Neighborhood to provide housing, food and child care
According to statistics presented by nonprofit projectHandUp, children account for a third of the homeless population in Tarrant County, and single women and mothers make up 45 percent of people living in poverty. Lisa Rose, founder and president of the nonprofit, said this is part of the reason she decided to get a group of women together to establish a housing development for women and children.
Rose said Gatehouse at Grapevine, an initiative of projectHandUp, will house up to 96 families consisting of women and children once it opens it doors in early 2015 at 2557 Stone Myers Parkway, Grapevine.
Gatehouse at Grapevine will accept women in the Dallas and Fort Worth area who are alone or with children, fleeing or attempting to recover from an at-risk situation, carrying a debt load or need counseling.
"It's a way to unite all of the DFW area over an issue and help women by providing resources that wouldn't otherwise be available to them," Rose said.
Gatehouse does not limit its members on the amount of time they can stay in the neighborhood.
"We are not funded by the government, so unlike those who are, they can stay longer than a couple of months or a year," Rose said. "We want them to be able to stay as long as they need to make sure they make a permanent change in their lives."
The development will feature four neighborhoods that are comprised of 24 one–,two–and three–bedroom units.
Ranging in size from 1,000 square feet for a one–bedroom/one–bathroom to 1,600 square feet for a three–bedroom/two–bathroom, each unit provides outdoor space overlooking the neighborhood green space and adjacent units.
The community will also have centralized counseling centers at each pair of neighborhoods, a general store where household items and food may be purchased, a chapel and a community center that will be used to house administrative offices and private events.
"The Washington Community Education Center will be used as an event center where the community can rent it for weddings and events," Rose said. "It will also be used for classes, lectures and meetings that will be for our members but also opened to the community as well. The center will be a way that the community can make some sort of profit and help with sustainability."
Rose said the organization has already booked speakers and events for 2015 that will be open to the public.
Through the organization's faith-based Independent Life Program, Gatehouse community members are able to receive housing, transportation, child care, food, clothing, education, employment guidance, medical care, counseling and life skills mentoring.
"We want them to be able to receive and have everything they need on campus so they don't have to worry about going somewhere else to find it," Rose said. "We will also have a student enrichment program where we focus on all children of all ages and take them on field trips and engage them in sports and the arts. It's important that we spend time with the kids so that we break the cycle."
Rose said Gatehouse will rely on the community to help support the program by sponsoring and adopting families. Donors can also make monetary donations to furnish the apartments, fund health care costs and child care, among other necessities.
