Wesley-Rankin Community Center serves a neighborhood that is home to more than 1,400 low-income families. The majority of families have Hispanic heritage, but there is also a significant number of persons with African-American heritage.

The typical home in our neighborhood has a front porch, a living area, a kitchen, and two bedrooms. Most of the homes were built between 1940 and 1960. It is common to have at least five or six residents in a home. Many homes include at least three generations and extended family like aunts and uncles.

The high school drop-out rate is very high in our neighborhood. Property crime and violent crime rates are above Dallas County averages. The rates for robbery and vehicle theft are particularly high. Families who are just getting by can experience a major crisis if they are robbed of a week's wages or their family car is stolen.

An article in the March 19, 2006 Edition of the Dallas Morning News about West Dallas stated:

The community is considered by some to be one of the poorest in the nation. Its per capita income in 2005 was $9,025, according to one measure. That's less than the adjusted per capita income in poverty-stricken Mexico. In the 75212 ZIP code -- which takes in nearly all of West Dallas -- about two-thirds of the population is Latino, and just under a third is black. A sliver of the population is non-Hispanic white.

Most of the homes in the area, have appraised value of between $20,000 and $50,000.  Many of the families in the neighborhood rent their homes and there is not a lot of turnover in home ownership.  Near Hampton Rd and I-30, at the site of the former Dallas Housing Authority Projects, a new housing development is being built.  Greenleaf Village is 310-home community for mixed income families with homes ranging from $65,000 - $190,000.  It will include 100 homes built by Habitat for Humanity that will cost about $65,000.  The average sale price of a home in the 75212 zip code was $96,000 in 2005; this is down from $113,000 in 2003.  This pattern of decreasing home prices is inconsistent with most of the Dallas market.

Future phases of the city's Trinity River Redevelopment Project and completion of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge may bring some changes to the neighborhood. The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava is currently under construction. It will span the Trinity River at Singleton Boulevard, the community's spine. The bridge, a majestic suspension structure with a span of 1,200 feet, will soar 40 stories high. Many persons in the community express excitement about these projects, but some fear that their rent could increase without an equal increase in the economic opportunities for their families.

West Dallas by the numbers
ZIP code 75212 is synonymous with West Dallas. Here's a demographic snapshot of the community in 2005:

• There are over 22,000 residents living within 5886 households.
  
  
• $34,000 was the average household income.
(This compares to $64,000 for the City of Dallas.)


• There is an average of 3.72 persons per household. (This is the highest number for any Dallas zip code. It compares to 2.58 persons per household for the city of Dallas.)
  
  
• 80 percent were family households. (This compares to 58 percent of households in the City of Dallas.)
  
  
• 18 percent of households were headed by a single mother with children. (In the City of Dallas, 8 percent of households were headed by a single mother with children.)
  
  
• For persons age 25 years and older:
  35.3% dropped out of school by the 8th grade,
  65.6% did not complete high school or a GED ,
  34.3% have a high school diploma or GED,
  2.3% have a bachelors degree.
  
  

SOURCES: 3/16/06 Dallas Morning News.  They cite the following sources: Claritas; U.S. Census Bureau; World Bank. Data was also obtained directly from the U.S. Census Bureau (2000 census), City-data.com, bestplaces.net, and Forbes.

 

Wesley-Rankin's programs also reach beyond our immediate neighborhood into other areas of Dallas.  Each year the Center provides primary care to more than 1,500 people, of those, 40% are adults and 60% are children.