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<br /> <br /> <br /> Shelter Agencies For Families in East Texas, Inc. <br /> <br /> of these volunteers, as well as the support from local referral agencies warranted a more permanent <br /> position in the community, so last year SAFE-T opened a thrift store and moved it's temporary office into <br /> the thrift store. The budget restrictions did not allow for hiring separate staff and maintaining a separate <br /> <br /> office. The Thrift Store at 1579 Clarksville Street, Paris, allowed for the Outreach Office to be more <br /> accessible to clients from the hours of 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Monday - Saturday. The store moved in <br /> 2010 to 2246 Bonham and the office moved into an empty building located in the Paris Housing <br /> Authority complex. Two years ago, in February, SAFE-T began The Sexual Assault Program in Paris. We <br /> now have five staff members working from the Paris office providing housing assistance, crisis <br /> intervention services, counseling and Prevention of Abuse education to the community. <br /> <br /> Two years ago we received a grant award called the Homeless Prevention Re entry Program from the <br /> Department of Housing and Community Affairs in the amount of $538,350. This grant provided for a <br /> Case Manager in Lamar County as well as provided housing assistance for Lamar County residents for <br /> rent, utilities and deposits. This program was a life changing program for victims of domestic violence. <br /> Victims who were accepted into the program furthered their education, so that when the grant funds <br /> end they will be in a better financial position. This grant ends September 1, 2011. <br /> <br /> SAFE-T realizes that you are skeptical of trusting an agency that you know little about. I am a founding <br /> board member and volunteered for two years as the Executive Director. I have spent the last 15 years of <br /> my life bringing SAFE-T to life from an all volunteer agency to one that has two outreach offices (Hopkins <br /> <br /> and Lamar Counties) and is financially sound. We average assistance to 1,600 victims each year and have <br /> many success stories. <br /> <br /> We have the knowledge to provide Lamar County with a shelter. It will take time to develop, possibly <br /> years, as did the one in Titus County, but I have confidence that the Paris Community will make this <br /> happen. I will only be an instrument in making this work for you. We do, however, need financial <br /> support in these early years while relationships are being developed. <br /> <br /> We need financial support to retain current staff that will lose their financial support from the housing <br /> grant ending Sept 1" <br /> <br /> Respectfully submitted; <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Carol Gresham <br /> Executive Director <br /> <br /> Web site: www.safe-tagencV.com <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2 <br /> <br /> <br /> 127 <br />