Ashley Noelle Sharp BA’09, MPA’11 has combined two of her life’s passions — the arts and helping those in need — through her nonprofit career and University of Texas at Dallas education.
As executive director of Dwell with Dignity in Dallas, she and her team help once-homeless families turn a living space into a comfortable, stable home with interior design services and furnishings.
“A lot of people think of interior design as a nice to have, but not a need to have,” Sharp said. “But when you go into these homes, you’ll find children living on the floor, maybe sleeping on pool mattresses. Many of these families don’t have the resources to provide their children with things like beds, and the first thing they want to do is take care of their children, to make them feel safe.”
Sharp was 17 when she enrolled at UT Dallas to major in art and performance. After graduation with a Bachelor of Arts, she pursued a master’s degree at another North Texas university but soon returned to her alma mater.
“My graduate experience elsewhere was so anonymous and the number of people in the room just made me feel like a number,” Sharp said. “I had no relationship with my professors. At the master’s program at UT Dallas, they would text me if I wasn’t there: ‘Are you coming to class today?’ That’s the difference.”
Sharp earned a Master of Public Affairs from the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences and has remained involved with UTD by working with two Naveen Jindal School of Management senior capstone classes, in which students have worked on branding and marketing ideas for Dwell with Dignity.
Sharp’s early career included various development and fundraising roles with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Nasher Sculpture Center and Interfaith Family Services, a transitional housing provider where she learned about Dwell with Dignity. She became Dwell with Dignity’s executive director in 2018.
Dwell with Dignity, which largely works with families who have children under the age of 18, provides household furnishings, accessories and appliances. Once a family qualifies to receive help, designers meet with the family to learn about their needs and preferences, including paint schemes and decorations like art.
“Our designers are licensed and trained,” Sharp said. “They are working with people coming out of trauma, and they’re asking someone who’s gone through some of the most horrific things that you can go through in life to tell their story and open up to you. That’s not an easy thing.”
In the homes, each child gets their own bed and a desk where they can do homework. A dining room table also is included so families can eat together. Ramps and other amenities for those with medical issues are provided to make the home accessible.
“We take all the financial burden off them to get them started — a hot meal, toiletries, furniture, appliances — everything you can think of,” Sharp said. “Families come to us from transitional shelters where they’ve lived for up to a year. When they move out, they have nothing to take with them, or just a few things provided by a nonprofit.”
Most of the furniture and appliances come from donations to Dwell with Dignity, which works with volunteers and staff who refinish and refurbish furniture in the organization’s Dallas warehouse. Donated items are also sold to raise money for its mission through the organization’s thrift store.
“Because we stay in contact with our families, we are able to address root causes of homelessness. We’re literally starting at the bottom of their situations and working our way up to self-actualization — from mental health to building self-confidence.”
Ashley Noelle Sharp BA’09, MPA’11
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when Dwell with Dignity couldn’t work directly with people in their homes, Sharp reached out to organizations needing to refurbish communal spaces with the help of corporate sponsors. One group was a Dallas County Juvenile facility, where male offenders stay in residential dorms.
“In one of the dorms that we renovated, the boys were basically living on yoga mats,” Sharp said. “My team went in and completely redid their space, and it is absolutely gorgeous. Each of them has their own bed with pillows and blankets, and they’re taking care of the space because they have something to care for.”
Another project involved creating a community center for Jubilee Park in Dallas. Sharp and her team also refurbished a break room and kitchen in the city of Dallas’ 911 Call Center. A similar project for the Dallas Fire-Rescue dispatch center is also in the works.
She said the ability to make permanent changes in the lives of clients has been one of the most rewarding parts of her job.
“Because we stay in contact with our families, we are able to address root causes of homelessness,” Sharp said. “We’re literally starting at the bottom of their situations and working our way up to self-actualization — from mental health to building self-confidence.”