Vote in the Charity Challenge

Make your vote count in the 2015 CultureMap Charity Challenge

Because we are committed to highlighting the good work Dallas nonprofits do to make an impact in our community, we have partnered with Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty for the second year in the CultureMap Charity Challenge. Together we selected 12 deserving organizations, and now you get to decide which one will be our charity partner for 2015 by voting in the poll from now until midnight on December 25.

Before you make your selection, meet the finalists:

Advocates for Community Transformation (ACT) uses the justice system to empower inner-city residents to fight crime on their street, while sharing with them the hope of the gospel. Our vision is to see safe neighborhoods, where crime is no longer tolerated and dignity and hope are restored.

Art Station Fort Worth provides art therapy to individuals facing many different life challenges, such as mental health issues, behavioral problems, trauma and school problems due to low self-esteem, anxiety or attention issues. Others have benefitted from art therapy to increase self-awareness and explore growth potential.

Cafe Momentum transforms the lives of Dallas' most at-risk youth by equipping them with life skills, education and employment opportunities through a restaurant and culinary training facility.

Center for BrainHealth's mission it to understand, protect and heal the brain. Scientific exploration at BrainHealth is leading-edge, innovative and transformative, improving lives today and changing how the public thinks and acts about the brain and its health.

D CERT promotes a partnering effort within Dallas so that emergency personnel can train members of the community to apply all aspects of CERT training if a disastrous event overwhelms or delays Dallas' professional response.

Dwell With Dignity creates soothing, inspiring homes for families struggling with homelessness and poverty by installing home interiors that include furnishings, art, bedding, kitchen supplies and food in the pantry.

The Men of Nehemiah serve homeless and incarcerated men with addictive disorders by providing residential accommodations, substance abuse treatment, life skills and job placement training, case management, and recovery support services.

Nexus Recovery Center provides substance abuse programs for adolescent girls and adult women, including those pregnant or accompanied by children.

Ronald McDonald House of Dallas provides a home away from home for families when serious illness or injury strikes the most cherished part of their lives: their children.

Snowball Express provides hope and new happy memories to the children of military fallen heroes who have died while on active duty since 9/11.

SPCA of Texas brings people and animals together by providing every animal exceptional care and a loving home.

YW Nurse-Family Partnership pairs a new mother with a registered nurse home visitor for two-and-a-half years, from pregnancy until the child is 2 years old.

Briggs-Freeman has commissioned profiles of each nonprofit, so you can read more about them through the duration of the voting. But now it's time for you to select CultureMap's charity partner for 2015. You can vote once a day, every day, until December 25 at midnight.

The winning nonprofit, announced on January 5, will receive a CultureMap advertising package worth $10,000.

YW Nurse-Family Partnership

Photo courtesy of YW

YW Nurse-Family Partnership

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Texas shocks as America's No. 3 least safe state in 2026 report

Photo by Hiroshi Kimura on Unsplash

Texas ranks as the 48th "safest" state — out of 50.

While no state is invulnerable, some do more to protect their residents than others. And a new study has declared Texas one of the five least safe states in America.

WalletHub's "Safest States in America (2026)" report examined all 50 states for their emergency preparedness and for residents' personal and residential, financial, workplace, and road safety. Factors that weighed into the rankings include specific crime rates per capita, the share of the population that is uninsured, road quality ratings, workplace injury statistics, and more.

Texas ranked at the bottom of the list as the 48th "safest" state — or the third least safe state. It's joined by several other Southern states, like Mississippi (No. 50), Louisiana (No. 49), Florida (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46).

According to WalletHub, Texas specifically ranks third to last in the nationwide "emergency preparedness" category, which was determined based on the prevalence of climate disasters causing $1 billion or more in damages from 1980-2024, and the loss amount resulting from those disasters.

The Lone Star State also ranked 40th (or 10th worst) across three safety categories: personal and residential safety, financial safety, and road safety. The report additionally found that Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents nationally.

Texas' "workplace safety" was the state's highest-ranking category, landing 30th nationally.

Additional rankings that determined Texas' overall safety include:

No. 30 – Assaults per capita
No. 32 – Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 full-time workers
No. 32 – Sex offenders per capita
No. 35 – Murders and non-negligent manslaughters per capita
No. 36 – Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel
No. 41 – Loss amounts from climate disasters per capita

According to the report, the five safest states in America are all located in the Northeast. Vermont leads as the country's safest state in 2026, followed by Massachusetts (No. 2), Maine (No. 3), New Hampshire (No. 4), and Connecticut (No. 5).

Though every state has varying levels of safety, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo asserted that the safest places in the U.S. categorically invest in protecting their residents. Top-ranking states have low crime rates and diligently maintain their road infrastructure, and other states that prioritize their residents' safety have "strong economies and job markets that prevent people from falling into dangerous financial situations."

"[The safest states in America] have high levels of occupational safety and disaster preparedness, too," Lupo said. "In addition, states are made safer by efforts that individual residents take, such as forming a neighborhood watch or working in firefighting and EMT jobs at high rates."

safety texas wallethub reports