MI Awards $10,000 Civil Society Fellowship to Founder of Advocates for Community Transformation in Dallas

DALLAS, TX – The Manhattan Institute announced Dallas attorney Reid Porter will receive a $10,000 fellowship for his work at Advocates for Community Transformation (Act). Act’s innovative approach to creating safer neighborhoods has empowered more than 200 residents to shut down 150 crime-ridden properties across Dallas. As a result, residents have experienced up to a 50 percent drop in crime in target neighborhoods where Act has worked.

“Act is an inner-city justice organization that empowers residents to fight crime on their streets, while sharing the hope of the gospel,” said Porter, Act’s founder and president. “We’re looking forward to partnering with the Manhattan Institute, so that we can share our model of ministry with a broader audience, spreading dignity and hope to other inner-city neighborhoods across the country.”

The Manhattan Institute’s Civil Society Fellows Program recognizes nonprofit leaders who are developing innovative solutions to America’s most pressing social problems. Porter is one of three fellows who will participate in the 10-month program that increases the visibility of nonprofit leaders nationwide, so others can see what is possible in their own communities.

“Everyone deserves to feel safe at home, no matter where you live,” said Annie Dwyer, the director of the Manhattan Institute’s Civil Society Fellows Program. “Reid Porter and Act are helping people clean up and turn around their neighborhoods, so they aren’t afraid to go outside anymore.”

The Civil Society Fellows Program will kick off on February 19, 2019.

ABOUT ADVOCATES FOR COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION

Many inner-city Dallas residents are facing a huge injustice. Owners of drug houses, which harbor drugs, prostitution and other crime, are forcing law-abiding men and women to feel like prisoners in their own homes. Founded by attorney Reid Porter, Advocates for Community Transformation (Act) is a new model of ministry that uses the justice system to empower these residents to fight crime on their street, while sharing with them the hope of the gospel. Act partners with top-ranked law firms to come alongside families, and together, they hold the owners of drug houses accountable. Act’s vision is to see safe neighborhoods where crime is no longer tolerated, and dignity and hope are restored.

ABOUT THE CIVIL SOCIETY FELLOWS PROGRAM

The Civil Society Fellows Program is a part of the Manhattan Institute’s Tocqueville Project that seeks to advance America’s tradition of nonprofit leaders, volunteers, and private philanthropists working together to develop solutions to our most pressing social problems. Based in New York City, the Manhattan Institute serves as a leading voice of free-market ideas, shaping political culture since 1977. Learn more here.