Highland Village residents Joe Crenshaw and Ladrell James certainly deserve a ton of credit for their hard work. After all, in a span of just seven months, the dynamic duo created an organization called the DFW Dad Squad that pulls men out of isolation and into communities, brotherhood, and friendship. Basically, a no-dad-should-be-alone movement.
They built it from scratch and sport nearly 6,000 members on Facebook—not to mention the countless local gatherings, family-friendly events, accessible resources, and genuine one-on-one connections that happen every second of every day.
That said, Joe and Ladrell can’t help but feel like they are playing the role of spectators now more than ever.
“That’s not to say we aren’t still busting our tails to keep the Dad Squad growing, but in many ways, we’re just sitting back and watching the puzzle pieces come together on their own,” Joe said. “It’s happening in ways we couldn’t just do ourselves.”
Ladrell agreed, adding, “It’s a self-perpetuating cycle. It’s cool to see it all come together as it has.”
Joe and Ladrell said they founded DFW Dad Squad to combat male loneliness. This is not to suggest women don’t also struggle with loneliness, fewer close relationships, and less accessible support systems. However, studies consistently show that women are more likely to reach out broadly and creatively for emotional support outside of work or family responsibilities. Conversely, men often keep those struggles to themselves, slowly losing touch with meaningful relationships—sometimes without realizing it.
Just a few of the common issues men face include everything from high-conflict and toxic divorce, depression, and anxiety to the everyday pressures of work, fatherhood, financial stress, and trying to carry emotional burdens alone.
For many dads, DFW Dad Squad has become a safe place to reconnect and be heard.
The need is clearly there. Roughly 2,000 dads joined DFW Dad Squad in its first week. Joe and Ladrell oversee the main DFW brand, but they quickly realized how important it was to have localized squads. Today, they have 16 city leaders who help keep dads locally connected across Denton County, Tarrant County, and all points in between.
This way, if a couple of guys in Flower Mound want to organize a softball league, a poker night, or a volunteer effort, they can. If a dad lives in Argyle, Justin, or Denton and wants to get a pick-up basketball game going, he can do that.
“This isn’t ‘in theory.’ It happens every day,” Joe said. “Ladrell and I try to follow the lead of our people. Sure, we could come up with events on our own, but then you’re limited, and it gets harder. One of our goals is to give guys the liberty and flexibility to host an event—a basketball game, golf outing, camping event, happy hour … whatever—under the Dad Squad brand.”
Ladrell said that at one point, they were averaging 15 to 17 events a week.
“Loneliness isn’t just a guy thing, but our goal is to pull them out and let them know they have support right here in their community,” Ladrell said. “Joe and I were part of a similar organization before this, and we quickly realized that we wanted to branch out and do our own thing.”
The success stories are everywhere. Joe and Ladrell spoke about a single dad who was ashamed that he couldn’t afford to give his child a good Christmas. The Dad Squad got together and raised $400 so he could go on a shopping spree.
A similar act of kindness played out with another dad who lost everything in an apartment fire.
Beyond personal support, DFW Dad Squad has also become a resource for professional support. Over the past seven months, each city group has crafted a preferred partner program that gives members in their area access to trusted plumbers, electricians, financial services professionals, marketing gurus, and the like.
“It’s gotten to the point where they’ll come to us before searching on Google,” Joe said with a laugh.
Looking ahead, Joe and Ladrell said they would love to expand the brand beyond DFW. That said, they will continue prioritizing healthy leadership and real community over fast expansion. The goal, as always, is to see more men show up for one another.
“Men are really flocking to this concept, and we are in awe of what is happening,” Ladrell said.
To learn more about DFW Dad Squad, please visit their Facebook group, titled DFW Dad Squad.
