[Excerpt]

"In many of our faith traditions, the idea of covenant provides a template for understanding the way COPA thinks about our work. This means going above and beyond the social contract that establishes the state, government, and laws that bind us … by widening our circles of attachment across income, social, cultural, religious, and racial divides – and creating moral commitments to one another, with shared values and ideals that compel us to work together, despite our differences, for the common good....

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When a healthcare program for undocumented children they had created was threatened by Santa Cruz County budget cuts, COPA leaders did not stand idly by. They quickly mobilized supporters from Catholic, Jewish, Methodist and other nonprofit partners to persuade the Board of Supervisors and healthcare provides to fund the effort. And they succeeded.

United Way of Santa Cruz County recognized the organization's efforts (and its collaboration with Community Foundation and 1st 5 nonprofits) with an "Advocacy Award" for COPA leadership (pictured above).

Testifying before the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, COPA leader Elsa Quezada called for a County strategy to educate undocumented and uninsured Monterey residents about newly available healthcare services. "They are our neighbors, our friends, they go to church with us, they join us at the park, the rodeo...their children go to school with our children," she argued.

At COPA's urging, the Board approved the creation of a strategic plan and simplified "access point document" to better spread the word about healthcare access to the uninsured; both are to be produced within 90 days.

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When COPA leaders discovered a lapsed initiative to provide healthcare to low-income adults in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, leaders organized an assembly with seven out of the ten county supervisors and leveraged commitments to bust through the political blockage to resurrect ViaCare. Congregational and labor leaders of COPA rejoiced when the Monterey Board of Supervisors voted to implement the Low Income Health Care Plan (LIHP) and to extend healthcare coverage to as many as 1,500 additional adults. Said St. Mary of the Nativity Catholic Church and SEIU United Long Term Care Worker leader Mario Torres: "Now sooner, rather than later, I will have a doctor's appointment and that feels great."

Monterey County Board of Supervisors Approve...Pilot Program, SEIU-ULTCW

"Peter Stemp, ministry outreach coordinator at the Diocese of Monterey, is helping collect signatures for COPA's Stand Up and Take Charge Campaign, launched March 12. They're 200 signatures toward an October goal of 30,000, in support of a broad agenda: the rights to affordable housing, healthcare, safety, economic opportunity and education for citizens and immigrants alike."

Coalition of Faith and Community Groups Seeks 30,000 Signatures for Political Agenda, Monterey County Weekly

"Tony Cardoso didn't think there was much point to voting. After all, what could his one vote do? Then he learned about an organization of 24 religious, education and nonprofit groups working together to solve economic and social justice issues....Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action, or COPA, launched a campaign Monday to push for affordable housing, health care access, public safety, economic and educational opportunity, and immigration reform."

Campaign Seeks to Enlist Voters in Support of Social Change: COPA Sets Agenda for Host of Issues Including Housing, Immigration, Santa Cruz Sentinel

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In mid-November, more than 400 COPA leaders (from 24 institutions across Monterey and Salinas counties) launched their first-ever "Stand Up and Take Charge" campaign with a goal of organizing 20,000 voters in support of a common agenda of issues including health care, education, affordable housing, economic opportunity, immigration and safety. Leaders see this as a way to engage in public life and cut through the state of divisive, hyper-partisan politics in California. Leaders ratified a year-long plan that includes a regional agenda of issues, a core team of 60 captains, 400 leaders responsible for signing up 50 voters each and accountability sessions with county supervisorial candidate in May and US Congressman Sam Farr in October.

Chaplain Dan Olivieri and lay leader Mary Littel Walsh presented the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors a petition signed by over 400 parishioners from Resurrection Catholic Church in Aptos. They sent a clear message — don't cut home care wages!

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"Diocese of Monterey, COPA to Honor Gang Prevention Work." Salinas Californian

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In Watsonville, Banks Draw Ire, Santa Cruz News

Protesters in Watsonville Target Wells Fargo for Foreclosures, Santa Cruz Sentinel