December 16, 2018
Sandbranch is known as Dallas County’s poorest neighborhood. A small, unincorporated community located just 14 miles southeast of Dallas, the fifth-wealthiest city in the United States, Sandbranch has been fighting for over 30 years to have access to clean running water.
Established in 1878 by the Reverend Allen Hawthorne, a freed slave from Louisiana, along with 11 other freedmen, the community grew around the Mount Zion Baptist Church, which continues to be at the center of this tight-knit community.
At its peak, Sandbranch’s population numbered approximately 500 people, but today only about 80 remain, all of whom live below federal poverty levels. The average age is 68. None of the homes have running water, sewer service, or trash pickup. The water in the community is contaminated, and residents desperately need food and drinkable water.
Sandbranch is also in a food desert, which means that residents – many without transportation – must find a way to travel more than seven miles to the nearest grocery story for healthy food options.
Sandbranch has never had running water in the entire 138 years of its existence, but up until the 1980s, people in the community used well water, which has now either run dry or is too contaminated to drink. Residents now depend on donated water or water purchased in nearby cities and brought in.
Mount Zion Baptist Church, under the leadership of Reverend Eugene Keahey, has been pivotal in helping the residents of Sandbranch maintain a decent quality of life.
For the past 22 years, the Dallas Bar Association (DBA) and special friends have contributed food and distributed it to families in the Sandbranch Community.
This was the third year that my family and I have helped distribute food during the holidays. DBA members raise the money and purchase the food to distribute to approximately 65 families. Volunteers gather at Mount Zion Baptist Church to help distribute the care packages. After unloading the U-Haul trailer and sorting the frozen turkeys, large bags of rice, beans, flour, and sugar, and cases of canned foods, volunteers and community members set up stations for each of the items on the side of the road in front of the church. Once all the items have been arranged, residents drive through the line and the items are loaded directly into their cars. Neighbors with cars help those without, so that everyone can take part.
There is a wonderful camaraderie among volunteers and neighbors, all working together for the benefit of a special community.
Read more about Sandbranch here.
