DCDB Programs

Currently, DCDB has initiated three programs to pursue its mission of social justice: Road to Reading, Project Exoneration, Advocacy for the Incarcerated Innocent.

Road to Reading

DCDB Volunteer reading to Kids in front of Dallas County Jail

DCDB Volunteer reading to Kids in front of Dallas County Jail

Children are not given equal access to books and the cost to all of us is great. Books can open up a whole new world and the links between the ability to read well and success later in life are vast. Research shows that tens of millions of low-income Americans cannot afford to buy books for their children. On the other hand, having books at home is a powerful predictor for academic achievement (see NY Times commentary “A Book in Every Home, and Then Some”). The ability to read by 3rd grade is strongly correlated with ending up in prison (see “Read or go to Jail – Literacy and National Reading Statistics, Teaching Reading: Educational CyberPlayGround”).

Our new Road to Reading program that gives kids visiting a relative in the Dallas County Jail a book to take home and own.  We already gave over 600 books to kids. For some of the kids it is the first book they own. > Read about Road to Reading

Project Exoneration

Dallas Exonerees

Dallas Exonerees

Currently there are 23 exonerated individuals in Dallas. The objective of Project Exoneration is to assist the newly exonerated reintegrate into society. Most Texas exonerees have been in the prison system for many years and they must make the difficult transition to life in free society. In most instances, Exonerees are released with the rights to significant compensation. Exonerees are often victims of those who wish to exploit them for their compensation. There are also substantial obstacles for newly released exonerees to finding employment because of significant gaps in their work histories and lack of developed skills. Through Project Exoneration, DCDB provides assistance to Dallas Exonerees to help them cope with these challenges.
Under Project Exoneration, DCDB offers support to the newly exonerated and their families by providing:

  • An annual personal finance issues seminar;
  • Financial assistance with rent, mortgages, utilities, eye care and phone bills until compensation is received;
  • An annual interview skills training seminar;
  • Job placement agency referrals; and
  • Pro-bono legal referrals to aid exonerees with housing, marital and estate issues and claims for compensation from the state.

After years without freedom, many of the exonerated would like to start a business and work for themselves.  However, most exonerees lack business experience; they are typically in need some advice in order to develop and execute their business plans. Sadly, it is very easy for an inexperienced entrepreneur to lose a significant amount of money opening a business without any prior experience.   Nonetheless, because of the significant obstacles to finding employment, many exonerees have few desirable alternatives to starting their own business. DCDB recruits local successful entrepreneur volunteers to mentor these exonerated, budding entrepreneurs. The volunteer entrepreneurs offer advice and wisdom from mistakes they have made in business and also share what worked for them. This is an invaluable service and we are grateful to our business community mentor volunteers! > Read stories about Exonerees

Advocacy for the Incarcerated Innocent

Benjamine Spencer: 24 years in Prison after Wrongful Conviction

Benjamine Spencer: 24 years in Prison after Wrongful Conviction

Under the Advocacy for the Incarcerated Innocent program, DCDB identifies innocent individuals who are wrongfully incarcerated, advocates for their release and provides support to them throughout the process. Once DCDB has identified a possibly innocent inmate, the DCDB team goes to work researching the case. In this process, DCDB often coordinates with other advocacy organizations such as Centurion Ministries. If after completing a through review of the case in question, DCDB is confident about an inmate’s innocence then DCDB designs a plan to advocate on his or her behalf.
Through the Advocacy for the Incarcerated Innocent project, DCDB offers support to the incarcerated innocent and their families by:

  • Providing regular visits to the inmate in question to provide moral support;
  • Organizing volunteers to write to or send reading materials to the innocent individual;
  • Paying a monthly stipend into the inmate’s prison trust fund to reduce the financial burden on the inmate’s family and to supplement the jail’s meal plan;
  • Organizing rallies to raise public awareness about the incarcerated innocent’s case;
  • Coordinating with other organizations  to address the case in question;
  • Drafting petitions of support in order to persuade public officials to revisit the case of the innocent individual; and
  • Visiting with public officials to communicate why DCDB is committed to the case in question.

Currently we support Benjamine Spencer who is wrongfully incarcerated for 24 years. > Read more on Ben’s case.