DALLAS - Vickie Clark never thought she and her special needs son, Iviere, 18, would end up on the streets.
"Ain't no way you can prepare for being homeless," she said.
But she hasn't been able to work since she fell and hurt her knees late last year, she said. Eventually, she was evicted, lost her car, and would end up sleeping on the streets of Dallas. "It's dehumanizing," Clark said. "When you go to some places you need help, they don't have no respect for you."
In August, she found Family Gateway in downtown Dallas. It's one of the only shelters in Dallas that doesn't separate families like Clark's. "Here, you're treated with respect and dignity," she said.
Family Gateway is overwhelmed. Calls for help nearly tripled in August. Vickie's was one of 800 calls that month, up from an average of 300.
"It's a lot of strain on staff who are working every day to figure out how do we get this family out of their car? And oh, here's another one," said Ellen Magnis, Family Gateway CEO. "If you don't need help today, with all of this volume, you'll have to call back tomorrow."
On any given night, Family Gateway's conference rooms, offices, and learning center become overflow rooms with air mattresses for families who need shelter when there's not enough space.
"We just don't believe children should be sleeping in cars, which is often what we find," Magnis.
There are several reasons for the spike in calls, said Magnis.
After another Dallas shelter reduced how long families could stay, those families began turning to Family Gateway, said Magnis. Plus, demand usually rises in the summer, when kids are out of school and it's too hot to be on the streets.
In addition, the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance new homeless help hotline (1-888-411-6802) sends families directly to Family Gateway, said Magnis, so more families can connect to them. But Magnis said there is a deeper issue. "Until we get more affordable supportive housing, it's hard to move people in and out of shelter quickly," said Magnis.
Clark hopes she and her son will eventually be able to get a home of their own. "I'm a prime believer that attitude shapes everything so you have to have hope," said Clark.
And even as it juggles more and more families, Family Gateway is helping, every step of the way.