Frequently Asked Question about the LifeLine Program

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The LifeLine program provides three months of apartment rent (in declining amounts) for homeless or near homeless families that have been referred to us by GPISD Connections Program. LifeLine also intervenes to prevent homelessness of these GPISD families who are at imminent risk for homelessness, often through eviction. LifeLine’s crisis assistance gives the parents time to re-group and resolve the immediate crisis that caused them to become homeless or near homeless. The majority of LifeLine’s families are acutely homeless, not chronically homeless. The LifeLine program is sufficient for most of our families to recover from an unexpected crisis that made them unable to pay rent. 

The LifeLine Program is completely free in terms of money.  You are required to invest time for client sessions and casework.  

There are several requirements for the LifeLine Program.  You must first have a child/children actively enrolled in the Grand Prairie Independent School District and has attended classes for a minimum of 9 weeks.  You must receive a referral from GPISD.  You must live within the city limits of Grand Prairie.  You must either be homeless, or otherwise at risk of homelessness, such as through eviction.  You must be able to provide documentation of the circumstances that led to the present housing crisis.  You must be willing to work the program requirements and complete all casework.  You must have a legitimate source(s) of income sufficient to pay rent and other monthly expenses independently following the program. You must be fully employed, as well as any other adult in the household, unless enrolled in school full-time.  You must provide all documents necessary for admittance into the program.  You are not eligible is you are currently receiving Section 8 housing or other reduced housing assistance, or any other rental assistance through federal, state or local agencies or organizations.  For example, if you are receiving rental assistance from Grand Prairie United Charities you would not be eligible for LifeLine assistance.  Although this is not an exhaustive list of requirements, these are the primary requirements.

You must contact Sonnia Ortega, GPISD Connections Coordinator, with GPISD.  Her phone number is 972.522.7060.  She will schedule an appointment for you.

You must have an appointment.  Due to COVID-19, we are working remotely.

You may call or email one of the LifeLine staff for an appointment.  Currently, we are working remotely due to COVID-19 and you may need to leave a message.  We are working with clients through Zoom meetings and phone calls.  We will return your phone call or email.  Contact Vivian at 972.237.5545, vivian@lifelineshelter.org or Melinda at 972.237.5546, melinda@lifelineshelter.org. Or, you can simply click the "contact me" icon at the bottom right of the screen and we'll respond shortly.

In most cases, yes.   Sometimes the client is not ready for the LifeLine program due to various reasons but that does not mean they will not be accepted later.  LifeLine is not saying no, just not at that time.  In most cases, LifeLine is not the hold up.  But, if it's "not now," we encourage you to stay in contact with us so we can get you ready for the LifeLine program. 

After meeting with your case manager and you've submitted all of the required documents, the case manager will let you know at that time.  Unless there is some unforeseen circumstance that pops up during your assessment, you should know by the end of the assessment.

The LifeLine Program lasts for three months as long as you are meeting you casework and meeting requirements.

In order to remain in the LifeLine Program, you must continue to submit your monthly documents and complete your casework between client meetings.

The primary documents required for the LifeLine Program include the completed online application,  signed rules and guidelines, referral letter, Skyward information on your children that are enrolled in the GPISD, valid driver's license or government issued ID card for all adults 18 and older, Social Security or ITIN cards for everyone in your household, income verification,  any government benefits letter such as SNAP, disability, SSI, SSDI, RSDI, unemployment, Medicaid, CHIP, WIC, TANF, etc.  You may need your last 1040 tax return for income verification.   You may need your child support number. Additional documents will include a landlord letter and IRS W-9 for the landlord.  Each case is a little different and you may be required to provide additional documents based on your current situation.  

You can only receive rental assistance if we've received all of the required documents.  We will still be happy to help you with a job search, resume, interview skills, and other resources to help you find what you and your family need.