NONPROFIT Central Texas Table of Grace A local foster program helps beyond childhood S tacy Johnson is intimately familiar with the hardships and chaos that come with a impossible to acquire for 18-year- olds, she said.
BY BRIAN RASH
Table of Grace founder Stacy Johnson said a nonpro t emergency foster care program requires ample funding to remain sustainable, but she plans to grow her program in the coming years. AN EXPANDING TABLE Table of Grace emergency shelter: • founded in 2014 • has 13 beds and 19 sta members • shelters about 70 children ages 6-17 annually Grace365 supervised independent living program Phase 1 • founded in 2021 • provides single-bed apartments for young people ages 18-21 • serves up to 10 young people at a time Grace 365 supervised independent living program Phase 2 • planned to be complete by 2025 • will provide living quarters for young people ages 18-21 • will serve up to 25 young adults
The Grace365 program has a ex- ible timeframe in which a ward may stay in the program, and Johnson said right now she has the budget and resources to accommodate 10 young adults at a time. However, she has acreage in Round Rock o Doris Lane, where the Table of Grace o ce is located. She said she hopes to add living accommodations on the property that would service young adults through Grace365. The facility on Doris Lane serves as the community center for Grace365 where young adults participate in programs designed to enhance their life skills. Johnson said she has plans to continue growing her nonpro ts, and her optimism is largely due to the
childhood spent in foster care. She was in and out of several di erent foster environments in Cal- ifornia starting when she was 2 years old, and once she turned 16, a judge granted her legal emancipation—or freedom from control of a guardian. She said the day she was eman- cipated, the judge told her she was a unique case. Rarely did he see success stories coming from the world of foster care. She moved to the Austin area in 2013, and by 2014 she launched her nonpro t, Central Texas Table of Grace, out of Round Rock. Table of Grace is an emergency general residency operation, or GRO, that provides emergency foster care for children ages 6-17 for 90 days at a time. The Table of Grace facility, which oper- ates out of Round Rock o Sam Bass Road, can shelter up to 13 kids at a time, and for the last seven years, Johnson said more than 400 kids have stayed there. Beyond Table of Grace, Johnson launched a nonpro t in 2021 called Grace365, which helps young adults who have aged out of foster care at the age of 18. Grace365 provides an apartment and other essential provisions for young adults that can be nearly
Young adults participate in a Grace365 cooking class.
COURTESY STACY JOHNSON
A Grace365 participant shows o a pie she made.
COURTESY STACY JOHNSON
HOWTOHELP
Central Texas Table of Grace relies on donations and other volunteer e orts to keep the program sustainable. Some options to help the nonpro t include:
overall hospitality from the people of Round Rock. Through every step of her journey to create Central Texas Table of Grace and Grace365,
“IT’S PRETTY INCREDIBLE THEWAY THISCOMMUNITYHAS BEEN THERE FORUS.” STACY JOHNSON, CENTRAL TEXAS TABLE OF GRACE FOUNDER
Former foster child Stacy Johnson founded Central Texas Table of Grace.
A one-time donation
BRIAN RASH COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Central Texas Table of Grace 1205 Sam Bass Road, Bldg. C, Round Rock 512-244-4335 www.centraltexastableofgrace.org
Monthly donations
Johnson said local groups, individuals and businesses have gone out of their way to help make it happen. “I always joke that when I was young, I knew there were good people out there, but I just never knew any of them,” she said. “But, I guess it’s because they’re all here [in Round Rock]. It’s pretty incredible the way this community has been there for us.”
Noncash asset donations
Purchasing items through an Amazon wishlist
CHISHOLM TRAIL
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Volunteering time
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SOURCE: CENTRAL TEXAS TABLE OF GRACE COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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ROUND ROCK EDITION • MAY 2022
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