Dallas County Commissioner Maurine Dickey was guest speaker of the January Luncheon which was held on January 30th. Commissioner Dickey made a presentation about the PDI (Prostitution Diversion Initiative) program and her involvement in the program.

Her talk was quite striking as she mentioned and gave details about the devastating life these women go through where most of them are drug addicts, homeless and have long criminal histories.  They are arrested over and over and go right back to the streets when released from jail and to the dangerous situations involved in this sad lifestyle.

She then talked about the PDI program which was first held in October 2008 in southern Dallas County near the truck stops.  It was a police operation with social services available directly at the location.  This is the first operation of this type in the U.S. that brings social services to the street.
Women who are arrested are treated primarily as victims, rather than criminals, by the police.  They are offered food and drink, are tested by the County Health Department for sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) and treated on-site.  They are assessed by social work advocates to determine if they would be good candidates to be offered treatment and help getting out of this lifestyle.