City of Dallas Launches Give Responsibly Program

Residents urged to text to support unhoused population

The City of Dallas has launched a Give Responsibly campaign where residents can donate through their phones to support the local unhoused population.

The program comes from a partnership between the city’s Office of Homeless Solutions and Councilwomen Jaynie Schultz and Gay Donnell Willis, representing Districts 11 and 13, respectively. They hope the program will encourage people to give to organizations that address homelessness across the city by providing showers, clothes, and other services, rather than through a single-impact donation on the street.

“The biggest problem with panhandling is our generous hearts,” Schultz said. “If so many people weren’t giving so much, there wouldn’t be so many people asking for money.”

The Office of Homeless Solutions estimates that 80% of those asking for money on the street are not homeless, Schultz said.

“We wanted to be able to focus on the people that truly do need shelter, and that’s why we’re asking people to give through this method because it supports the organizations that are actually working with people that are homeless,” Schultz said.

The Dallas City Council also passed in October an ordinance that levies a $500 fine for standing in a median. However, two homeless individuals with two other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the city alleging that it violates the First Amendment.

Residents can text CARES to 214-740-4886 to get to a page with the option to donate through one of three donation mechanisms:

• Communities Foundation of Texas
• Donating through one of the city’s partner organizations
• Giving to unsheltered service provider members of the local Continuum of Care

“The Give Responsibly campaign [has] always been about education and compassionate care more than anything else,” said Christine Crossley, director of the Office of Homeless Solutions. “Those tied together because we want to educate people on how to most compassionately and efficiently care for their unhoused neighbors.”

Schultz has three main goals for the program: 

• “First of all, to continue to reduce the number of people who are asking for street charity.”
• “Second, to give people a meaningful way to meet their desire to make the world a little bit better and help other people and give them a tool that actually helps.”
• “And third, give people an opportunity to do it immediately so if they have the urge to give to someone on the street, they can meet that need without giving $5 to that person specifically.”