DAI Calls on President, Congress to Defend Legal Protections of Unaccompanied Kids
In defiance of legislative efforts to denude the Trafficking Victims Act of 2008 of legal protections for unaccompanied minors, Dallas Area Interfaith congregations and bishops called on the White House and Congress to do the opposite: to ensure legal protections for children arriving on our border and stop speed processing of children through immigration courts.
Read moreDAI Leads Charge on Break Ordinance for Construction Workers
Dallas Area Interfaith, with member institution Workers Defense Project, has proposed a City ordinance that would mandate water breaks for workers every four hours, bilingual signs explaining the ordinance posted at work sites and a fine levied on employers for every day there is a violation. Said Fr. Joshua Whitfield with Santa Rita Catholic Church, "a city ordinance would be creating a culture of safety and health in the Texas heat."
Last month, 500 DAI leaders unleashed a tidal wave of pent up energy with the public launch of a campaign zeroing in on what Dallas-area residents can do about immigration reform in the Dallas area. Catholic Bishop Douglas Deshotel and dozens of clergy from Catholic, Jewish, Presbyterian and Methodist denominations blessed the campaign, kicking off a summer of action to address key pieces of the DAI immigration agenda.
Read more500 DAI Leaders Launch LOCAL Immigration Reform Campaign
Hundreds of Dallas Area Interfaith leaders poured into Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church to launch an immigration reform campaign to address local issues dealt with on a daily basis: wage theft, lack of water breaks and horrific apartment conditions.
Accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Most Reverend J. Douglas Deshotel of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, DAI clergy urged parishioners and lay leaders to focus their energy on what can be solved at the local level, given the lack of reform options at the federal level.
Read moreDAI Calls on TX Legislature to Support Medicaid Expansion Bill
Leaders of Dallas Area Interfaith called on Texas legislators to support bi-partisan House Bill 3791 which would expand Medicaid to insure an additional 1.5 million Texans. Clergy from Jewish, Catholic and Protestant congregations announced that DAI had collected over 5,000 signatures in the last few months in support of expansion Medicaid.
Dallas Area Interfaith Challenges Texas Governor to ‘Opt-In’
"Gov. Rick Perry might have been surprised to hear his name invoked repeatedly during a recent gathering at Christ's Foundry United Methodist Mission. But the rollicking crowd that filled the northwest Dallas church was not praising the governor's leadership or even praying for his soul.
Read moreDallas Area Interfaith Calls on Hospital District to Fix Crisis
Dallas Area Interfaith Calls on Parkland's Board, UTSW to Fix the Site, Dallas Morning News
Dallas Area Interfaith Launches Durable Medical Equipment Initiative
Acting on stories from people desperately needing medical equipment, DAI leaders launched a Durable Medical Equipment Initiative to acquire, sanitize (according to state code) and distribute gently used medical equipment. This would provide residents with wheelchairs, hospital beds and walkers.
Read moreHundreds of Dallas Area Interfaith Leaders Walk in the Rain to Get Out The Vote
"Hitting the Streets to Get Out The Vote," NBC News
Read moreDallas Area Interfaith Organizes Mega Neighborhood Walks
In line with the Texas-wide GOTV strategy, Dallas Area Interfaith organized several "mega" walks with over five hundred walkers going out into the neighborhoods surrounding their institutions to seek support for their statewide agenda. They have organized five phone bank events to reach out to voters who still have not voted, in addition to organizing training sessions in Fort Worth.
Read more