Housing Crisis Center is a member of KERA’s Advisory Group for The Economy project. To learn more about the project go to the About section on KERA’s Economy Web site.

Officials at the Housing Crisis Center have had their hands full recently. The nonprofit group, which provides emergency housing services and helps renters protect their rights, has seen its inquiries rise as the nation’s economic recession and historically high unemployment levels cause many families to struggle to make ends meet.

The Housing Crisis Center was founded as the Dallas Tenants’ Association in 1978 by Dorothy Masterson, who identified a need for renters to better understand their rights. With a group of community supporters, Ms. Masterson helped attract pro-bono legal experts for landlord-tenant cases. The free legal aid for residents of Dallas County continues to be a critical part of Housing Crisis Center’s services.

The nonprofit maintains a staff attorney from Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, and employs three counselors who are able to advise clients by telephone. Housing Crisis Center provides legal help to about 5,300 people a year, and manages some 400 calls requesting help each week.

Demand has been growing for Housing Crisis Center’s weekly legal clinic, where tenants can learn about their rights under Texas housing laws and options when facing a possible eviction, and how to file a complaint about a landlord. The weekly clinics, held Wednesdays at the nonprofit’s offices, typically attract 15-20, though recently have had groups as large as 60.

The center’s legal aid is free to all Dallas County residents, no maximum income requirements apply.

Housing Crisis Center also provides emergency financial assistance through its ‘Home Power” program, helping clients who are normally able to pay for rent and utilities, but have experienced a financial crisis.

For Dallas County residents who have lost their housing, the center provides three types of short- and long-term services, and provides permanent supportive housing for veterans and the chronically homeless, using funding by government grants and private donations.

Through Housing Crisis Center’s STEPS program, it provides up to four months of transitional housing for homeless families with children under the age 13, and case management services to become resume financial independence. 

Under its Home Again programs, it provides up to 18 months of transitional housing and case management for three distinct groups: homeless men and women who are battling substance abuse and or mental illness; for homeless individuals over 21 years old who are able to work; and for families who are able to work and include children.

Housing Crisis Center also provides long-term transitional housing and case management services for homeless veterans with and without families through its Veterans Housing Partnership and permanent housing services for folks who need ongoing assistance.

Learn more about Housing Crisis Center and its free weekly legal clinics here. To identify additional community resources, dial 2-1-1 or go online to 211 Texas, the statewide referral network for health and human services.  Learn more from the 2-1-1 page of KERA’s Economy Web site. Get to know more about how local nonprofit groups are helping the community on the Community Voices page.