DFW News App

The Rev. Denise Bell Blakely’s earliest memories of service begin at 5 years old, holding her grandmother’s hand while walking through the streets in Ennis, about an hour southeast of Fort Worth. They encountered people sleeping outside experiencing alcoholism, Blakely recalled. The grandmother-daughter duo would offer them a meal back at home.“She never tried to shame them because they had a disease,” Blakely said of her grandmother. “She only asked one question: ‘Are you hungry?’”Welcome to 52 Faces

52 Faces of Community is a Fort Worth Report weekly series spotlighting local unsung heroes. It is sponsored by Central Market and H-E-B.

At the end of the year, these rarely recognized heroes will gather for a luncheon where the Report will announce one honoree to represent Tarrant County at the Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C.Blakely’s early experiences helping people in need molded her philosophy of ministry, she said. The 67-year-old retired Methodist minister has worked for years with the Eastside Ministries nonprofit, including launching the Railroad Project, a program that connects low-income adults living in Fort Worth with food, clothing and counseling to increase their self-efficacy.Blakely’s work as an Eastside Ministries grant writer and executive director has helped the Railroad Project receive support from Texas Health Resources’ Community Health Impact program and earned her recognition in 52 Faces of Community, Fort Worth Report’s weekly series highlighting unsung heroes.“I looked at Eastside, and I’m like, ‘Instead of just giving out food and giving out clothing, let’s offer people a chance to self-direct, buy a ticket, so to speak, to a life they would rather have,” Blakely said. ‘A chance to crack the poverty code’ The vision behind the Railroad Project goes back to experiences that Blakely and her husband, Marshall Blakely, had as ministers in Waco. The Methodist church where she ministered at for 14 years neighbored an area of the city that “people used to call the projects,” Blakely said. She began thinking about the Underground Railroad, a network of routes, places and people who helped enslaved people in the South escape to the North. She wondered how a program addressing various food, clothing and health needs could serve as a track to help families escape poverty.“It wasn’t like you joined up with Harriet Tubman and all of a sudden you were free,” Blakely said. “There were many steps, many levels, many things you had to conquer before the end of your journey.” The idea was put on pause as Blakely and her husband moved to Fort Worth in 2016 and served as ministers for Meadowbrook-Poly United Methodist Church. She later joined Eastside Ministries as a board member representing her church and began to serve the nonprofit as an executive director after retiring from pastoral duties in 2019. Even as years passed, Blakely still couldn’t shake off the Railroad Project. She decided to pitch the idea for a grant from Texas Health Resources. The faith-based hospital system awarded two grants — one for $215,000 and the other $954,000 — to support and expand Eastside Ministries’ Railroad Project.“Denise is the backbone of the project, and it is her strong leadership on the Railroad that is the reason for its success. Denise is the face of the communities she serves.” Marsha Ingle, Texas Health’s senior director for Community Health Improvement“I’m offering a chance to crack the poverty code by adding a momentum piece to all the other efforts that are out there to help people,” Blakely said. The first time Blakely spoke about the project was “unforgettable,” said Marsha Ingle, Texas Health’s senior director for Community Health Improvement and Blakely’s nominator for 52 Faces. Blakely has always been hands-on with clients as a source of encouragement that “most people have never experienced,” Ingle said. “Denise is the backbone of the project, and it is her strong leadership on the Railroad that is the reason for its success,” Ingle added. “Denise is the face of the communities she serves.”Closing a chapterKnow an unsung hero in Tarrant County?

Tell us about them by filling out the form below.

Nominate an unsung heroToday, the Railroad Project offers clients in the 76119, 76014 and 76105 ZIP codes physical fitness classes, finance classes and mental health services, including depression assessments and access to counseling. The project hosts mobile events in spaces like church parking lots and community centers, where visitors are provided nonperishable items, produce and meat.Denise and her husband, Marshall, were “ministry partners” through it all. After her husband’s death in December 2024, Blakely is closing her chapter in Fort Worth. She looks forward to bringing the Railroad Project idea to other areas of North Texas, like Dallas and DeSoto, she said. “Now that chapter is closed, just like my chapter with my marriage is closed, and I’m eager to open up that other chapter to see what all this is going to look like because it’s still God,” Blakely said. “So I want to ride that wave of creation and see where He’s going to take me next.” Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.