The Family Place is pleased to announce a $1 million grant from the Highland Dallas Foundation in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This is the second $1 million grant issued by the Highland Dallas Foundation to The Family Place since 2015. The grant will be used in part to fund the ongoing rebuilding and restoration of full services to emergency shelter facilities damaged by Winter Storm Uri, which devastated North Texas in February.

The Family Place is a nonprofit organization that empowers victims of family violence by providing safe housing, counseling and skills that create independence while building community engagement and advocating for social change to stop family violence. Winter Storm Uri left 123 of The Family Place’s clients displaced after pipes in one of the agency’s three residential facilities burst, causing significant structural damage. Approximately $500,000 of the Highland Dallas Foundation’s grant will provide funding for repairs to The Family Place’s Safe Campus Emergency Shelter. The remaining funds will support The Family Place’s Enduring Promise Foundation Campaign and will help provide long-term funding for on-site medical staff who provide essential medical services to clients in two on-site clinics.

“The Family Place would like to thank the Highland Dallas Foundation for being an important part of the solution to ending family violence in our community with its long-standing support of our organization,” said Mimi Sterling, CEO of The Family Place. “Prior to this grant, the Highland Dallas Foundation provided critical funding to help build our emergency shelter medical and dental clinics, which provide vital medical and dental care to our clients. This latest grant helps ensure The Family Place can continue to serve the Dallas community for years to come helping victims become strong survivors.”

“The support we’ve received from the Highland Dallas Foundation goes beyond these generous grants. When we asked donors to participate in our ‘Adopt A Family’ program, the Highland Dallas Foundation stepped up to adopt all the families in need, providing holiday gifts for every resident in our emergency shelter, who were so grateful to receive such an unexpected surprise. This impromptu gesture highlights the level of care and commitment for the Dallas community that drives Highland Dallas Foundation’s philanthropy. We’re grateful for the ongoing collaboration between the Highland Dallas Foundation and The Family Place, which has been instrumental in providing needed services and promoting awareness of domestic violence in our community.”

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, “Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) was launched nationwide in October 1987 as a way to connect and unite individuals and organizations working on domestic violence issues while raising awareness for those issues. Over the past 30+ years, much progress has been made to support domestic violence victims and survivors, to hold abusers accountable, and to create and update legislation to further those goals.”

About The Family Place

In 1978, a group of community volunteers organized The Family Place as one of the first family violence shelters in the state. Today, The Family Place is the largest family violence service provider in Texas, with three emergency shelters providing 177 shelter beds each night, including the state’s only shelter for men and children, and three counseling centers. The Family Place served 11,933 clients in 2020 providing 62,118 days of emergency shelter, 36,015 days of transitional housing, 18,526 hours of counseling to nonresidential clients, and 8,758 hours of counseling to batterers. All The Family Place’s services are in Spanish and in English. For more information on The Family Place, call 214.559.2170 or visit familyplace.org

About The Highland Dallas Foundation

The Highland Dallas Foundation was established in 2011 for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes. The Highland Dallas Foundation is a supporting organization of The Dallas Foundation, the oldest community foundation in Texas. Since its inception, the Highland Dallas Foundation has contributed tens of millions of dollars to charitable causes focusing on the following issue areas: education; support for military, veterans, and first responders; health and medical research; economic and community development initiatives; and youth and family. This charitable giving has made a tangible impact on improving the lives of Dallas residents.