Neighborhood Support
Nearly one in six Dallas residents lives below the poverty line — a rate significantly higher than both the state and national averages. Behind that number are real and compounding barriers: Dallas faces a gap of nearly 40,000 affordable rental units, with that shortage projected to nearly double by 2035. Food deserts — especially in historically underserved areas like southern Dallas — have persisted throughout the city's history, limiting access to the basic resources that make a neighborhood thrive.
For 25 years, DLF Neighborhoods has walked alongside residents and community leaders to strengthen neighborhoods from the inside out — working together to improve homes, expand access to basic resources, and build the safety and stability that allow families to put down roots and stay. We believe the people who know a neighborhood best are best positioned to restore it — and our role is to resource and walk alongside that leadership.
What We Do
Working in isolation won't lead to transformed communities. The aim of our Neighborhoods department is to equip local leaders in their efforts to reduce crime, increase community engagement, promote safety, and improve housing. DLF rallies these leaders to dream and collaborate.
When members of the community reach out to us, we start by using DLF’s own Neighborhood Vitality Assessment to determine the overall health of their community by measuring employment opportunities, education resources, safety controls, volunteerism, and health needs of residents.
Currently, we work in 13 target areas on a weekly basis to improve their vitality scores, create a list of community assets, establish and/or support Home Ownership Associations, and plan cleanup days, health fairs, surveys, prayer walks, and more.
Our team doesn’t dictate what the dreams for our neighborhoods should be; we let the community tell us what they hope for and then work in partnership with local leaders to leverage resources to bring about the desired change.
Hamilton Park
The Hamilton Park Way documentary details the history of and pride in the Hamilton Park community, a planned Black community in North Dallas, Texas, that was created out of a lack of housing and several bombings that occurred around the city. Stories are captured that reflect communal and individual stories from original homeowners to current residents and from former community leaders to current ones.
In the film, Mary & Thomas Jefferson, aka "Mayor of Hamilton Park" and former president of Hamilton Park Civic League, explain that it was one of the best things getting involved with Dallas Leadership Foundation over two decades ago.