Around the State

 

Special to The Dallas Examiner

 

DALLAS

Just for Her: Women Helping Women, hosted by the DCT Stargazer Adventurer Club and the DCT Trailblazer Pathfinder Club, will be collecting toiletry items for women in need, now through Dec. 21. Items needed are feminine hygiene products, baby wipes, deodorants, shampoo and conditioners, lotions and soaps. Drop-off bins are located in the foyer of Dallas City Temple, located at 1530 Bonnie View Road. For more information, email pathfinders@dallascitytemple.org.

 

DALLAS

Six new episodes of the Dallas Public Library’s Street View podcast about life from the perspective of people experiencing homelessness was released Nov. 27.

Street View: New Voices features one-on-one conversations between library customers experiencing homelessness in Dallas and Suzanne Glover, Dallas Public Library’s homeless engagement coordinator.

“We like each of our patrons to come as they are and we meet them there,” Glover said. “We all have a voice and we want to be heard and that’s no different with our homeless neighbors.”

Library staff hopes this podcast will bring greater awareness to the stories of individuals currently or formerly experiencing homelessness. The in-depth interviews touch on issues of mental health, surviving extreme temperatures, finding love and being in a relationship and other personal experiences.

Podcast listeners will hear from Carlton, who explains why he doesn’t stay in a shelter, Nicholas, whose schizophrenia led to homelessness, Jennifer and Martin, who transitioned from homeless to housed, Roy, a counselor and ordained minister who performed marriage ceremonies for couples in the homeless community and others with similar experiences.

Public libraries nationwide are a refuge for people experiencing homelessness as one of the few places that provide access and services to all. Dallas Public Library’s homeless engagement initiative serves more than 5,000 people each year through referrals and programming, such as the backpack challenge giveaway.

Street View: New Voices emerged from the relationships built through engagement between library staff and library customers.

Find current episodes of Street View on Podomatic, Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Additional episodes will be released every two weeks through Feb. 19.

 

DALLAS

Dallas Area Rapid Transit employees will hold their annual holiday “Stuff a Bus” campaign Friday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. to assist those in need.

Customers can help fill a 40-foot long DART bus by donating unwrapped toys, canned food, socks and blankets. The specially marked bus will be located at the SMU/Mockingbird Station parking lot, 5465 E. Mockingbird Lane.

The donations support two DART-employee initiated campaigns, Santa Cops and Comforting of the Souls.

The toys and food will assist DART Police “Santa Cops” as they provide meals and gifts for area families in need discovered by officers while on duty in the community.

New adult socks and blankets will help Comforting of the Souls aimed at Dallas area nursing homes.

 

DALLAS

Texas has the 10th largest economy in the world and is home to more than 50 Fortune 500 companies, many of them in the North Texas area. With these companies, and so many others, comes a high and growing demand for qualified tech talent. Roughly 42 percent of all Texas’ technology jobs are in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area.

Headquartered in San Antonio, Codeup received clearance from the Texas Workforce Commission to open a new North Texas campus in at the beginning of 2020.

The technology career accelerator will offer a new talent pipeline for local businesses, as well as a new educational path for people looking to launch or re-launch a career in the technology space.

The new campus will be located in the historic Katy Building, located at 701 Commerce St. in downtown Dallas. Applications are now being accepted for the new campus’s first full-stack web development cohort scheduled to begin classes on January 13. The academy hosted its official launch party on Dec. 5.

The 20-week web programming curriculum offers students an alternative to traditional educational pathways that can take years to complete. The full-time, immersive program allows students to develop the skills they need to become a computer programmer in five months.

The coding boot camp includes a custom full-stack curriculum, professional development services and a large employer network. The program promises students in-field placement within six months of graduating from the program, or their tuition back.