About CCS

About Crossroads Community Services

Crossroads Community Services (CCS) is an urban outreach of First United Methodist Church of Dallas which began in 2001. CCS continues an 80-year history of service to the downtown area. Our mission is the prevention of homelessness by providing sustained, tangible support to families in need. Our hallmark is confidence in and compassion for our neighbors. CCS distributes food, clothing and monetary assistance to help mitigate the downward spiral of poverty. We also teach the skills and discipline for an individual to sustain well-being.

CCS serves men, women and children of all ages, ethnicities and religions living in the City of Dallas (all 752__ ZIP codes) who qualify as “low-income” under federal guidelines. In this service, CCS is rapidly developing a reputation for efficiency and innovation.

Our Mission

To enrich the lives of our neighbors-in-need by compassionately providing

tangible support and by helping people develop the strategic skills

and self-discipline necessary to enjoy sustained well-being.

Our Primary Focus

Homeless Prevention

Helping persons with a home keep their home in spite of temporary unemployment, underemployment, low wages, or reduced benefits, by providing the necessary food,

financial, and educational assistance that includes strategies to better anticipate

obstacles that threaten a balanced budget.

Our Goals

Our Immediate Goal—To re-define food assistance delivery in the City of Dallas.

Our Long-Term Goal Goal—To create environments, programs and opportunities that equip people, especially future generations, with the necessary skills and resources to break the cycle of inter-generational poverty.

Our Strategy

SOS Strategy—Seek, Optimize and Share the skills and knowledge that, combined with the right resources, relationships and resolve, provide opportunities for adults and children to accomplish goals that are important to them—a key measure of success.

Our Current Focus

CCS serves a population that lives on the edge of homelessness. The continuing economic crisis means an increase in food needed to arrest the downward spiral of poverty. Food insecurity is rising across the city. Segments of the population previously buffered from poverty, such as dual-income households, are lining up at local food pantries. A tsunami of need approaches as job losses mount.

Our History

Crossroads Community Services (CCS) is an urban outreach ministry of First United Methodist Church, Dallas. The name “Crossroads Community Services” alludes to the reality that many of the people coming for services are at a ‘crossroads’ in their life. CCS developed from the desire to continue and expand an 80-year tradition of service. CCS is funded by public and private contributions and grants. We currently share space with The Stewpot, a ministry to the homeless operated by First Presbyterian Church, Dallas. A strong, collegial relationship has developed among the churches, The Stewpot and CCS.

Our 2008 Outcomes

We distributed 1.9 million pounds of nutritious groceries (and 335,000 pounds of fun food — cokes, candy, Gatorade, bottled water, etc.) to over 11,800 unduplicated men, women and children in 2008. They live in approximately 4,200 households, and early half of the people CCS served in 2008 under 18 years of age. These numbers equate to more than 145 balanced meals per person—on average over 410 meals per household—over the course of the 2008 year.