For 14 years, the Inspired Vision Compassion Center has filled a gap in Dallas’ Pleasant Grove neighborhood — offering everything from groceries to health services for adults and children to job training.
But, facing mounting financial pressure and a downturn in donations, CEO Teadran White said those services are at risk.
“If something happens to us, this neighborhood is going to be in big trouble,” she said. “And not just this neighborhood, because we stretch out to many other communities.”
The organization serves hundreds of families a day from as far away as Terrell, Fort Worth and Red Oak, White said. The center, located in a former Kroger grocery store at the corner of Masters and Burton Road, is located in a food desert.
The nearest grocery stores a couple miles away are not within walking distance. According to the 2024 Census, the poverty level in the 75227 ZIP code, where the center is located, was 14.4% — higher than the national average of 12.5%.
And lately, “more and more people are needing help,” White said.
"Even your what's considered you know...not low income, but like middle income, those families are struggling right now because the price of everything has gone up," she said.
It’s also pushed the cost of operating the center up; meanwhile, donations are down, White said.
Claudia Duneman, a retired engineer who worked for Hewlett-Packard, has been volunteering at the center about 45 hours a week for over a decade.
“If these doors would go down, we would have people sleeping out on the street,” Duneman said. “We would have families that would not have the food needed in order to feed their children. We would have seniors probably not able to walk because they would not have the energy because they would not have the right food in order keep their bodies going the way it needs to go. That's what would happen.”
Duneman also fears there would be an increase in crime in the community if the center were to close.
“Because when people do not have to feed their family, they're going to go take it,” she said. ”And if they take it, there's a danger.”
Diamond Coleman recently heard of Inspired Vision and said it’s helping her and others.
“There’s a lot of people that are struggling to make ends meet and it’s great that they have some type of avenue or outlet to help support, in order to get by a little bit,” she said.
White said despite the financial challenges, they will continue to serve the community. They were in a similar situation a few years ago and were able to raise the money to stay open.
“We've had to do this before and we've been okay,” White said. “And you know what, the work is going to continue. Somebody is going to step up and help us, or quite often, it's a lot of somebodies.”
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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