When Sandra, a member of El Carmen Catholic Church in San Antonio, attempted to join her son at his elementary school for lunch, she was barred from entering the campus due to a district policy that parents present a Texas ID.  Sandra does not have -- and cannot obtain -- a Texas ID.  When COPS/Metro leaders requested a meeting with the Superintendent to discuss the policy, they were denied.

Soon, 55 COPS/Metro leaders from El Carmen Catholic joined Sandra at the next Southside ISD School Board meeting and stood by her as she directly addressed the board.   “I want to be part of his education. I want to be there every step of the way. But the district is not allowing me to do so at this time, and I would like that to change.”  COPS/Metro is requesting a change to the policy so that all parents can access their children's schools.

That night, the Board President alerted leaders that the Board would work with COPS/Metro to resolve the issue.  Officials from the district also agreed meet with leaders to resolve the issue.

[Photo Credit: Camille Phillips, Texas Public Radio]

San Antonio Parents Without Texas IDs Barred from Southside ISD Schools, Texas Public Radio

Parents Without Texas IDs Said They Were Barred from Southside ISD Campuses, Rivard Report 

Southside ISD's ID Policy Has Some Parents Complaining it Leaves Them Out of Kid's Schooling, San Antonio Express-News

Padres Denuncian Que Este Distrito Escolar Les Prohibe Entrar as las Escuelas Por No Tener Licencia de Conducir de Texas, Univision    

600 leaders from 29 member institutions, representing 31,000 Calgarians, assembled to publicly found the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good, a new broad-based organization of religious congregations, schools, unions and nonprofits.  With music and a blessing, the assembly incorporated a roll call in which institutions committed to working together and stories by community leaders that demonstrated the issues the new organization would address including: Mental Health, Social Isolation, the Environment and Truth And Reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

Public officials, including the Calgary Mayor, Calgary Councillor and a Member of Parliament, credentialed the new organization and the work ahead. 

Interfaith Alliance Coming Together for the Common Good, CBC Listen

Calgary Organization Banding Together on Common Issues, 660 News

Calgary Advocacy Group Builds from the Neighborhood Up, Live Wire Calgary

We All Win When We Work Together for the Common Good, Calgary Herald

Founding Assembly, A Powerful Evening, Calgary Alliance for the Common Good

After months of research and negotiation to address a municipal crisis in water billing and repayment, the City of Jackson announced a plan, developed in collaboration with Working Together Jackson, to both help the residents repay past-due bills and the Public Works Department collect essential payments.

“As a result of our collaborative efforts with the Public Works Department, there are now multiple payment options available where before there was only one,” Working Together Jackson said. “But more importantly, there are objective criteria so if you act in good faith you will not leave without being presented options to pay your bill in a way that works for both you and the City.”

The plans were informed by conversations organized by leaders through house meetings and water bill advocacy sessions in which residents brought their bills and learned how to manage repayment.  

[Photo Credit: Seyma Bayram, Jackson Free Press]

Jackson Unveils Water-Bill Payment Plan Required for Delinquent Residents, Jackson Free Press

Press Statement Regarding Water Billing, Working Together Jackson

There's a fight in federal court over the Omaha rental registry which was supposed to go into effect January 1st.  Negotiated carefully with extensive input from Omaha Together One Community (OTOC) and local landlords, the registry would allow City inspectors to review a property, even those without a filed complaint, as one step to stop slumlords from taking advantage of tenants.

The registry was negotiated months after 500 refugees were forced out of apartments with 2,000+ code violations.  Months before it was set to go into effect, the Metro Omaha Property Owners Association filed a suit against it. 

OTOC leaders are now publicly challenging landlords to work with the community to ensure dignified housing for all Omahan residents.

Landlord Group Sues City of Omaha in Attempt to Block Rental Registry, Inspection Program, Omaha World-Herald

Property Owners Assn. Filed Federal Lawsuit Over Omaha Rental Registry, KETV Omaha

After the sheriff of Tarrant County mistakenly argued that 'drunk' immigrants were going to 'run over your children,' Dallas Area Interfaith organizer Josephine Lopez-Paul called on the public official to build trust rather than spread lies, referencing an independent study by the CATO Institute that documented a dramatically lower crime rate among unauthorized Texas immigrants compared to their native-born counterparts. 

