Violence Interrupters in Dallas hope to curb violent crime

A group of ex-offenders and former gang members are among those trying to reach young people in Dallas' toughest neighborhoods. They're called Violence Interrupters.

DALLAS - Ex-gang members and ex-offenders are among a group of people trying to reach youth in Dallas’ toughest neighborhoods.

They’re called Violence Interrupters. The group was among several recommendations made back in January by the mayor’s task force on safer communities.

Mentors are hired and trained to go into neighborhoods and talk with young people to ease tensions. The goal is to curb violence.

“This is a neighborhood that really needs some help. This whole section here, it needs help. We gonna try to do everything we can to provide them, to help them, to just let them know we are here for them,” said Kenneth, a member of Urban Specialists.

Urban Specialists is one of the non-profit organizations partnering with the Violence Interrupters program.

This week they are going door-to-door in East Oak Cliff. They’ll spend 90 days there and then move on to another neighborhood.

Dallas police also began enforcing a teen curfew this past weekend. It’s an effort to reduce violent crime and street racing in neighborhoods like Deep Ellum, Uptown and Victory Park.