The Casa View Haven Neighborhood Association in Far East Dallas is taking the opposite approach from other local groups by welcoming homeless folks to their community and actively giving them support.
he Dallas Housing Authority had been seeking apartments for up to 700 homeless people in the city, and had faced a lot of resistance from other neighborhood folks. But Amanda Buckley of Casa View Haven had a different idea, as reported by Nancy Visser:
"Buckley said a June meeting of neighborhood leaders from the Greater Casa View area started with some grousing. "The sentiment in the room was very upsetting to me," she said. "Everyone was piping up about the character of these people. 'Are they criminals? Who are these people?' It was very negative.
"I said, 'We should be welcoming these people. This is an area with a high crime rate, but we should be welcoming them in, and maybe we can keep them from falling into crime.' "
That changed the tone in the room."
FULL STORY: Far East Dallas residents welcome all neighbors – including homeless
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research