"In these polarized times, what he should be doing is building trust," commented Lopez-Paul. 

Tarrant County Sheriff Calls Migrants Facing DWI Charges 'Drunks' Who 'Will Run Over Your Children', Dallas Morning News

With 500 leaders from 22 member institutions, community delegates gathered on a Thursday night to publicly launch and celebrate the founding of 'Coloradans for the Common Good.'

“We are not relying on special interest groups to define our agenda,” proclaimed Pastor Del Phillips, of the House Worship Center and the Colorado Black Leadership Coalition, “so we are going to make financial commitments -- as member institutions -- so that we are our own special interest.”

New member institutions were joined by a dozen guest organizations from Denver, Aurora, Commerce City and Jefferson and Boulder counties.

Leaders also conducted some nonpartisan public business with Denver School Board candidates, asking 12 individual candidates if they would support a community-driven agenda, including recruitment and retention of teachers of color, investment in students’ social/emotional support, and support for a traditional, comprehensive high school in the Denver far northeast neighborhood.  Almost all candidates agreed.

Press Statement, Coloradans for the Common Good

After months of organizing work by One LA leaders -- and building on leaders' successful efforts to launch MHLA and enroll thousands of residents in the program -- the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health announced plans to invest $5.6 million to enhance My Health LA (MHLA) with mental health services.  

This move will allow approximately 145,000 low-income Angelenos who currently receive health care through the County's MHLA program to access prevention services that will reduce the risk of developing potentially serious mental illness.  MHLA primarily serves low-income and undocumented immigrants who have no other access to health coverage.  MHLA did not previously cover mental health as a funded benefit.

Eleven months after leveraging enough votes across the state to expand Medicaid in Nebraska, state legislators have manufactured delays and complications hindering its implementation.  In response, OTOC leaders and allies traveled to the Capitol to call on legislators to "honor the vote" and fulfill the will of Nebraskan voters. 

At a press conference outside, OTOC leader Dr. Carol LaCroix, a family physician, questioned why the governor’s administration was erecting barriers to care and significantly delaying implementation of expansion.  In the hearing itself, OTOC leader Mary Spurgeon (photo above) itemized the harm done by failing to expand Medicaid for the seventh year, pointing out that the altering of the law, passed as Initiative 427, constituted a failure by the governor and legislators to carry out constitutional duties. 

Following the hearing, OTOC leaders delivered copies of their testimony to the governor and senators.  Leaders are now urging constituents to contact their senators on this issue. 

OTOC Leaders Testify Against Delays and Complications of Medicaid, Omaha Together One Community

500 Valley Interfaith leaders packed the Pharr Development and Research Center to publicly launch a parish ID strategy for the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.  Developed in collaboration with the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley and three law enforcement agencies, parish-issued identification cards will show a picture of the cardholder, name, date of birth, address and how long the cardholder has been a member of their parish. 

Representatives from the police departments of Pharr, McAllen and Edinburg participated in the assembly, pledging to accept these cards as a form of valid identification in the event anyone needs to identify themselves to the police -- whether on a traffic stop or when filing a report.   

Edinburg Police Chief Cesar Torres said that he likes the idea of the ID card because "right now we have a lot of victims that are from across (the border). They don’t call the police department when they are victimized because they are afraid of being deported. If we recognize some type of ID, they’ll feel more comfortable and call us when crimes do occur.”

Said Fr. Kevin Collins of St. Eugene de Mazenod parish in Brownsville, “I’m very excited about this event tonight because we have a lot of people coming who hope to change their lives, to have less fear in their lives, and to live with more human dignity in their homes and their neighborhoods.” 

[Photo Credit: Francisco E. Jimenez, The Monitor]

IDs Give Parishioners Way to Say, 'I Belong,' Regardless of Legal Status, National Catholic Reporter [pdf]

Diocese, Valley Interfaith Team Up to Offer a New Kind of ID, The Valley Catholic

Vally Nonprofit Announces ID Strategy in Parishes, KRGTV

Valley Interfaith Clarifies Parish ID Strategy, The Monitor

Valley Interfaith to Launch Local Parish ID Strategy, The Monitor [pdf]