Tim Hardaway Jr. showed on Monday that he’s just as handy in the remodeling department as he is firing shots from outside the 3-point arc.
The Mavericks’ shooting guard joined CEO Cynt Marshall at the unveiling of the renovated Night Response Unit at Community Partners of Dallas near Love Field.
The unit is a safe space for kids to go after child protective services has deemed their previous living space unfit. The Mavs Foundation also updated a teen lounge with new furniture and entertainment elements to make the space as comfortable as possible as the kids transition to a new home.
CPS uses the facility while finding new living spaces for the kids.
After making their comments to open the facility, Hardaway and Marshall started their tour by taking time to decorate each of the small sleeping rooms for the children with Mavericks’ gear.
“I felt like I was part of an HGTV show,” Hardaway said. “Just having a place to come relax and have their minds free of negative energy, negative vibes – it’s all positive.”
Kids who land at the Night Response Unit often have nothing but the clothes they are wearing.
“Coming to a building like this, it’s just going to make them feel like there’s a different way of life to come,” Paige McDaniel, the CEO of Community Partners of Dallas, said on Fox News.
“It’s a game-changer because these are kids who have been lost or forgotten. They’ll see there are people in the community who care about them.”
The safe space is a comfortable landing spot where teams can rest, eat, do schoolwork and bide their time until a permanent living solution is found. There are about 15 CPS workers who man the night shift at the unit.
The Mavericks’ involvement with the Night Response Unit hits especially close to home for Marshall.
“I know that story,” she said. “It’s the story of three of my four adopted kids. No matter what has happened to make the police or anybody else come take the kids in the middle of the night, when they land here, you want them to look at this place and see how fresh it is and the village that has come to rescue them.”
Community Partners of Dallas helps as many as 20,000 kids per year, officials said.
Twitter: @ESefko
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