Page 49 - Senior Link Magazine Summer 2018- Online Magazine

HONORING J.T. & MARGARET

T ALKINGT ON

The Talkingtons HELPING LUBBOCK’S HOMELESS

Are Still

Opening Doors

BY JOCELYN WIEBE

Since 2017, Open Door has ended more than 290
cumulative years of homelessness through Open
Door Housing – a feat that would not have been
possible without a landmark gift from the J.T. and
Margaret Talkington Charitable Foundation.
neighbors. In 2017 alone, Open
For over 20 years, Open Door (formerly Carpenter’s Church) Door Housing has saved the
has cultivated community, opportunity, and restoration with Lubbock community over $1
people experiencing poverty and homelessness. Through million in expenses, such as
our Community Center, Church, Housing, and Clinic, Open unnecessary use of emergency
Door creates a place where every person can live, thrive, and medical care, jail costs, and
belong. police intervention for our
Housing residents. In the last
In 2012, Open Door launched a pilot housing program twelve months, the number
utilizing a nationally-recognized best practice for ending of chronically homeless
chronic homelessness called Housing First, which offers people in Lubbock has
permanent, supportive housing with comprehensive dropped by nearly 50%,
supportive services. The requirements of the program are thanks in large part to
simple: residents must meet a standard lease agreement and Open Door’s Housing
pay 30% of their income in rent. Case managers work with program.
residents to help set individual goals, such as stabilizing
mental illness, managing chronic health conditions, or The changes in the lives
increasing income through employment or benefits. Housing of our Housing residents
First prioritizes people with a disability who exhibit the are often unmeasurable.
highest need and greatest vulnerability. Housing First is After years of suffering with untreated mental illnesses,
highly effective, with nearly 90% of people remaining in many of our residents are stable for the first time in years.
housing for five years or longer. Other residents are addressing chronic health issues with
ongoing primary medical care provided by Open Door
In 2015, the J.T. and Margaret Talkington Charitable Clinic staff. Others are reconciling long-broken family
Foundation granted Open Door funds to build ten units of relationships, accessing educational opportunities, or
dedicated Housing First permanent, supportive housing for gaining employment. They are attaining stability and finding
some of Lubbock’s most vulnerable, chronically homeless holistic healing after years of extreme poverty and trauma.
neighbors. This grant was the catalyst to exponential growth After 22 years of homelessness, one of our friends said this
for our Housing program and an enormous step toward just weeks after moving into his new home: “My life has
meeting our goal of ending chronic homelessness in Lubbock changed tremendously. I’m comfortable and safe at home,
by 2020. In 2016, the Foundation approved a second grant not worrying about anyone stealing anything from me, and
to purchase and renovate an additional duplex and build being out of the weather. I feel comfortable, feel good, feel
a Housing office and Clinic to better serve the needs of our like living again.”
Housing residents.
The J.T. and Margaret Talkington Charitable Foundation’s
Because of grants from the J.T. and Margaret Talkington investment in Open Door has yielded abundant growth for
Charitable Foundation, Open Door has leveraged donations some of Lubbock’s most vulnerable neighbors and is making
that have led to housing 30 of Lubbock’s most vulnerable a significant difference in our community at large.

Lubbock Senior Link 49