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Lamar, Red River and Delta Counties are located 105 miles <br />northeast of Dallas, Texas, on the divide between the Red and <br />Sulphur Rivers. Paris, the county seat of Lamar and Clarksville the <br />county seat of Red River are the only hubs for the major highways <br />that intersect this part of Texas. We have a population of 48,499 in <br />Lamar, 5,506 in Delta and 14,314 in Red River for a total of 62,219. <br />Because we are an isolated rural area, the ethnicity and socio- <br />economic status of our residents do not always conform to the <br />average Texas statistics according to census 2000 data. We have 13.5 <br />Black/African American population, compared to 11.5 state average, <br />we have no industry to draw large numbers of Hispanic/Latino, <br />however, we have 80.7 percent white (not of Hispanic/Latino origin) <br />as compared with 52.4 percent state wide. <br />This is due to several contributing factors such as: <br />1. geographical isolation from larger towns <br />2. lack of a 4 year college within the county <br />3. lack of a wide variety of companies who employ highly educated <br />employees contribute to a lower educational level and lower <br />median household income <br />Only 14.5 percent of the population age 25 or older have a bachelor's <br />degree or higher compared to the Texas Average of 23.2 percent. <br />The median household income for 1999 was only $31,609 which is <br />$8,318 less than the state average. Our residents have few resources <br />of their own on which to access: <br />1. parenting <br />2. nutrition <br />3. health care <br />4. counseling <br />5. parent counseling <br />6. anger management <br />7. breaking the abuse cycle <br />8. and family dynamics <br />These are offered in all larger cities <br />CASA for IUDS has been offering many of these classes pro bono for <br />the last seven years. <br />Lack of education, lack of skills, poor resources, poor parenting, high <br />crime and drug related crimes all combine to make this a W6ite and <br />Black poverty area, with a growing Hispanic group, With furt6er <br />education, we can combat poverty, lack of job skills and violence to <br />children and families. <br />