STORY BY KACIE FREDERICK. PHOTOS BY JAN OSBORN.
The Dallas public transportation system has frequently experienced issues transporting citizens in the southern sector of Dallas. In 2017, Curtis L. Corbins founded Southern Dallas Link in response to this very need. After receiving word that many employers were losing good employees due to the unreliable public transportation system, Corbins started shuttling citizens the same day. Since people could not get to work in cities such as McKinney or Ennis regularly, Corbins instigated pick-up spots at several train stations in South Dallas. Corbins, along with his son and daughter, borrowed minivans to ensure individuals made it to work on time.
Soon Corbins made substantial headway in the DFW Metroplex, but he needed more drivers. After connecting with United Way, Corbins fortified Southern Dallas Link as a nonprofit in order to receive grants for his employed, full-time drivers. Currently, Southern Dallas Link has six full-time drivers and five part-time drivers. The organization has a 24-patron bus, minivans, and six Toyotas, picking up and transporting citizens 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“I’ve always believed people are just one support away from getting to that next level. Dallas Southern Link is about a hand up, not a handout,” shares Corbins. “My heart breaks when I see people struggle, especially when people just can’t seem to get a break.”
Dallas Southern Link serves the Dallas community by granting such breaks. The nonprofit consistently serves more than five thousand citizens, and their services are continuing to grow. Now, Dallas Southern Link offers medical transport to seniors and individuals with disabilities for medical treatments and appointments.
“One thing we’re learning,” shares Corbins, “there are transportation deserts just like food deserts. The need is still there.”
To help reduce these transportation deserts, Corbins has invented the Five Dollar App, set to be released next month. The app offers rides to anywhere in the Metroplex to be only $5. Corbins has hired drivers from Uber and other ride-share services to revolutionize the transportation industry in the DFW area. Downloaders of the app can be investors, riders, or both.
Dallas Southern Link strives on the fact that it has served over 70,000 people in the past six years. The nonprofit enables those in poverty to become self-sufficient, reaching up to two thousand percent above the poverty line and giving them access to good-paying jobs. As Dallas Southern Link ensures citizens access affordable transportation services, it also helps individuals access healthy eating resources and medical care.
“The key word is access,” Corbins says on Dallas Southern Link. “Hopefully, anyone who reads this story will see our passion for granting individuals access.”
Dallas Southern Link is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing reliable transportation services to individuals in the southern sector of Dallas. Dallas Southern Link is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, making your donation tax-deductible. Donations can be made online through the Serve Southern Dallas website.
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