to live in, it's infested with bugs.
It's terrible part of town, it's in a food desert.
It is surrounded by poverty.
These tiny homes are fabulous, I wish we has one we could--
- Fabulous! - They're just so fabulous.
They come with Tupperware, when you move in--
- Tupperware? - They have Tupperware!
Where do you move in that has Tupperware?
- Awesome. - So these are places
that people would be proud to live in in.
- No, I know, we just did an online campaign to get a bed
for a homeless, formerly homeless person.
It was a friend that was sleeping on the floor.
So getting Tupperware, that's amazing.
You gotta make a place a home.
- Absolute.
- What a wonderful day learning about CitySquare
and then Stewpot, meet some new friends.
As I grow in video blogging, I need your help
in the comments, please let me know what you like,
what you dislike, what you wanna see more of.
Please like this video, please subscribe,
and we need your help on Patreon to keep this work going.
These stories are important and without your help,
there is no Invisible People, so thanks, everybody!
(gentle electronic music)