Mike Faenza

Homelessness in County Is Down Overall, But There Are More Homeless Children Than Ever

In late January, Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance and a team of volunteers hit the city's streets and shelters to count the homeless . The count is something hundreds of cities do each January as part of the requirements to receive federal funding, but it also helps MDHA understand where the agency is ... More >>

Homes for the Homeless: MDHA's Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in Dallas By 2015

Photo by Stephen Masker​One of the more intriguing council briefings tomorrow will be given by an old friend of Mayor Mike Rawlings: Mike Faenza, president and CEO of the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance. The title of his PowerPoint isn't very sexy -- "Permanent Supportive Housing Plan" -- but conta ... More >>

In the Dark, In the Cold, Counting the Homeless

The woman popped up from the pile of blankets she had laid out on a dirty patch of sidewalk and took a look at the ring of people surrounding her. She patted her woolen beanie self-consciously. "Why you takin' pictures?" she complained sleepily to a photographer. "I ain't put my hair on." Crystal ... More >>

The Good and Bad News Contained Within MDHA's "2011 State of Homelessness" Report

Metro Dallas Homeless AllianceA look at Dallas County's homeless population from the "2011 Annual 'Point-In-Time' Homeless Count and Census"​Leslie's at Dallas City Hall at this very moment, where Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance is announcing the formation of the Greater Dallas Homeless Policy Alli ... More >>

As Agencies Split, Everyone Agrees: To Fight Homelessness, Dallas Need More Housing

Photo by Leslie MinoraMayor Mike Rawlings, former "homeless czar," introduces the Greater Dallas Homeless Policy Alliance.​This morning marked a turning point in the local approach to homeless care. Mayor Mike Rawlings, city and county officials and leaders of local non-profits took turns at t ... More >>

Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, The Bridge Explain Their Separation to City Council

​On Friday, in a briefing sent to the city council, the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance and the downtown homeless shelter The Bridge announced they would be separating their leadership, something that became effective Saturday. The Bridge is now its own separate non-profit and will be a member of t ... More >>

As Objections to Supportive Housing Project Grow Louder, Solutions Become Harder to Find

Via.The playground in question, which would be next to the proposed permanent supportive housing project​As we noted just last month, a group of parents with kids at the First Presbyterian Church Developmental Day School on St. Paul are upset that a permanent supportive housing project (PSH) for t ... More >>

First Presby Day School Parents Have Concerns About Supportive Housing Planned Downtown

​Earlier this week we received word that some parents sending their kids to the First Presbyterian Church Developmental Day School on St. Paul downtown are concerned about plans for a piece of property adjacent to the school. Seems they just discovered that developer Larry Hamilton and John Greena ... More >>

After a Tough Year Finding Homes for the Homeless, Faenza Says MDHA's Closing Strong

Patrick MichelsMDHA's Mike Faenza​As the Dallas City Council wraps up its last meeting of the year, they'll consider adjusting the city's Permanent Supportive Housing Program -- to keep the council notified when new proposals come in and to "encourage developers and applicants to brief key neighbo ... More >>

City Council Members Tour the Bridge for Latest Update on Housing Dallas's Homeless

Photos by Patrick MichelsCity Council members Jerry Allen, David Neumann, Carolyn Davis and Pauline Medrano look on as Jay Dunn shows off facilities at The Bridge.The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance's Mike Faenza and John Castle have been pretty regular faces at City Hall over the past few months, bu ... More >>

Liveblogging the Latest in the Never-Ending Story of Permanent Supportive Housing

Patrick MichelsMDHA board chairman John Castle​Nobody at City Hall can seem to hear enough about permanent supportive housing these days, and since the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance's Mike Faenza just can't talk it up enough, we're back at City Hall for another update on how the city's PSH progra ... More >>

"Homes For Our Neighbors" Program Gives Permanent Supportive Housing a Little Help From Above in Oak Cliff Today

Photos by Patrick MichelsGreater Dallas Justice Revival director Randy Skinner prayed with a few new Cliff Manor residents after lunch today. The year-old faith network Greater Dallas Justice Revival threw its weight behind the push for more permanent supportive housing around the city at a boxed-l ... More >>

At City Hall, Liveblogging the Latest On The Bridge and the Garland Corridor Vision Study

MDHA's Mike Faenza at The Bridge​Welcome back to City Hall, where the city council's Quality of Life Committee is hearing from a blue-ribbon panel of downtown homelessness players, led by MDHA's Mike Faenza and the city's Housing/Community Services director Jerry Killingsworth. Up next is the brie ... More >>

Camped Out at City Hall for the Latest Briefing on Permanent Supportive Housing

​Now that Steve Salazar's run the City Council's Public Safety Committee out of the briefing room, his Housing Committee is powering through the afternoon in here for a look at the latest on efforts to place homeless folks into permanent supportive housing. With bullet-pointed stats presented in s ... More >>

Is Cliff Manor Just Round 1 in a Long Fight Coming?

It's Response vs. Response as Cliff Manor Task Force and DHA, MDHA Agree to Disagree

Mike Faenza, Mayor Tom Leppert and Mike Rawlings at an MDHA event in 2008​Wednesday night, the nine members of Dave Neumann's hand-picked Cliff Manor Task Force abruptly ended a meeting with Dallas Housing Authority officials at DHA HQ: They walked in, listened to a few remarks from the council me ... More >>

Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance's Mike Faenza Offers His Take On the Cliff Manor Controversy

Mark GrahamMDHA's Mike Faenza With the clock ticking on the Cliff Manor Task Force's 6 p.m. deadline yesterday, Patrick "Buzz" Williams and I had a chance to sit down with Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance director Mike Faenza, who wanted to offers his perspective on the fight over Cliff Manor that see ... More >>

DHA's Decision to Move On-Site Services Out of Cliff Manor Sparks Fresh Concerns

​Last week, the Dallas Housing Authority presented 17 people, once homeless, with a new place to stay in Cliff Manor despite earlier assurances that it would hold off till a task force figured out how to ease their transition into the neighborhood. The mayor has said he hopes to use the ruckus ove ... More >>

Homeless Agencies Flip Off Oak Cliff.

Federal Lawsuit Threat Scares DHA Into Moving 17 From The Bridge to Cliff Manor Even Before Task Force Gets Down to Discussions

Cliff Manor on Fort Worth Avenue, which will begin taking Bridge residents next week​When last we left the furor over Cliff Manor, where the Dallas Housing Authority and Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance plan to turn 100 units into permanent supportive housing for the "chronically" homeless, Mayor To ... More >>

Mayor Leppert Tells Neumann to Create "Advisory Board" to Calm Furor Over Cliff Manor Supportive Housing Proposal

Photos by Daniel RodrigueMayor Tom Leppert addresses the massive crowd at last night's Cliff Manor town hall.​Based on the comments, shouts and full-on screams erupting from the standing-room-only crowd gathered in Methodist Medical Center's Hitt Auditorium last night, it's a wonder that the town ... More >>

Homeless Czar Urges City Plan Commission to Increase Permanent Supportive Housing, Addresses Rumors of Possible Mayoral Run

Sam MertenMike Rawlings​Mike Rawlings and Mike Faenza of the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance briefed the City Plan Commission this morning regarding the city's goal of diverting those living in homeless shelters into 700 new units of permanent supportive housing. Their appearance was timely af ... More >>

Dallas' The Bridge Homeless Center's Progressive Approach May Actually Make a Difference

With a no-hassles approach to panhandlers, Dallas' new shelter hopes to kill homelessness with kindness