News | Harmony

Dallas Morning News Spotlight

Nov 23 10:22 AM

Dallas Morning News Spotlight

Nov 23 10:22 AM

Harmony Community Development Corp.

Clearinghouse takes a holistic approach to help people achieve self-sufficiency

There are more than 10,000 people in Dallas who are thankful for Harmony Community Development Corp. this week. We’re among them.

Harmony Community Development Corp.

Clearinghouse takes a holistic approach to help people achieve self-sufficiency

There are more than 10,000 people in Dallas who are thankful for Harmony Community Development Corp. this week. We’re among them.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary this month, Harmony began as a food pantry at Concord Church in Red Bird. It has grown into a clearinghouse of coordinated services including rent assistance, legal aid, financial planning, and counseling. It is housed in an office building in the Red Bird area of southern Dallas, where 18 full-time employees and dozens of volunteers help people in need move toward wholeness.

In fact, the word “wholeness” is on the lips of every person we talked to at Harmony.

“We’re trying to look at a person holistically, and help them find wholeness by resourcing them in key areas,” said board chairman Bryan Carter, who is also the senior pastor at the 8,000-member Concord.

“We’ve discovered that if we provide these services, it can help people to continue to make the journey so they can be self-sufficient. It’s all tied together.”

Executive Director Mark Porter described Harmony’s intake process, which involves a detailed questionnaire and produces a “self-sufficiency matrix.” Volunteer coaches help clients develop a customized plan for reaching self-sufficiency. That plan may involve a job fair, temporary rental assistance, therapy, or other services, all of which happen on Harmony’s campus.

“It becomes a one-stop-shop for supportive and wraparound services,” Porter said. “We try to bring everything to bear right here in our own backyard.”

We asked if it ever feels like they’ve bitten off too much.

“It can be a bit overwhelming at times,” Carter said. “But we feel like this approach can serve the person more fully.”

Carter pointed out that Harmony partners with other organizations, including several other churches, United Way, the city of Dallas, Momentus Health Services, Legal Aid of Northwest Texas, and the North Texas Food Bank.

So far this year, Harmony has helped 10,920 people with food, provided $2 million in rental assistance to 670 families, graduated 24 people from a financial empowerment course, and helped 17 people find employment and four others earn raises. One of the most important and timely metrics is this: Harmony’s four licensed professional counselors have served 1,564 clients this year, a 19% increase over last year. Porter said that increase is driven by the stresses of a pandemic, but also by a younger generation of clients who are less stoic about mental health needs.

Harmony’s mission statement is not just about helping individuals or families but transforming entire communities.

“Instead of thinking about giving them a fish or teaching them to fish, we want to teach them how to own the pond,” Porter said. “How do we give them the resources and pathways to get to wealth building, homeownership, owning their own business. It’s a long journey. It’s long and dirty.”

This Thanksgiving, there are hundreds of people in our city who have a job, a raise, a home, or a Thanksgiving dinner because Porter, Carter, and their colleagues are willing to go on that long and dirty journey. That’s something to be thankful for.

Editor’s note: Every year, The Dallas Morning News Charities supports an important group of North Texas nonprofits devoted to helping the hungry and homeless among us. As we begin the holiday season of giving, the editorial board is highlighting the work of a few of these organizations. We hope that you will join us in helping lift those who are lifting others.

Please visit www.dmncharities.com.

Published on Nov 23 @ 10:22 AM CDT

Bank of America Names Harmony Community Development Corporation 2021 Neighborhood Builders®

Nov 12 9:52 AM

Bank of America Names Harmony Community Development Corporation 2021 Neighborhood Builders®

Nov 12 9:52 AM

Program Provides $200,000 in Flexible Funding to Each Organization and Leadership Development Training to Advance Economic Mobility in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex

Bank of America Names LVTRise and Harmony Community Development Corporation 2021 Neighborhood Builders®

Program Provides $200,000 in Flexible Funding to Each Organization and Leadership Development Training to Advance Economic Mobility in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex

[Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX] – Programs that help address the local issues around housing, health, and education will be able to scale, helping even more people through a multi-year grant from Bank of America. LVTRise and Harmony Community Development Corporation (CDC) have been named as the 2021 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders® awardees for their work in the Dallas-Ft. Worth community addressing these issues.

As a Neighborhood Builder, each organization receives a $200,000 grant over two years, comprehensive leadership training for the executive director and an emerging leader on topics ranging from increasing financial sustainability, human capital management, and strategic storytelling, joins a network of peer organizations across the U.S. and gets the opportunity to access capital to expand their impact. The program continues to be the nation’s largest investment in nonprofit leadership development.

“As communities continue to recover and navigate a changing landscape, nonprofits are still experiencing significant demands and are in need of resources to help meet critical local needs like food and shelter, social services, and safe streets,” said Jennifer Chandler, president, Bank of America Dallas. “LVTRise and Harmony CDC are bridging important gaps for individuals and families to help them chart a path toward economic opportunity and stability.”

“Each year, it is a pleasure to recognize two deserving organizations with the Neighborhood Builder Award. Our 2021 awardees, LVTRise and Harmony CDC, are working to make lasting change, and as Neighborhood Builders, we are thrilled to support their efforts to grow sustainably and strategically for greater positive impact in the community,” said Mike Pavell, president, Bank of America Ft. Worth.

“Nothing is more foundational to life than safety, education, housing, and employment,” said Willie Rankin, executive director of LVTRise. “Participating in the Neighborhood Builder program empowers LVTRise to learn more about these issues and how to better address them in our community. Since our creation three years ago, we’ve made great strides in improving the quality of life for people in the Las Vegas Trail area. Being a Neighborhood Builder will multiply our work moving forward.”

“Collaboration and access, that’s what Harmony CDC is about,” said Mark Porter, executive director of Harmony CDC. “We serve 25,000 people annually in southern Dallas with food, rent relief, economic mobility, counseling and legal services, and more. The community we serve has some of the highest rates of poverty in Dallas -- being selected as Neighborhood Builder is a blessing and will allow us to hire more staff and serve even more people.”

Since 2004, Bank of America has invested over $280 million in 50 communities through Neighborhood Builders, partnering with more than 1,400 nonprofits and helping more than 2,800 nonprofit leaders strengthen their leadership skills. Here in Dallas-Ft. Worth, 53 nonprofits have been selected as a Neighborhood Builder, with the bank investing $10,600,000 into these local organizations through the program since 2004.

The invitation-only program is highly competitive, and leading members of the community participated in a collaborative selection process to identify this year’s awardees. Neighborhood Builders is just one example of how Bank of America deploys capital in communities, builds cross-sector partnerships, and promotes socioeconomic progress as part of its approach to responsible growth.

Bank of America

At Bank of America, we’re guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. We’re delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for, invest in, and do business with. It’s demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups, such as community, consumer, and environmental organizations, to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Learn more at about.bankofamerica.com, and connect with us on Twitter (@BofA_News).

For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom and register for news email alerts.

www.bankofamerica.com

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Reporters May Contact:

Carla Molina, Bank of America, 1.512.397.2402

Carla.molina@bofa.com

By Harmony CDC

Published on Nov 12 @ 9:52 AM CDT

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