HEALTH CARE FOR CHILDREN
4,200 rally in California for children's health coverage 
PICO California packed the Sacramento Convention Center with a standing room only crowd on Wednesday, April 13 to push state officials to provide health coverage to every child in California. The key decision makers, Governor Schwarzenegger's Health Secretary Kim Belshe, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate President Don Perata agreed to work on a set of policies that would provide health insurance for more than 800,000 children in the state. Read more>>

NEW VOICES
PICO to hold Spirit of Faith event in the U.S. Senate 
As part of PICO's New Voices campaign, 250 clergy and lay leaders from across the country are traveling to Washington, DC on May 23-25 to meet with members of Congress and policy allies. On Tuesday night, May 24 PICO will host a Spirit of Faith event to recognize members of Congress who have demonstrated a willingness to work with our local federations and national network to advance policies that strengthen families.

Learn more about the New Voices Campaign >>

RECENT WINS
Housing Opportunities
Agreements promote home ownership in N. Colorado
Leaders from Congregations Building Community (CBC) in Northern Colorado won agreements with Union Colony Bank and the City of Greeley that will help hundreds of working families become homeowners. Read more>>

San Francisco YIMBY campaign creates 300 units of affordable housing with many more on the way
The San Francisco Organizing Project (SFOP) is proving that even in one of the least affordable housing markets in the nation it is possible to build political will for housing opportunities for low and moderate-income families. To date, SFOP's YIMBY (Yes in My Back Yard) campaign, begun in 2001, has created 300 units of affordable housing, with thousands more in the pipeline. For more information visit www.sfop.org.

More on Housing Opportunities>>

Neighborhood Revitalization
Clergy win support for East Palo Alto comprehensive redevelopment project
Peninsula Interfaith Action won support from the Mayor of East Palo Alto for a redevelopment project that would create a new supermarket, affordable housing and a pre-employment training center on vacant land. On March 150 people gathered for a prayer service to build support for the project. Read more>>

Gainesville wins federal transportation funds to rebuild a neglected neighborhood
Congresswoman Corrine Brown secured $3 million in the federal Transportation Equity Act to fund roads repair and redevelopment in the Duval Neighborhood of Gainesville. Three weeks earlier Congresswoman Brown had met with leaders from ACTION Network to hear testimony about the lack of paved streets and infrastructure in the community. Read more>>

More on Neighborhood Revitalization>>

Safe Neighborhoods
Anchorage, Alaska returns to community policing
Anchorage Faith and Action Congregations Together brought together hundreds of people at St. Anthony's Catholic Church to win support for community policing. Read more>>

Oakland targets new crime prevention funds on areas of greatest need
After winning passage of a crime-prevention ballot measure in the fall, Oakland Community Organizations (OCO) is working to make sure that new funds go to help neighborhoods facing the greatest need. The ballot measure provides $9.5 million to the Oakland Police Department to hire new police officers and $6.2 million for violence prevention programs. Click here to read an analysis of how OCO built electoral power to support Measure Y.

More on Community Policing>>

Denver parents monitor school conversion
Parent leaders from Metro Organizations for People organized over the past year to have a say in the state-mandated conversion of Cole Middle School into a charter school.  Now that Colorado has selected KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) to operate Cole, parents have won commitments for a full implementation of the program this next school year and have secured $125,000 in grants to help assure that commitments by the state to improve learning at Cole are accomplished.  For more information contact Patty Lawless at patty@mopdenver.org.

More on Good Schools >>

IDEAS
IN DEPTH: Expanding housing opportunities in communities across America
In 2004, the median price of a single-family home in Contra Costa County, California topped $400,000. Despite soaring housing prices, Rosa Alanis and six other low-income residents who are volunteer leaders in the Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization, an affiliate of PICO, have been able to purchase homes for their families. Read more>>

OTHER NETWORK NEWS
Service in Louisiana honors soldiers
Bayou Interfaith Sponsoring Community Organization (BISCO) held a Candlelight Peace Vigil and a service on March 19 honoring the 28 soldiers from LA and 1,500 nationally who lost their lives in Iraq.

New England organizing effort affiliates with PICO
The Organizing and Leadership Development Center (OLTC), a regional faith-based organizing effort in New England, is now affiliated with PICO. OLTC has five member federations working in the Fall River/New Bedford area, Brockton, Essex County, Metro West Boston and Burlington Vermont. It has a long track record of working with faith communities to revitalize neighborhoods and has brought about important policy changes in housing, job training and community development. For more information contact Lew Finfer at LewFinfer@aol.com.

Career Opportunities
Click here to see a list of community organizing positions in the PICO network.