SPOTLIGHT

The T. Boone Pickens Foundation focuses grants to organizations that operate in its core giving categories (see “About TBPF”). The current partner spotlight is Jonathan’s Place, a Dallas-based emergency shelter that, since 1994, has taken care of the youngest members of its community who have suffered the trauma of abuse. Jonathan’s Place serves these children through two programs – a “home-style” emergency shelter for abused, abandoned and neglected children and a Foster Family Program.

The Jonathan’s Place Emergency Shelter provides specialized services and 24-hour residential care to children removed from their homes by Child Protective Services, and it is the only emergency shelter in Dallas County that provides residential services for children in crisis under the age of ten (10).

The shelter provides a temporary home for abused, abandoned and neglected youngsters, with the key word being home. It currently has 14 bedrooms, with 2 beds in each room, and a 4-crib nursery. Staffers take care of all the children’s basic needs, including food, clothing and education, and advanced needs, including medical, dental and psychological. Annually, more than 400 children who have suffered unimaginable atrocities begin the process of recovery within the safety of two “home-style” cottages on a six-acre campus in Northeast Dallas County.

A $1.5 million Pickens Foundation grant will help fund Phase II of Jonathan’s Place’s expansion project, which includes a Children’s Service Center and a Donation Center. The Children’s Services Center will include a dedicated medical room, a play therapy room, a preschool classroom, a visitation room and offices. The Donation Center will allow Jonathan’s Place to receive, process and maintain all in-kind donations on-site, allowing greater, more prompt access for the children. The completion of this phase of the project will allow Jonathan’s Place to create the space necessary to serve hundreds of additional children each year.

The Jonathan's Place Foster Family Program recruits potential foster families, conducts a comprehensive training program and verifies them as foster families. At this point, Jonathan’s Place places children from Child Protective Services and the emergency shelter into the care of these families. All of the Jonathan’s Place foster families have access to the services provided at the emergency shelter, relieving some of the burden associated with being a foster family.

“We are so grateful and appreciative of this very generous gift from Mr. Pickens and his foundation,” says Jonathan’s Place founder and executive director Lisa Matthews. “There are so many Dallas-area children that suffer unimaginable abuse each year, and we try to give as many as we can a loving home and the opportunity for a bright future. Mr. Pickens’ generous support of our vision means many more little ones will have the opportunity to experience a childhood free of pain and fear.”

For more information on the work of Jonathan's Place, visit www.jpkids.org or call 214-827-9595.