United Way designates millions to address pressing social needs in Tarrant County
United Way of Tarrant County announced Tuesday that it is allocating millions of dollars to help combat pressing social issues including homelessness, mental illness, education and transportation.
The 2019-2020 campaign includes over $10 million in funding with almost $5 million to address needs highlighted in the most recent Community Access study, according to a news release.
The 2018-2019 Community Access report looked at the needs in Tarrant County, and identified key concerns which often overlap including education/workforce development; mental, emotional and physical health services; affordable housing/homelessness, and transportation.
“The 2018-2019 Community Assessment provided us with a clear directive of where funding is needed in Tarrant County and how the community expects us to allocate resources,” said TD Smyers, president and CEO of United Way of Tarrant County.
The report highlighted obstacles that many Tarrant County residents face such as approximately 23 percent of households earn less than $35,000 a year, making it impossible to get affordable housing, and the average cost of child care for one child is between $675-$850 a month.
United Way’s community investments include around $6 million toward donor-designated gifts, $2.2 million for Safety Net, which is a network of services offered through United Way’s partners, and $1.6 million for Scalable Community Change, which funds programs to help communities rather than individuals.
United Way is also allocating more than $370,000 in funds for veterans and their families and $48,000 for Women’s United programs to help women and girls.