2012-018 RES APPROVING/AUTHORIZING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH FAMILIES IN EAST TEXAS, INC (SAFE-T)

Home Browse Search

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