Working in Neighborhoods Strategically (WINS) / Children’s Health System of Texas

Connection to Moving Health Care Upstream

Working in Neighborhoods Strategically (WINS) serves as the anchor organization for the Moving Health Care Upstream team in Dallas, Texas. We are supported by and work closely with Children’s Health System of Texas, one of the largest pediatric health care providers in the country.

Our Community & Need

WINS is focused on improving the health and well-being of the South Dallas/Fair Park communities in Dallas County, and particularly the communities in zip codes 75210, 75215, and 75223. The South Dallas/Fair Park region covers about twelve square miles, and the population is approximately 70% African Americans 26% Hispanic, and 4% Caucasian. Once a vibrant, sustainable community, South Dallas/Fair Park has experienced considerable decline in the past four decades. This decline includes loss of population (down 54% since 1970), declining educational achievement (41% of the population has only a high school education), increasing poverty (average family income is $39,000 and unemployment is 16.5% compared to Dallas’ overall unemployment rate of 5.3%), and the deterioration and destabilization of neighborhoods. However, in a more positive light, this region is home to Fair Park, historic neighborhoods, cultural institutions, and many neighborhood associations.

In 2013, WINS emerged as a formal initiative of the Alliance for Greater Works™, a nonprofit organization that brings together leaders from diverse sectors and organizations to identify transformative solutions for under-resourced communities. With the support of City of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Children’s Health, and GrowSouth, an initiative to enhance growth in Southern Dallas, WINS brings together community residents, business and faith leaders, community partners, and concerned individuals who are focused and passionate about returning the South Dallas/Fair Park area to its historic roots as a vital sector of Dallas, where families and businesses can thrive for generations.

Our Solution

At its foundation, WINS relies on community residents to express common goals and a shared vision for lasting change across the South Dallas/Fair Park region. WINS is also implementing a cross-sector approach and, using guiding principles referred to as “Collective Impact,” convenes multiple stakeholders in the community, including individual residents and representatives of such sectors as education, health, law enforcement, real estate, and economic development. Together, these stakeholders are unearthing root causes of complex, entrenched problems in the community, and designing measurable and results-oriented plans for addressing these problems- including plans for demonstrating the return on invesment. WINS partners have shaped an ambitious six-year plan, with phased, measurable implementation, to culminate in 2020. The targeted impact areas are:

Economic Development
Education
Health
Housing
Safety and Security

Our Community Partners

Community partners for our work with Moving Health Care Upstream include:

Alliance for Greater Works
BC Workshop
Association of Persons Affected by Addiction (APAA)
Capital One Bank
Champions of Hope
Children’s Health
City of Dallas
CitySquare
Commit!
Dart
Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce
Dallas Leadership Foundation
Dallas Police Department
Dallas ISD
Dallas Mayors Office
Frazier Revitalization Inc. (FRI)
Habitat for Humanity
Bridge Builders
ICDC
Joy Tabernacle
Parkland Hospital
The YMCA
Revitalize South Dallas Coalition
The Zip Code Connection

In addition, community residents engage in our work through their participation in both our Steering Committee and Board of Directors.

For More Information

If you would like more information about the upstream work happening in our community please contact Sherrye Willis at [email protected].