Dallas, TX
Finding faith: People experiencing homelessness graduate from Dallas support program
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/WGRG3SCISFGGPDKJIJW6VHOU54.jpg?ssl=1 "Finding faith: People experiencing homelessness graduate from Dallas support program")
Amanda Steggall, 45, stood in black regalia in a packed room at Dallas Life, a faith-based shelter for unhoused people. She described the anger she felt when she and her two kids lost their housing and ended up at the shelter.
“I felt like there was just no hope,” Steggall said. “And there was just no getting out of it.”
When she found Dallas Life, Steggall said, it was hard for her family to be around so many other people and have to attend classes and stick to curfews and schedules. But eventually, the mother said, she found a job, a support system and a faith that guides her.
On Monday, friends and family of 11 graduates clapped and cheered when the black-robbed cohort held diplomas to their chests. Graduates moved their black tassels with a ’24 charm across their caps.
At any given time, about 100 people participate in the Homeless No More program, which holds several graduations throughout the year.
In about 10 months, Dallas Life’s faith-based Homeless No More recovery program teaches financial literacy, anger management and job-readiness skills to people who have lost their housing and relationships and need extra support.
Graduates are able to secure permanent housing and employment, a path toward re-entering society that looks different for each individual.
Mary Ann Sweeney, the director of the Homeless No More program, told the crowd of about 100 staff members, family and friends that she was proud of the graduates’ journey to overcome past fears and crises.
“God has been so faithful to each one of these graduates,” Mary Ann said. “God is the one who got them to this point. He’s the one that walked side by side. He’s the one who gave him the strength and the courage to stand firm and to follow through to the end.”
The Rev. Bob Sweeney, Dallas Life’s executive director and Mary Ann’s husband, designed the program that’s divided into four phases. The first three phases require participants to remain inside the shelter’s facilities, located near the Cedars neighborhood south of downtown.
Dallas Life, which started housing people in 1954, helps hundreds of men and women focus on their recovery with practical budgeting skills and spiritual healing that aim to repair relationships, Bob Sweeney said.
The faith leader said successful homelessness recovery programs give a person expectations and accountability. “You must have skin in the game,” Sweeney said. “You have to put your best foot forward toward recovery. I want them to walk in the door knowing it took a while to become whole.”
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Steggall lived at Dallas Life with her 14-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son, while her oldest, a 17-year-old son, lived with his dad in Idaho.
“It was hard on them being here at first,” Steggall said. “But just seeing all the struggles that we went through, I know we did it together.”
Steggall said her kids motivated her each day to find a path to stability. Now she works at Haystack, a burger restaurant in University Park, and is finalizing her housing. She and another mother who graduated from the program are searching for housing options as roommates.
“I had to do better for them,” Steggall said. “And, yeah, I think they’re very proud of their mom, and I think it means a lot for them to see me follow through and do something knowing that it was not just for them but for me, too.”
Ronnie Lee Owens, 58, had mixed emotions after graduating from the program. He’s excited to start a new chapter of his personal health, which improved over the past year he’s lived at Dallas Life, which he calls his safe haven.
After developing kidney disease, Owens said, he couldn’t work anymore and eventually lost his little red house, his truck and motorcycle. “I’m starting over again from scratch,” Owens said. “When your health goes bad like that, it’s out of your control.”
After the graduation ceremony, Aleisha Sanders, 44, celebrated with her son, daughter and granddaughter with hugs and cupcakes. Sanders said finishing the program felt like “getting a monkey off her back.”
Although she works in child care full-time these days, Sanders said she wants to put her cosmetology license and skills to work again. “I want to go back to a salon … working for someone and learning what’s news because I’ve been out for a couple of years,” Sanders said.
Sanders and her family live in a home in Mesquite. Her 1-year-old granddaughter, Bleu, has never known a stable home.
“For her whole life, we have been homeless,” Sanders said. “We lived in extended stays. We lived in the car until it got [repossessed]. Then we got into different shelters. It was a long, hard road.”
Dallas, TX
FOX’s Kasper Schmeichel compares England to Dallas Cowboys, so who are their other sports analogs?
Scottish World Cup fans reportedly drink Boston dry
Dana Perino announces that Scottish World Cup fans have caused an unprecedented beer shortage in Boston, emptying bars and liquor stores. Jesse Watters playfully observes that Europeans visiting America seem to “love it,” despite negative media portrayals, while Greg Gutfeld adds a satirical comment about “liberal mayors” and local resource management, contrasting Boston’s beer woes with LA’s water and Chicago’s Bears.
FOX Soccer analyst Kasper Schmeichel came prepared for this year’s World Cup on American soil.
The former Danish goalkeeper may not be from around these parts, but that didn’t stop him from dropping an eerily accurate comparison between two overconfident but long-suffering sports programs.
With England and Croatia warming up inside AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, Schmeichel decided he would roast two fanbases with one stone, comparing the Cowboys to the Three Lions with a hilarious one-liner.
Funny, but also painfully true if you’re a supporter of either team.
