The town of McKinney, Collin County, is preparing to expand an innovative program that emerged from two emergencies that have faced every resident in the past year and a half.
Founded at the start of COVID-19, One Heart McKinney aims to provide financial support and resources to residents affected by the pandemic, unemployed people who cannot pay their bills and sometimes have no food on the table.
In February 2021, the city program was intensified again after the great winter storm, which left many without electricity and water for days.
Scott Elliott, the new Executive Director of One Heart McKinney, said the model of the program is, “How can we make it more efficient for the friends and neighbors we need to access the services in McKinney? There is no shortage of resources. I assure you there is no shortage of organizations that are great. But how can we make it a more worthy experience for people in need of help? “
Elliott, the current executive director of the nonprofit Community Lifeline Center, points out that there are families in need even in McKinney.
“A lot of people look at McKinney and Collin Counties in general and say, there can’t be that much need out there,” he said. “Of all students at McKinney ISD, 32-24% qualify for a free or discounted lunch, and if you reference just that one statistic, that’s a pretty strong statement of need.”
Hoping to build on One Heart McKinney’s momentum in successfully streamlining resources across the city, the program will expand on February 1, 2022.
Elliott says the program will focus on food, hygiene, physical and mental health, and access to education and jobs.
The McKinney Police Department, Fire Department, School District, and dozen of nonprofits including the Community Lifeline Center, Hope Clinic, and Hugs Café, all work under one roof to streamline individualized help for each person in the program.
“Right now, someone in need of help can go to five different organizations in five different locations and tell their story five times,” Elliott said. “To tell your story when you are in need or in a crisis, I cannot describe how incredibly difficult it is, let alone do it again and again with an uncertain outcome.”
Participants only have to tell their struggles once, he said.
“What we prefer to see is a common intake process for all service organizations across town,” said Elliott.
The program will be financed privately and with city money, said McKinney’s Mayor George Fuller.
Fuller says he will also look for county or federal dollars to keep the program going.
“One Heart McKinney will be a facilitator in many ways,” he said. “We’re going to use all the information, all the nonprofits in the town of McKinney.”
McKinney also watched a similar program in another city in North Texas.
“There are some great models across the country,” he said. “One of them is pretty close to us, Serve Denton, has a similar model that we are sure to learn from.
The hope is to build a stronger McKinney with residents better prepared for future emergencies.
“We hope to God it’s not another pandemic, but there will be another Snowmageddon, another network problem,” Elliott said. “Something is coming. How can we make our community more resilient before it comes to that? “
McKinney residents who need immediate assistance can contact Scott Elliott at SCOTT@ONEHEARTMCKINNEY.COM.
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