DALLAS — If you begin noticing teams of people walking around some neighborhoods in the City of Dallas, wearing bright orange shirts, they are likely members of Dallas Cred.
"The bright orange shirts are signified as a help signal,” said Mar Butler, program director of Dallas Cred.
Dallas Cred is a group of trained violence interrupters. Its members are hitting the streets across Dallas. The group hopes to make a difference in areas of concern across the city.
“I think by placing us here, we’re like a bridge,” said member Tony Rodriguez.
Dallas Cred members are canvassing neighborhoods, engaging with residents, and identifying issues and behaviors that often drive violence. The group said its goal is working to bring resources directly to the people who could use them most.
“We know that lack of education leads to an overwhelming amount of poverty. Poverty leads to crime. And so, when people wake up everyday and they see lack around them, then they begin to operate up under duress,” said Butler.
The team knows gaining the community’s trust will be key as it saturates areas its committed to covering. So far, the group has identified it’s primary focus in neighborhoods around Webb Chapel and Lombard in North Dallas, Overton Road and Illinois Avenue, Camp Wisdom Road and Ganon Road, and Loop 12 and Jim Miller Road.
"We work with the people. We don’t work with the police,” said Dallas Cred Program Coordinator Debra Mendoza.
She, like many of her colleagues, was already working in the community. Mendoza said Dallas Cred’s members are intimately familiar with the area’s they are committed to working.
“That’s where we got to go in and say, 'OK, I’m one of you,' you know. I came from where you came from. You know, I’ve been where you’ve been, and I’ve come out from where you’ve been,” said Mendoza.
Dallas Cred is an extension of Youth Advocate Programs, Inc., a national non-profit the City of Dallas hired in 2021, with a track record for helping to curb violence in cities across the country.
"When you give the people opportunities to help themselves, they are going to take them,” said Victor Alvelais.
Dallas Cred and its members are optimistic the team can also help make changes locally.
“We’ll be able to disrupt the cycles that have been holding us back. So, I think that’s what we are here to do. To point people in the right direction,” said Rodriguez.
To learn more about Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. visit https://www.yapinc.org.