Promise House

113,000. That is how many homeless youth are enrolled in Texas' Public Schools, according to the Texas Homeless Education Office.

Out of the top 15 Texas school districts, Dallas ranked third in the highest population of homeless students (accompanied and unaccompanied) and first in the top 15 counties with the highest total of runaway referrals to probation. For the 2019-2020 academic year, the City of Dallas reported that more than 3,500 youth throughout Dallas Independent School District (DISD) were experiencing housing instability.

As Promise House grows to meet the increasing need in our community, we depend on the support from incredible donors like you to grow with us. Promise House is one of the ONLY shelter and resource centers for abused, abandoned and neglected youth in North Texas. The continued support from donors like you gives our vulnerable youth the safe and nurturing environment they need to move toward a brighter future - a future not defined by their past trauma but shaped by their resiliency.

Every youth regardless of race, religion, gender or past trauma deserves a warm bed at night and a nourishing meal every day. With your support, we work to end the cycle of poverty by providing our homeless and at-risk youth the resources they need to overcome any barriers to success:

Lack of Basic Needs:
Homeless youth lack shelter, food, clothing and medical care. We provide these basic necessities so our youth can focus on their futures.

Barriers to Education:
The majority of homeless youth have led transient lifestyles, preventing them from attending school regularly. Through our partnership with Dallas ISD, we ensure that each youth is enrolled in school and receives the educational resources they need to achieve their academic goals, including pursuing post-secondary education, if desired. Additionally, all youth receive age-appropriate life skills training.

Mental Health Needs:
Homeless youth are three times more likely to have mental and behavioral problems than non-homeless youth. Through our partnership with Metrocare, all youth will receive screening and treatment for mental health challenges.

Past Trauma:
The majority of youth we serve have experienced some type of unimaginable trauma - physical or emotional abuse or neglect. All residents attend individual and group counseling to help them overcome their trauma through trauma-informed therapy.

Our Needs

Youth homelessness doesn't stop, so we can't either. Promise House is Dallas's only youth homeless shelter that provides short and long-term services to over 550 homeless children and teens every year. In the midst of the uncertainty from COVID-19, our agency remains open and ready to provide housing, healthcare, mental health services, and educational support to one of DFW's most vulnerable populations.

Since shelter-in-place was enacted and Dallas ISD has been closed…
- An increased number of children and teens have come to our shelter.
- There has been an increased need in the number of direct-care staff on hand to supervise our youth to meet our 1:8 staff to youth ratio, which has resulted in a 19% increase in direct-care staffing costs.
- The direct-care staff has started performing tasks outside of their regular duties, such as providing tutoring and assistance as our residents work through their virtual learning assignments.
- Our children and teens remain at the shelter for all three meals of the day, meaning that we are providing 50% more meals to our residents.