‘Dream for better.’ Arlington nonprofit lifts up the most vulnerable in community

Some of the greatest things in life come out of personal hardships.

Tavian Harris can attest to this. It was through her own challenges in life that the nonprofit Seasons of Change, Inc. was born.

Quite simply, Harris’ organization helps folks achieve their dream of a better life, particularly young people. She calls it her own “American dream.”

The name, she said, comes from each of us going through seasons in our life, each being different. For some of us, a season or seasons can be more challenging than others.

“At the end of my spectrum, the lens that I view is to be able to help a young person dream for better,” Harris said.

Seasons of Change began after Harris, curious about community support for young people, conducted a survey. What she found was a lack of resources, most notably for vulnerable and marginalized youth.

“I wanted to know where we were needed most,” she said. “I knew we needed to do something, but I wanted our beginnings to really be targeted and I didn’t want to waste resources. I had to find out what the greatest need was in order for us to help young people.”

So, in 2001 an organization called the Community Changers Project was created to provide an intervention to promote improvement of the health and well-being of adolescents and adults. That developed into a coalition of what is today Seasons of Change (it officially became a licensed nonprofit in 2009), which has expanded from Arlington to include branch offices in Houston, Longview and Oklahoma City.

Wide-ranging services targeted for youth, families

Seasons of Change has expanded to include crisis intervention, transitional housing, pregnant and parenting teen services, counseling, education, and outreach to neglected, abused, and youth and adults.

The organization has assisted thousands of children, youth and families in crisis, including more than 10,000 the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, they report.

“We would consider ourselves as a hypergrowth organization, that’s where an organization grows more than 25% quickly, and this has happened within the last four years,” Harris said. “All I wanted to do was to help young people and teen moms. I never dreamed that it would grow to the capacity that we have now.”

Seasons’ target population has expanded to ages 10-24, Harris said, adding that it is the hardest age group to reach. To do so, she said they have created relevant resources and make sure to have what they need.

“If they need housing, we house them. If they need food, we get them food. If they need clothes, we clothe them,” she said. “We stay with the trend and get them ‘hip’ things. Our clothes have swag.”

Harris said surveys similar to the original one are still conducted every five years to make sure the needs they are addressing are still relevant. This allows them to make any adjustments needed in the services they offer.

“These people are amazing. They are doing God’s work helping out in the time of need,” said Heber Aguirre.

Harris noted that pregnant and/or parenting teens who are homeless are the most vulnerable group.

“Not only are they runaways and/or homeless, but they also have a lack of resources and also they’re having to look after a child. Within 48 hours of leaving home, they could be approached by traffickers,” she said. “... We are able to help stabilize their family.”

Blueprint for others to follow

Harris said she can also find evidence where her organization has inspired others to step up and help.

“We started the Community Changers Coalition to inspire other nonprofits and bring them alongside us to serve our community. We’re able to, number one, provide them with resources, and number two, provide access to education and training to equip them to address the needs of young people in their community,” she said.

“Nobody usually thinks about homeless youth, so we have really brought a voice to our homeless teenagers in the community. We’re working with the police department, we’re working with the city, the alternative schools — you name it.”

Seasons is primarily grant-funded, but they do hold fundraising events, such as community garage sale on July 9 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Arlington site (921 W. Mayfield), an annual gala (tentatively scheduled for February), a back-to-school campaign and Christmas Collaboganza. They also participate in North Texas Giving Day and Giving Tuesday. For exact dates of events, or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit their website at seasonsofchangeinc.com.

This story was originally published June 10, 2022 at 7:00 AM.