700 DAI Leaders Clarify Impact of SB4 with Dallas Police
Before a packed audience of 700 leaders of Dallas Area Interfaith, and on the one-year anniversary of the shooting that took the lives of five police officers, Dallas Area Interfaith continued the public conversation about community relationships with the police in the context of SB4. In response to stories about immigrants fearful of reporting crimes they've witnessed to the police, Dallas Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Greg Kelly announced, "This is evidence of why SB4 is bad."
Read moreDAI Turns Out 400 Votes in District 6 Runoff Election
After forcing a runoff election in May, 20 DAI leaders each turned out 20 voters, primarily in the Bachman Lake area near San Juan Diego Catholic Church.
Former Mayor Pro Tem Monica Alonzo, who waited until the day before the election to support Dallas Area Interfaith's agenda in support of affordable housing and early childhood education, lost the runoff by 291 votes - the largest margin of three runoff races that day.
Read moreDAI Grills Candidates on Affordable Housing, Schools & More
300 residents of District 6 assembled to grill city council candidates in a impoverished region of Dallas where only 800 votes were cast in the previous election. The nonpartisan accountability assembly was organized around issues leaders have been working on over the course of the year, including affordable housing, early education, an upcoming city bond and improvements to the 311 system.
Read moreDAI Weighs In On Appointment of New Catholic Bishop in Dallas
When Pope Francis announced the new bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, Bishop Edward Burns, DAI expressed eagerness to work with him. Said lead organizer Josephine Lopez-Paul, "His attention and care to the immigrant community will be very critical. Farrell focused on building bridges between communities, and we need that to continue."
Read more400 DAI Leaders Leverage Commitments from Dallas Police Chief
Hundreds of leaders of Dallas Area Interfaith assembled at Temple of Faith CME to address issues of neighborhood safety: police protocol on traffic stops, wage theft, thousands of feral dogs, and hot spots for drugs and prostitution. Confronted with hundreds from the community, Interim Police Chief David Pughes committed to developing a bilingual video on proper protocol that can be shown in congregations and to fundamentally changing how police handle wage theft -- recognizing theft of service as a criminal matter and not a civil one. Leader after leader told personal stories about unfairly being treated as criminals during traffic stops and when reporting crimes.
At one point, addressing immigrants in the packed room, Pughes said "we don't want to be immigration police." The chief additionally committed to working with leaders to address three areas in the city that see high level of drugs and prostitution, as well as developing a plan for the 8,000 feral dogs roaming neighborhood streets.
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DAI Leaders Secure Strongest Tenant Protections in Texas
With three asthmatic children in the family, Patricia Vega (in photo above) was constantly on the lookout for mold. "Every time we move, we think it gets better, but it does not." Realizing that the Dallas housing code enforcement offered no protections, she, with a group of women from San Juan Diego Catholic Church, enlisted the support of Dallas Area Interfaith (DAI) to change the law.
In a little over a year of public action, DAI church leaders confronted landlords, secured the support of allies, negotiated with adversaries, and ultimately changed the housing code of Dallas in a fundamental way. Says Heather Way, a professor at University of Texas School of Law who specializes in affordable housing law, "These reforms are much needed and should have a big impact on protecting the health and safety of Dallas's most vulnerable." FOX News calls the code the "toughest landlord rules in the state." Said former code enforcement prosecutor, Councilmember Adam McGough, "this is unprecedented."
Read moreDAI Clergy Say, "We Have to Humanize Each Other"
In the midst of pushing for expanded community policing and pay increases for officers, Dallas Area Interfaith wants to get all sides listening to each other.
"We have to humanize each other," said Rev. Jon Morrison of Cedar Crest Church of Christ.
Read moreDAI Calls on Police, Community to Build Trust for Better Policing
At a community meeting organized by Dallas Area Interfaith, there were no easy platitudes in reference to the Thursday night shooting of police officers and protesters that left five officers dead. "There is a repentance that has to happen in this nation," preached Pastor Carl Sherman to the crowd gathered at Southern Hill Church of Christ. More than a dozen officers, from six law enforcement agencies across the Metroplex, sat in the pews alongside civilians to hear their public service praised and critiqued.