The Straight Gate Project is
a major new Dallas-area (South Oak Cliff)
non-profit recovery housing project for recently released prisoners coordinated
by
Dr. Guy Brown of Lubbock Christian University under the sponsorship of
the Westside
Church of Christ in Slaton that is open to all Metroplex area prison-outreach
ministries.
Its major asset is a wooded 3-acre campus with 18 free-standing duplex
units (nine
3br/2 ba with covered parking and nine 2br/1ba with covered parking) owned
by Mary
Prudie Brown of the Stanton Church of Christ and dedicated to Christian
recovery
and aftercare.
The residential units are in various states of repair, but meet all material
qualifications
for providing a non-institutional Christian social environment conducive
to successful
personal recovery and participation in productive civilian life. About
half the units are
now habitable and occupied, including approximately 35 residents sponsored
by area
ministries. Given the scarcity of landlords willing to allow exoffenders
as residents, it
is urgently desirable to renovate these properties as necessary in order
to accelerate full
occupancy of the units and begin to carry the mortgage costs on a non-profit
basis.
Area churches and prison recovery ministries offer many different things
for ex-offenders.
The concentration of recovery housing for ministry-sponsored residents
in a single
extended complex allows diverse Metroplex churches and area prison ministries
to
concentrate and focus their efforts and compliment each other’s
varied strengths and
interests on their own sponsored residents and others in one place. With
The Straight
Gate, a full spectrum of services is provided for residents, such as “Welcome
Back” to civil
society classes; Bible studies; personal, one-on-one mentoring (including
on-site
twelve-step and other substance abuse recovery programs), job-search and
documentation
assistance; periodic supplements of food, clothing, toiletries and sundries,
eye-glasses
and bus passes, and other relevant attentions, as well as helpful monitoring.
Although there are not insignificant initial renovation and mortgage costs
to be borne,
the project is envisioned as largely self-supporting within about one
year after renovation
and, since housing is among the most critical of problems for most prison-related
ministries, and concentrated housing above all, it is envisioned also
as a significant low
or no-cost multiplier of many existing area prison outreach and recovery
efforts.
Estimates as of this writing for the repair-renovation of all 18 of these
South Oak Cliff
units by outside contractors total less than $14,000 per unit. When renovations
are
complete, decent low-cost housing will be provided for more than a hundred
individuals.
Depending on particular ministries or church sponsors, some units may
house families.
Because of the constant heavy flow of demand, we anticipate sponsored
terms of
about six months per person, or serving more than 200 sponsored persons
per year,
representing a renovation cost of less than $1500 per sponsored person
over the first
year alone. Prorated over several years of operation, The Straight Gate
Project clearly
represents an outstanding opportunity for efficiently expanding Texas
prison recovery
resources.
Unit sponsorships are available. The Straight Gate Project commits
100% of all donations and partner-funds directly to carrying and
renovation costs.
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