United Way hosts community conversation

As featured in Denton Record-Chronicle on 9/7/2018 by Jenna Duncan ... 

The annual fundraising to support the next year of initiatives for the United Way of Denton County started Friday during a kickoff breakfast and community conversation at the University of North Texas Gateway Center.

In a panel moderated by Gary Henderson, the agency’s president and CEO, public officials talked about what actions they’ve taken to support United Way’s four main pillars: helping children and families succeed; serving veterans and their families; advocating for mental health; and making homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring.
 
The event, attended and supported by a number of area businesses, helps launch the next fundraising campaign to support the organization’s strategic goals and help people in need.
 
The discussion started with Bobbie Mitchell, Denton County commissioner for Precinct 3, discussing how the county is working to help veterans get access to mental health treatment.
 
In the recently passed county budget, there are two permanent positions for veteran community navigators. The positions were introduced and temporarily funded as part of a pilot program two years ago. Now, they’re permanently in place to help veterans and their families learn about resources available for everything from housing to education. Additionally, the budget added two full-time mental health professionals to the Denton County Jail, Mitchell said.
 
State Rep. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, focused on the increases to mental health funding in the Texas House of Representatives. This last legislative session, total funding for mental health initiatives reached $7.6 billion, more than double the funding allocated in the 84th session.
 
Parker talked about how the funding directly benefits Denton County, since there are requirements for community matches for certain funds, and the funds are not just directed to major cities. During the legislative recess, Parker is researching funding gaps and how different agencies can help people with mental health problems.
 
“It’s not just about throwing money, it’s about identifying the gaps and doing so intelligently, and I think we’re making great strides there,” he said. “We are committed to funding mental health and making it a top priority.”
 
Both Chris Watts, mayor of Denton, and Jamie Wilson, superintendent of Denton ISD, talked about homelessness issues in the city and county. Watts founded a task force on the topic when he became mayor, and Denton schools continue to see the number of homeless students increase each year.
 
Watts stressed that the most important aspect in combating homelessness is making more affordable housing available in the city. To qualify for funding, nonprofit organizations and the city must plan to provide housing before other services, but there is a major shortage of affordable housing in Denton.
 
Increasing availability must be a priority for everyone, he said. Watts challenged everyone in the room who has investment and rental property to contact United Way to figure out how to make space available for people in need.
 
“If we don’t do that, if we can’t meet that metric, we’re going to lose the emergency services grant again,” Watts said, referring to when local homelessness support agencies lost a $600,000 federal grant in 2016. “I mean, it’s plain and simple. We know what we’re supposed to do, that’s our goal, and the only way we can do that is place people in homes.”
 
Wilson shared anecdotes about children he knows who experienced homelessness, and students currently in the district. In the past week, he knows of 30 students who have moved 12 or so times in the past week.
 
“When kids come to school from that environment, whether they read 20 or 30 minutes last night isn’t even a question,” he said.
 
While third-grade reading levels are a key indicator for future success, continuing education is how to enable people to help themselves, said Dr. O. John Maduko, vice chancellor at North Central Texas College.
 
Maduko, a physician, said the key barriers for people who need to climb the economic ladder are trust, sustainability of resources, accountability of community leaders and education.
 
“Before we can talk about educational programs and resources, it’s that rapport we have to build — you have to break down those barriers and say, ‘Please give us a chance, meet us halfway. Partner with NCTC and let’s see what we can do,’” he said. “To me, those are the four key barriers that we face on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis.”