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I made a comparison last week between the English national team and Notre Dame, but Schmeichel got me thinking, who are the sports analogs to England from the four major North American leagues (NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA)?
Today, I will be doing exactly that, including giving a slightly better NFL comp than the Cowboys (shocking, I know).
Without further ado, let’s piss off our neighbors from across the pond.
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NFL – Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears helmets are displayed before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nev., on Sept. 28, 2025. (Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images)
While the Dallas Cowboys are a fine comparison for the English national soccer team, I think I can do one better.
Schmeichel mentioned that England “won it once and have never stopped talking about it,” and although the second part of that statement applies to both, the Cowboys are five-time Super Bowl champions, having won it most recently in January 1996, a good three decades after England.
If you really want a team that more accurately mirrors the hard luck of the English, it would have to be the Chicago Bears.
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They have one Super Bowl win to their name, which came 40 years ago, and really don’t have much else to show for it.
Also, having lived in the DFW area for the better part of a decade, I can confidently say Cowboys fans are a little too arrogant and cocky to be compared to the English.
Sure, England will say things like “it’s coming home,” but they are far more self-deprecating and aware of their faults, even nihilistic in some cases.
The Bears hang onto their history because they know things will inevitably go bad for them on the biggest stage.
Speaking of which…
NHL – Toronto Maple Leafs
Spencer Carbery, assistant coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, looks on from the bench during the third period against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ont., on April 14, 2022. (Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
The Toronto Maple Leafs actually line up with England more closely than either fanbase would like to admit.
While the Leafs have a litany of Stanley Cups to their name, their most recent win was back in 1967, less than a full year after England won their first and only World Cup.
As far as expectations go, both constantly go into their respective tournaments with the weight of the world on their shoulders, only to come crashing down in the most horrific ways imaginable.
For the Leafs, it comes in the form of blowing big leads in the playoffs, while English fans and players alike can’t even hear the words “penalty kicks” without having a mental breakdown.
England and Toronto are both long-suffering cities, but their fans keep showing up expecting a different outcome.
Insanity? No, just sports fandom.
NBA – New York Knicks
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks celebrates a three-point basket with Karl-Anthony Towns during Game Two of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on June 5, 2026. (Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
This one would have been an even better comparison if the New York Knicks hadn’t gone and won the whole damn thing this year, but these two sports teams are still eerily similar.
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Think of the Knicks’ 2026 NBA Championship run as a window into what it would look like if England captured a World Cup (on American soil, no less).
Before this year, the Knicks famously had not won a Larry O’Brien trophy in over 50 years, yet they were still considered one of the “blue bloods” of the NBA.
Decades of heartache didn’t change that; it only made their fans more insufferable, but their triumph earlier this month in the NBA Finals exorcised all those demons.
THE ATHLETIC BEWILDERINGLY CELEBRATES ‘ZOHRAN MAMDANI SPORTS SUMMER’ AFTER NEW YORK KNICKS WIN NBA FINALS
A win in the World Cup Finals would probably do the same for England fans, as you could probably feel that sigh of relief from the other side of the Atlantic.
MLB – New York Mets
New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto reacts after scoring a run on an RBI double by infielder Bo Bichette against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on April 2, 2026. (Robert Edwards/Imagn Images)
Hello again, New York.
The Big Apple certainly has its fair share of winners, but it also has plenty of franchises that are aching to make a trip back down the Canyon of Heroes, none more so than the Mets.
Year after year, the Mets are near the top of MLB in terms of spending, with little to show for their efforts.
WATCH THE WORLD CUP FINAL ON FOX ONE
They won a World Series back in 1986 and have been chasing that high ever since.
The common thread between England and the Mets (along with all the other teams on this list) is expectations relative to results, and it seems like the Mets are sort of a Schrödinger’s baseball franchise in that regard, expected to both compete for a World Series with their high-priced talent and flame out in spectacular fashion all the same.
FOX ONE’S NEW WORLD CUP VIEWING EXPERIENCE
England always has flashy players heading into World Cup play, but the results haven’t been there, and they’ve often been sent home in brutal fashion, offering a great parallel to the Mets’ clockwork-like midsummer swoons and late-season meltdowns.
Guerrocastillo was taken into custody without incident and charged with Prohibited Weapon, a third-degree felony; Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon, a class A misdemeanor; Possession of Marijuana under two ounces, a class B misdemeanor; and Public Intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.
“Foot patrols are a foundational part of policing, and our Deep Ellum Task Force officers are making great arrests and providing increased security by walking a beat,” said Deputy Chief Devon Palk, who is commander of the Central Patrol Group. “Having our officers on foot, on horseback, and in our new Polaris utility vehicle puts officers exactly where we need them during peak hours in the area.”
Thousands of Croatia supporters turned downtown Dallas into a sea of red and white ahead of Croatia’s World Cup group-stage match against England. The parade featured cowgirls and groups in horse-drawn wagons and a 100-metre Croatian flag.
Published On 17 Jun 2026
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