2011 CitySquare Annual Report

Jessica Flanagan connected with CitySquare
when she was a resilient 8-year-old little girl in
foster care.
Jessica’s New Reality
Jessica didn’t experience the carefree childhood that most children enjoy. As a
little girl, she was bounced around to several foster homes, yet always steadfast in
her wish for a “forever home.” Jessica longed for the unconditional love of a true
family, and a place to call home.
CitySquare’s Legal Action Works (LAW) team helped turn Jessica’s dream into a
reality by connecting her with a family at Central Dallas Church, and aiding in her
adoption process. Though Jessica’s new family didn’t have a lot of money, there
was no shortage of love.
Through CitySquare’s Food Pantry and Resource Center, Jessica and her family
received food assistance as well as information and referral to other programs
and services available to them. It was through this experience that Jessica learned
valuable life lessons about the importance of giving back and helping others. In
fact, Jessica cites her time with CitySquare as her inspiration for helping other
foster care youth. Today, Jessica is 24 and has already earned her master’s degree
in education. She is now working towards another advanced degree, this one in
social work. Jessica says her future desires are “to provide hope, serve as a leader
and mentor to other youth in the foster care system and let them know they can be
successful too.”
9
…
“I have stayed connected to CitySquare for 16 years,” says Jessica. “I just want
to pay it forward and instill hope in a young person’s life; just like CitySquare did
for me.”
Because poverty does exist, in 2011 CitySquare…
• Provided supportive services to over 800 foster care youth aging out of
foster care in a 19-county area in northeast Texas.
• Provided legal services for 250 families who could not afford legal
representation.
• Trained over 100 neighbors in commercial construction and Microsoft
Office Suite – equipping them with the hard and soft skills needed to
enhance their employability for a living wage job.