There’s a makeshift shelter in the back of Fannie C. Harris Elementary, a shuttered Dallas ISD campus that sits in the shadows of the Cotton Bowl. A hastily erected curtain blocks the back entrance to the school, which has lain dormant for over a decade; a shopping cart filled with belongings sits nearby.

The campus, with boarded windows and a "for sale" sign out front, shows no hint that it will be bustling with activity in the coming months, serving as a haven not just for one individual but, hopefully, for hundreds of at-risk youth.

Fannie C. Harris will soon be transformed into a drop-in center for Dallas’ homeless youth, thanks to a partnership among the school district, local nonprofits CitySquare and Promise House and the philanthropist group Social Venture Partners Dallas.

The coalition, After8ToEducate, recently received approval from the city to convert the old school. Once permits are in order, construction will start on a 5,000-square-foot, 24-hour center that will provide homeless children much-needed assistance with food, hygiene, laundry and clothing.

On Wednesday, the effort was awarded $50,000 by The Dallas Foundation as winner of the annual Pegasus Prize, which honors local nonprofits that are serving the city’s most pressing needs.

“Homelessness is such a tough issue in our population, with the number of high school students affected, and the fact that this is a collaboration of multiple agencies all working together to pool their services, that really sparked an interest with us,” said Brittani Trusty, the program officer for The Dallas Foundation. “It’s just an amazing group effort.”

The prize comes at an auspicious time, said After8’s executive director, Hillary Evans.

As it stands, a quarter of the $2 million needed for a full renovation of the facility has been pledged, thanks to a $250,000 donation from Dallas businessman, philanthropist and After8 founder Jorge Baldor and a matching gift from Gil Besing and Cardinal Capital Partners.

The drop-in center, which is expected to open in the fall, is the first phase of the project. After8 plans to create a 35-bed shelter, retrofitting classrooms into “pods” — dormitory-style rooms for students.

The facility will offer “education in its broadest form,” Evans said, “from life skills — teaching youth about how to drive, for example, or to have access to health care and mental health services — to the academic support.”

But the efforts will come with a price tag. Evans hopes the Pegasus Prize and the gifts from Baldor and others will “catalyze other investments.”

“This spring, we’ve been laser-focused on the fundraising side of things,” she said. “We just need to continue that momentum. Having the Pegasus Prize, and the Dallas Foundation and other well-respected foundations investing in us, that will get the attention of other investors.”

Dallas has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the country, and homelessness in DISD is at alarming levels.

According to the district’s count, about 3,500 students lack a fixed nighttime residence and at least 112 sleep unaccompanied, without shelter.

“Many of these youth are invisible,” Evans said. “We don’t see them the way we see other adults who are homeless. And so, many of them fly under the radar for a variety of reasons, and we don’t get a true number.

“This is really an effort that will really put Dallas on the map, in terms of addressing an issue in a comprehensive way that no other city or ISD is really doing. We really want to shine the light on what we’re doing and, if we’re successful with this model, be able to replicate it in other areas in Dallas, and beyond Dallas.”