Michael Meyer, Lubna Hossain, Grant Hogan, and Annika Lewis

The Dallas County Health and Human Services is home to several key offices in the large city that is able to serve the millions of citizens year round. The center provides disease reporting, energy assistance, home loan counseling, lab reporting, immunizations, viral detection (Ex. West Nile Virus), and sexual health clinics. These DCHHS reminds us of how important it is to stay active in local politics, understand who is running at local levels that can impact these services, as well as how we as citizens can utilize them to create a safer community.

The Boys and Girls Club started in 1965 in West Dallas, now spreading nationwide. The Club provides several programs year long to children as young as kindergarten all the way to seniors in high school, putting them into the mindset and track of college. Programs include STEM camps, academic success, healthy lifestyles, and good character and citizenship building classes. The club focuses on providing a safe place to learn and grow to underprivileged youth to maximize their potential. These organizations are run off of donations, volunteers, and a vast love for the kids, shaping their lives into a brighter future. This club had a huge emotional impact on the Dallas HST and first hand allowed them to see just how impactful a few hours and some games and advice could be.

Home to the loving and charismatic owners of 50 acres of land, Ursula and Peter focus on giving back to those who have nothing and in the best way possible. With a large focus in sustainability, everything produced on the land is organically grown with not a drop of chemical enhancements or artificial growth. After being moved by a personal experience to incorporate healthier more organic food, Peter and Ursula have dedicated their service to helping people who would be less likely to eat healthier food due to their socioeconomic condition have access to good, healthy food. The United States has a huge issue in our healthcare system where we often only treat the symptoms of an illness rather than treat the underlying cause. Making healthy lifestyle decisions such as eating healthier food, can make a huge difference in the overall health of an individual. Divine Kinship is doing a great job trying to make that change in the Dallas area.

Action Information Network (AIN), formally Aids Interfaith Network has been providing health education and other heath referral services in the Dallas area for more than 30 years. Along with interacting with AIN's clients during lunch time, we also helped provide a deep clean of their kitchen and dining area. During the afternoon Miranda helped us understand more about HIV/AIDS's history and helped us break down the stigma associated with the terrible virus. Our day ended with listening to a pharmaceutical representative give us information on the latest treatments for the illness. A big portion of civic identity is gaining knowledge to better assess the position in society. Not only does AIN do a great job of this, but they also provide a much needed public health service to the Dallas area. Our whole group was truly moved by the experience.