ROCKWALL, TEXAS May 10, 2024 – ONE HEART PROJECT is pleased to announce an award from the Texas Bar Foundation which will fund its expansion to Rockwall County. One Heart Project is a 501(c)(3) organization that equips justice-involved and at-risk youth with the skills, tools, and healthy relationships they need to navigate life successfully.
Using an intensive social-emotional curriculum focusing on skill and relationship development, One Heart Project meets with small cohorts of youth ages 12 to 19 to promote better outlooks and behaviors and thereby prevent further involvement in the juvenile justice system.
In the State of Texas, One Heart Project currently provides services to Nueces County, where it has served since 2019, and McLennan County, where it began service this spring. This expansion to Rockwall County, scheduled to launch in summer 2024, marks One Heart Project’s third service location in the state.
This award also marks the second time the Texas Bar Foundation has supported One Heart Project’s mission. The foundation’s first grant to One Heart Project allowed the program to launch its work in Nueces County. Results from that service location show that less than 30% of program completers reoffend, compared to the national average of 75% of youth who reoffend. Crucial to One Heart Project’s service model, all locations have the full support and cooperation of local juvenile justice officials, who refer youth to the program. The program also works closely with youth probation officers to monitor each youth’s progress.
“One Heart Project is pleased with the opportunity to expand our work to Rockwall County with this crucial support from the Texas Bar Foundation. The foundation was instrumental in first launching our program in Nueces County, and the same is true now for Rockwall County,” One Heart Project Chief Operating Officer, Randy Turner, said. “We look forward to having the same success working to divert youth from further involvement in the juvenile justice system.”
Since its inception in 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation has awarded more than $27 million in grants to law-related programs. Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation is the nation’s largest charitably-funded bar foundation.
Press Release: Texas Bar Foundation Awards Grant to One Heart Project to Expand Work to Justice – Involved Youth in Rockwall County
Submitted by: Brandon Barnes, Communications Specialist, One Heart Project
