Dallas Group Hosts Workshops and Job Fairs to Help Ex-Convicts Land Competitive Paying Jobs

The Dallas Cred team is a group that helps ex-convicts land jobs with competitive pay. It’s an extension of the national nonprofit Youth Advocate Program and has assistance from several organizations as well as the city of Dallas.

The group’s goal is to interrupt patterns that lead to violence. This could be anything from helping someone find their next meal to helping someone land their next job.

“By us being a violence interrupter team first of all, our whole entire job is to alleviate any disparities an individual may encounter that could cause them to want to turn to or enact violent behavior,” Mar Butler, Dallas Cred program director, said. “In order to do that, it requires building these relationships with other people who will tell us more about their story, get them to open up, and just let us know what the barriers are.”

Earlier this month, Dallas Cred hosted a day of workshops to provide people assistance with expungements. There was also classes on how to create a resumé and manage finances.

Two days later, they hosted a job fair that had on-the-spot interviews with “second chance” employers willing to offer them “careers not just jobs”.

Part-time and full-time jobs were available and transportation was provided.

The events were also hosted and organized by the Dixon Circle Home Owners Association, the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department and Collective Activism.

Butler said nearly 200 people signed up for the job fair and workshops. The organization is still collecting information of how many attendees landed job opportunities after their interviews.