By: Demond Fernandez for WFAA
DALLAS — Students, parents, and neighbors around Lincoln High School in South Dallas will have a new space on campus focused on connecting the community with a variety of resources.
Lincoln High School and a variety of community partners unveiled the school’s new Community Resource Hub on Thursday. The office is housed in the original school building. Organizers say it is a place where students, parents and neighbors can visit to get access to some of their immediate needs.
“It is definitely significant, because of the lower economical issues that we have in this particular community. We need all of the resources and help that we can get,” said Marcus Turner, President of Lincoln High School Dallas Alumni Association.
Several alumni, staff and neighbors toured the new resource hub. The space has computers and printing stations for parents and local residents to use. There is a coffee bar and a lounge for meetings. You will also find a closet filled with uniforms, clothing, hygiene and grooming items for students and neighbors. The resource hub is also stocked with snacks hits for anyone needing relief.
“We’ve got to let go of that façade that we don’t need nothing. We need all that we can get, with God’s love and grace and mercy. That’s what this is – God’s grace, love, and mercy,” said Willie Mae Coleman, Class of 1952.
The United Way, Southern Dallas Thrives, CGI, EY, and Dwell with Dignity are among community partners who worked to bring the Lincoln High School Community Resource Hub to life. Organizers transformed the school’s old storage space into the colorful resource center.
“We are appreciative of community resource centers like this, because they show that the community is willing to invest in our students,” said Drexell Owusu, Dallas ISD’s 2020 Bond Co-Chair.
The 2020 Bond initiative included about $41 million to invest in similar community resource centers on several campuses.
“We’re super excited about this, because this small example is a proof point of what is yet to come,” Owusu explained.
You can expect to see more community resource hubs like the one at Lincoln High School, and on a larger scale, opening in schools across Dallas ISD.
