The Crouch Park project will soon be completed and
the park will reopen to the public due partly to a $4,000 grant the
Itasca Economic Development Corporation received from the Dorothy Gaines
Foundation. The City has plans to build a skateboard park with ramps
and a covered pavilion which will have some seating. This area would be
open to community organizations and churches to hold public community
events.
The EDC estimates that the completion of the
project will cost about $39,500 of which some will include in kind
support and donations from businesses.
The Itasca EDC is hopeful that the young people’s
organizations of the area, including church groups will help with the
‘in-kind support” by helping to maintain the park with grounds keeping,
painting and planting flowers and shrubs. Any group that is interested
in helping their community please come by Itasca City Hall for more
details.
“We have all heard the saying, ’It takes a community
to raise a child,’ I would like to add that it takes each individual
citizen’s involvement to give life to a community,” Mayor James Bouldin
said in urging everyone to pitch in and help.
According to its website The Dorothy Gaines Foundation was originally established in 2003 with the primary purpose of promoting the quality of life in Hill and Tarrant counties. Mrs. Gaines was a native of Bynum in Hill County and lived the majority of her life in Fort Worth, but she always considered Hill County her home. In 2009, when she died, she left the majority of her estate to The Dorothy Gaines Foundation in memory of her parents, Enoch and Ethel A. Curtis.
Samaritan House was established in 1991 to provide housing to persons living with HIV/AIDS. Because HIV/AIDS was a terminal diagnosis at the time, a majority of our services focused on intensive medical support and end-of-life care. As medical interventions improved and life expectancies grew, we realigned our mission to help our residents maintain housing stability, establish goal, improve life skills, and work toward self-sufficiency. Today, Samaritan House provides supportive housing to almost 400 individuals and families affected by major health issues such as HIV/AIDS and who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness. Along with housing services, our residents participate in case management services, chemical dependency intervention, education/employment assistance, and life skills training. Our comprehensive services open doors to hope for some of the most vulnerable individuals and families in our community.
Samaritan House was granted a $10,000 grant from The
Dorothy Gaines Foundation, which will support facility improvements to
our SRO building located at 929 Hemphill Street, Fort Worth in Tarrant
County, Texas. The SRO provides permanent housing and extensive
supportive services for up to 60 men and women at a time.
The facility was built as a nursing home in 1976, and
Samaritan House acquired and renovated the building in 2001. Individuals
living in our Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) facility are the most
vulnerable of the population we serve as all are coping with
homelessness and a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. Over 80% also have some other
type of chronic condition such as cancer, diabetes, kidney disease,
heart disease, mental illness, substance abuse challenges.
Funds requested from The Dorothy Gaines Foundation will be
used to replace five of ten hot water heaters for the SRO facility with
new, on-demand, energy efficient units. As a result of replacing the
water heaters in the SRO, Samaritan House will document the following
outcomes:
• Reduced plumbing repairs as indicated by fewer maintenance requests submitted to the facilities department
• Reduced energy cost as evidenced by lower utility bills
• Continued high sanitation standards as demonstrated by code compliance and health department inspection reports