Catholic Charities Dallas CEO Dave Woodyard joins local leaders for a Dallas Morning News pop-up newsroom discussion
Addressing the Challenges of a Growing Collin County
Catholic Charities Dallas CEO Dave Woodyard joined a panel of local government, business, and nonprofit leaders at an event aimed at examining how one of the nation’s fastest growing regions is preparing for the future.
The lively discussion — which covered managing challenges like affordable housing, food insecurity, and homelessness, as well as attracting businesses and even professional sports teams in Collin County — took place in downtown Plano as part of a series of “pop-up newsroom” events hosted by The Dallas Morning News as a way of building trust throughout the community.
To open the discussion, panelists were asked to state the most pressing challenges in the area in one sentence. “In our world, it’s housing availability and food insecurity,” Dave said, pointing to the resource pressures brought on by an exploding population.
“The growth (in the area) is fantastic, it’s incredible, we have to have that,” added Janet Collinsworth, founder and CEO of Agape Resource and Assistance Center, who was also on the panel. “But we need to provide for that whole continuum of people who live in Collin County.”
According to the DMN’s coverage of the event, the area’s rapid growth will likely resurface “urban issues it had previously evaded.”
“We don’t see poverty in Collin County,” Dave said. “We can drive right by it and never realize it’s there. But it is there. It’s hidden. So the challenge is, building the infrastructure, providing the resources, and making sure there is sustainability for those in need.
“Because as the population grows, so does the population of the working poor — the people who are above poverty level but below the affordability line,” he said. “In Collin County, that number is 24 percent. There’s a lot of folks in need.” To help meet that need, CCD recently broke ground on the NeighborHUB, which will offer wraparound social services from a dozen nonprofit agencies at its 40,000-square-foot location in McKinney.
“The NeighborHUB will allow us to not only expand our services, but also be close to those in need throughout our northern counties,” Dave said. “It will serve as an affordable and collaborative home for multiple nonprofits to join together in a holistic approach, providing vital services, support, and hope.”
In addition to Collinsworth, joining Dave in the discussion were Plano Mayor John Muns; former Frisco Mayor Maher Maso; Gloria Salinas, Senior Vice President and Chief Growth
Officer at Frisco Economic Development Corp.; Galen Roberts, Director of Water Resources at North Texas Municipal Water District; and Neil Matkin, District President of Collin College.
