It was standing room only at VOICE's Accountability Session with candidates for OK House District 88 and Senate District 46 and delegates from VOICE member institutions.  All candidates publicly committed to working with VOICE leaders around issues identified in hundreds of conversations across the midtown district: mental healthcare, affordable housing, drivers' licenses for Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) holders, and criminal justice fines and fees.  All candidates additionally agreed to work with VOICE on the issues raised. Leaders will follow up with the officials elected to ensure commitments made are commitments kept. 

[In photo (with backs turned to camera): Marshal Gimpel of First Unitarian Church and Michele Payne-Popielec, Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma]

Candidates Focus on Variety of Community Issues in Oklahoma City Midtown District, The Oklahoman [pdf]

On May 4-5, more than 150 ministry leaders, women religious, clergy, and seminarians from 31 congregations participated in 'Recognizing the Stranger’ parish leadership development in collaboration with the Archdiocese of San Antonio. The sessions were conducted in English and Spanish and included visitors from IAF sister organization Citizen’s UK who came to learn more about the neighborhoods transformed by COPS' efforts. 

In opening remarks, Bishop Gary Janak expressed his gratitude to the participants and encouraged them to continue building the body of Christ.

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Long considered a "champion for God's people and justice" by his peers, Pastor John D. Ogletree received some well-deserved coverage by South Texas College of Law in Houston.  As the founding pastor of First Metropolitan Church, his leadership with TMO, Texas IAF and the regional network of the West/Southwest IAF has been catalytic.

[Photo Credit: South Texas College of Law - Houston]

Community Icon, STCL Houston Alumnus Forges Pathway to Justice and Redemption, South Texas College of Law - Houston [pdf]

On this International Worker's Day, Coloradans for the Common Good (CCG) leaders, led by members of Centro de los Trabajadores, and labor allies celebrated a major step forward in the protection of immigrant workers. 

At the urging of CCG and labor allies, Denver City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to extend subpoena power to the Denver Auditor in matters of wage investigations. Companies accused of wage theft may no longer simply pay a small fine and move on when accused.  This power means stronger enforcement of Denver's wage protections and more money for the workers who earned it.

This victory was built on hundreds of conversations with immigrant workers who shared painful stories of wage theft and disrespect in the workplace. 

[Photo Credit: William Luther, San Antonio Express News]

[Excerpt]

"These slower-than-expected results have prompted even local advocacy group COPS/Metro, one of Ready to Work’s earliest and staunchest champions, to criticize the program for not doing a good enough job of getting job commitments from employers upfront.

The good news is that everyone involved with Ready to Work has demonstrated a willingness to learn from mistakes and adapt."

Garcia: By Frustrating Trial and Error, Ready to Work is Changing Lives, San Antonio Express News [pdf]

[Excerpt]

Ortencia Ramirez, a member of OneLA (a local IAF group) started organizing in her parish because “all my life, I saw the struggles in my community,” she says. One day at church, a man who was involved in organizing made an announcement that resonated with Ramirez: “He said, ‘I wanted to make a difference, I just didn’t know how. I knew in my faith that I should be doing more for our community, but I didn’t know where to start.’ ”

Ramirez has been organizing for close to 20 years. “What’s kept me interested after all these years in organizing is the difference that I see that it makes in our community in L.A. County. I see the fruits of our labor,” she says. “The leadership training has helped me listen to people and take their issues on. It’s made me more of a public person because I’m very shy. Without my faith, I wouldn’t be doing community organizing.”....

Community Organizing Is Synodality in Action, US Catholic [pdf]

Valley Interfaith's 'Recognizing the Stranger' training drew 82 ministry leaders from 15 local parishes in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.  Bishop Daniel Flores delivered stirring remarks noting Pope Francis' constant reminders of three aspects of the synodal process to develop in parish life: communion, mission and participation.  Bishop Flores also emphasized that a transformed heart ("resurrected vision") seeks what, as a community, can be done to make life better and more human for those most vulnerable. 

On Thursday April 18th VOICE-OKC hosted a press conference denouncing the passage of HB 4156 and the way it opens the door for targeting members within Latino communities, regardless of their documented status.  Those in opposition include the Most Rev. Paul S Coakley, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Fr. Tim Luschen of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, the Rev. Dr. Lori Walke of Mayflower Congregational Church and 20 other pastors across the state.  

[Excerpt]

...the city’s own 2023 draft Housing Element (page 1E-2-36) concludes there is capacity within city limits for 46,392 new homes — on land with ready access to water, sewer, roads, and schools, and available right now to build the housing Fresno needs. We urge the [Building Industry Association] BIA and its member developers to take advantage of these opportunities to fill the gaps in our city with attractive housing for all families in Fresno.  This situation creates opportunity, too, for the City Council:

it’s time to focus on getting housing built in vacant and underused sites in all parts of Fresno.

That new focus should include supporting developers with the improved infrastructure and other incentives that will inspire them to build so that every Fresno family has a good roof over its head.

[Photo Credit: Craig Kohlruss, Fresno Bee]

Fresno May Grow to its Southeast, But At What Cost and Who Pays? This Needs More Study, Fresno Bee [pdf]  

[Excerpt]

They come from the ranks of the poor, migrants, and dispossessed, and they have learned to help those like themselves. Even a pandemic did not stop Recognizing the Stranger. This national program, now in its fifth year, emerged from a partnership between the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) and community organizers from the West/Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF)....

Solidarity and Success: Five Years of 'Recognizing the Stranger', CCHD