Dallas, Texas – After four years of connecting residents at the highest risk of violence engagement with tools to turn their lives around, Dallas Cred team members have received notice that their program will end effective Feb. 17, 2025.
Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc., launched Dallas CRED in May 2021 under a contract with the City of Dallas to include violence interrupters in its public safety strategy. Support from Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) W.W. Caruth, Jr. Fund kept Dallas CRED going when the City of Dallas start-up grant expired in spring 2023. But the national nonprofit program provider has not received public and other dollars needed to continue delivering the unique Dallas violence intervention service.
The violence interruption approach was recommended in 2020 as part of the Mayor’s Task Force on Safe Communities. Initially, Dallas CRED’s eight frontline workers served four neighborhoods -- Webb Chapel Road and Lombardy Lane; Texas 12 Loop and North Jim Miller Road; Camp Wisdom Road and Gannon; and East Overton Road and Illinois Avenue. In 2022-2023 while Dallas Cred canvassed those four areas, violent incidents decreased by 8% and murders and nonnegligent (manslaughters) were down 50%. When the two-year city funding grant expired, the team was reduced to four covering Dallas’ Texas 12 Loop/North Jim Miller Road and East Overton Road/Illinois Avenue neighborhoods.
YAP data and Cure Violence Global tracking found that from May 2023 – April 2024 the team helped 1,655 individuals in total with 98 participants who received Dallas CRED services after engaging in a violent incident not retaliating. In addition to providing day-to-day services throughout the neighborhood, in that period, Dallas CRED interrupted 48 violent acts. Dallas Cred members provided direct outreach to community members and engaged them in creating intensive, individualized service plans; and hosted 55 community events, including job fairs. In 2024 the team responded to 131 violent incidents. Currently, Dallas Cred has approximately 30 participants whom they will help to connect to sustainable resources.
“We are extremely proud of the outcomes delivered by our small, dedicated team and believe that the program should serve as a pilot of what’s possible with sustainable funding needed to make Dallas Cred a permanent piece of the city’s public safety strategy,” said YAP President and CEO Gary Ivory. “Additionally, we believed Focused Deterrence approaches, like our Baltimore Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS) work, can also bolster the city’s evolving public safety solutions.”
Recognized by their orange shirts, since it’s launch, Dallas CRED has identified and served hundreds of individuals who meet criteria for being at the highest risk levels of being engaged in violence. These include people who have recently returned home from jail or prison or are otherwise justice system-involved; individuals who are gang-affiliated; and those who have recently lost someone to gun violence and at risk for retaliating. At the same time, the team worked to help individuals see their strengths while connecting them with tools to help them put their lives on a positive course. Dallas CRED team members’ credibility comes from their personal stories, as they come from or live in the four neighborhoods and are giving back to their communities after overcoming life experiences similar to those of the individuals they serve.
“It has been an honor to serve and lead the Dallas Cred program in the community that I was raised in,” said Dallas Cred Program Director Victor Alvelais who has been with the program since its inception. “I am proud of the work our team has been able to accomplish since 2021. Programs like these are needed and do make a positive impact. I sincerely thank everyone who has contributed to our successes.”
The Dallas Cred team thanks Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, former Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia, Interim Dallas Police Michael Igo and the Dallas Police Department, Communities Foundation of Texas, Dallas City Council Members Carolyn King Arnold, Cara Mendelsohn, Tennell Atkins and the entire Dallas City Council, For Oak Cliff, Black Male Alliance, Black Men Care Group, South Oak Cliff High School and its alumni, the Dallas Independent School District, Creekside Village Apartments, Ridge at Trinity Apartments, Volara Apartments, Cherokee Village Apartments, Janie C. Turner Recreation Center, John C. Phelps Recreation Center, Tackle Tomorrow Foundation, Frederick Douglass Elementary School, Dallas community leaders, housing partners, and Derek Battie for supporting their efforts over the past four years.
YAP is a national nonprofit in 34 states and the District of Columbia in its 50th year of delivering community-based services as an alternative to youth incarceration, residential care, and neighborhood violence. By combining this time-tested individual and family YAPWRAP™ service model with the evidence-based Cure Violence Global violence interruption approach, the Dallas CRED team has connected some of the city’s most high-risk individuals with tools to make positive change.
Learn more about YAP and how you can be involved at YAPInc.org and follow the nonprofit on X @YAPInc.