COPS / Metro Alliance Builds Trust Between Immigrants and San Antonio Police
"On the evening of April 25, more than 250 parishioners from Sacred Heart in the west side of San Antonio stood in thunderous support of SAPD Chief William McManus after he vowed to "fight crime, not chase immigrants!" He then asked the assembly to work with him, because SAPD wants "to be part of this community, not apart from it." McManus' commitments came in response to various gut-wrenching stories of residents who live in fear—fear of criminals and of law enforcement—but are determined to do something about it....
As energizing as the West side gathering was, what made it truly remarkable was that it emerged from hundreds of similar stories shared during "house meetings," or small group conversations, organized by Sacred Heart and COPS/Metro during Lent. Parishioners met in the church hall after Masses, knocked on doors around the neighborhood for six straight Saturdays, and hosted neighbors in their homes to understand the pressures on the families and to find people willing to act. Weeks of training, conversations, deliberation and preparation came before the meeting with Chief McManus...."
Read moreVIP Triumphs in Restoring $6 Million in Services to City Budget
"Earlier this year, a faith-based political-action group began putting pressure on Phoenix officials to reinstate some services after noting there was no additional funding planned for after-school programs in the initial version of the city's budget proposal.
Read moreAustin Interfaith GOTV Efforts Yield Increases up to 131% in Traditionally Low Turnout Areas
"On April 29th, Austin Interfaith held the largest assembly in the city with 500+ organization members at Mount Olive Baptist Church; the church is located in Precinct 124 in East Austin. Early voter turnout increased by 65% compared to 2011 council election turnout and by 9:30pm Saturday night had recorded an 85% increase over final election day turnout from 2011. These increases in raw numbers of voters were the result of coordinated efforts by Austin Interfaith member congregations in East Austin. Efforts included pulpit announcements to vote in congregations, GOTV walks held by 24 leaders over two weekends and phone banking involving a team of 9 additional leaders from downtown congregations..."
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EPISO Leverages Commitments from Candidates on Education, Immigration and Workforce Development
"About 450 people gathered Sunday at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church to listen to candidates vying to represent Precincts 1 and 3 on County Commissioners Court, Districts 75 and 77 in the Texas House of Representatives, and the 16th and 23rd Congressional Districts in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The event was organized by El Paso Interreligious Sponsoring Organization, a non-partisan group..."
Read moreWorking Together Jackson Launches House Meeting Campaign
"Jerry Jones wants a decent place to take his wife to eat where they live in south Jackson. Bill Osborne, a retiree, says abandoned homes are ruining Jackson neighborhoods and wants to work on revitalizing them. They were among small groups of 10 at a church in south Jackson last week where they were asked to name the one thing they'd be willing to do to improve Jackson....
Read moreCOPS / Metro Alliance Highlights Impact of Anti-Immigrant Laws in Wake of US Supreme Court Hearings
"The archdiocesan Office of Life, Justice and Peace in partnership with Sacred Heart Church, Catholic Relief Services, Mexican American Catholic College and COPS / Metro, celebrated a Mass for Justice on April 25 renewing their commitment in raising awareness of the impact of Arizona immigration law SB1070....
After mass, Sacred Heart Parish sponsored an assembly on immigration to highlight the impact of anti-immigrant laws on families that create fear, vulnerable citizens and concerns of violations of human rights."
Read moreNorthern AZ Interfaith Council Teaches Students to Organize
"CRAFTS at Northern Arizona University, developed in partnership with Northern Arizona Interfaith Council ...trains hundreds of students in skills of cross-partisan broad-based community organizing that make their education far more relevant..."
Read moreAustin Interfaith Leverages Commitments on Electricity & Incentive Deals
At an assembly with 504 Austin Interfaith delegates, candidates for City Council and Mayor committed to raising electricity rates no higher than 20% for congregations and to broaden assistance to people with limited incomes.
Candidates were also challenged about publicly funded incentives, as Austin has been the center of high-profile incentive deals in recent years. Austin Interfaith got all candidates to commit to setting a wage standard for permanent (and construction) workers ranging between $11-20 per hour. Candidates also agreed to a community study and dialogue with Austin Interfaith to determine what constitutes a living wage in Austin.
Read moreTogether Baton Rouge Wins Historic $17M Transit Election
Triumph of a proposition for funding public transit follows a 15-month constituency building campaign that brought together diverse institutions from across the city. Local leaders focused on neighborhood issues and organized a 1,000 person assembly to launch a month long effort to Get Out the Vote.
In photo, Diana Dorroh and Deborah Quinn of Together Baton Rouge team up Saturday morning to walk Baton Rouge neighborhoods and encourage voters to cast their ballot in support of CATS.
Read moreProject IOWA Antidote to Critical Skilled Worker Shortage
"Project IOWA is a faith-based initiative in Des Moines that provides worker training....'The workers know this is their best chance at changing their lives, and they're giving it their all,' said Fugenschuh..."
Des Moines Area Community College welding student Jason Gregory, right, works with instructor Jeff Pratt. Gregory is part of Project Iowa, which was founded by AMOS and helps workers get the training they need to find jobs.
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