Our Mission Statement

Committed To Help Relieve Pain

The Grayson County Shelter provides multiple survival services to homeless persons, and others in need, with the explicit goal of self-reliance.

In 1985, The Grayson County Ministerial Alliance committed itself to help relieve the human pain, family displacement and tragic consequences of the homeless in our area. Grayson County Shelter opened their doors in 1987 to assist families and individuals in need of housing, food and clothing.

The founding member of the Grayson County Shelter was Dr. Donald H. Brandt. He donated the building in memory of his wife (Helen Brandt) to serve the homeless people in the community.

The shelter has grown to a 52 bed occupancy, and we typically house 300 people per year. We assist our residents in accessing services, such as completing paperwork associated with permanent housing, obtaining Medicaid for children, applying for jobs, applying for food stamps, WIC, etc., as they prepare for independent living.

The Case Manager completes weekly interviews with each resident to evaluate progress in each of these areas. Homeless families and individuals are allowed to live in the Shelter for 21 days - however, the Shelter will extend time to the residents who are doing everything asked of them to secure employment, housing, and are responsible with assigned chores such as cooking and cleaning our facility.

Grayson County Shelter proudly admits that we are more than just a free bed and meal ticket. Grayson County Shelter makes a sincere effort to help our residents understand what changes they can make in their lives, and how to better themselves to become successful on their journey to self-sufficiency.

Grayson County Shelter also assisted people from all over the North Texas and Southern Oklahoma area with nearly 14,000 donations such as, free clothing, hot meals, showers, coats, blankets, bags of food, diapers, baby formula, hygiene items or other needed essentials for their family. We monitor these items by keeping ongoing records and making a computer log system kept by a staff member.

We are very proud to say that we strive to meet the needs of those less fortunate, but also maintain records to keep the "constant recipients" from becoming too dependent on community donations. Grayson County Shelter can only assist as much as the community supports us in our endeavor to serve those in need.