Buckner International has served the vulnerable in Dallas since 1879. Through our Buckner Family Hope Center in Wynnewood, Buckner Family Pathways and foster care efforts with vulnerable children and families, countless numbers of lives have been transformed in the city.

Still, our ministry here is as needed as ever. Sometimes it’s good to look at the statistics to be reminded of how pressing the need is. Here are the numbers:

• ​​​​Dallas has the highest number of people living 185 percent below the poverty line of any city in America. It has the second highest number of people living 100 percent below the poverty line behind only Philadelphia, Pa.
• Forty-eight percent of Dallas single mothers live in poverty, crippling their ability to provide for their children. That number has steadily grown since 2005.
• Thirty-eight percent of Dallas children live in poverty. Twenty-eight percent of them have inadequate food and nutrition.
• Nearly 29 percent of Dallas homes make less than $25,000 a year.
• More than 27,000 Dallas residents live in poverty despite holding full-time employment.

​Let us never forget why we serve. Or the faces behind the statistics. In Dallas, hope truly can shine here.