DALLAS — Some police officers are taking any negative feelings you have about them to heart. The Dallas Police Department is wanting to prove they are all about helping versus hurting. 

The type of criticism cops get is not new. 

"I've never been a 'Big Bad Wolf,'" said Sgt. Tawanna Manuel of the Dallas Police Department.  

As a Black police officer, Manuel says some words sting more than others.

"With everything that's going on in the world, I know not everyone is going to like us," she said. 

Changing the image of police officers starts with changing how officers work. The line of duty isn’t always about holding handcuffs or handing out tickets. Sgt. Manuel says you’ll be able to get past the uniform if you give her a chance to let her heart shine through.

She referenced video of her dancing with kids and their parents at a community event in South Dallas. That's one way she chooses to help build relationships with people, but it’s the work you may not see that matters to her the most. For example, what happens when an officer meets someone who shoplifts because they’ve gone a while without food? 

"A lot of times, we have to come out of our own pockets to make things happen. That's hard. That's hard on our families too at times," she said. 

Lack of resources and a tight police budget is where places like Trusted World are stepping in to back Sgt. Manuel and the rest of the Dallas Police Department. The donated clothes and food inside the nonprofit's warehouse are waiting to be delivered to DPD. From there, an officer will drop it in the hands of some person or family in need.

Sgt. Manuel describes a time when she showed up in her blue uniform to hand-deliver a package from Trusted World. "When I went over to take [the family] the clothes, [a woman] was like, 'Police?'" Sgt. Manuel said of the interaction. 

Michael Garrett is the CEO at Trusted World and rarely meets the people on the receiving end of his shipments. 

"It's OK. We don't have to know who they are. When [the police] place orders, they're actually using case numbers just so they can protect their client from that point," said Garrett. 

Garrett also says the partnership with Dallas Police is vital because some people who were calling on police and needing help could not get it at one point. 

"Sometimes police will meet a family who doesn't meet the criteria of a local nonprofit who will say, 'Well, according to how much money you make, I'm not allowed to help you,' and the police officer is like what am I supposed to do? What do I do?" he explained. 

"It helps us to engage with the community, so they can see us in a different light. Not aggressive, but helping them," Manuel added.