Thursday, November 15, 2007

PICO INTERNATIONAL
Salvadoran churches use PICO model to win clean water
Eight hundred people from 5 congregations led the first organizing process in Central America based on the PICO Model. Four mayors and an owner of a cheese factory (who is also the president of the National Enterprise Association in El Salvador) responded to public demands from community and clergy to begin taking steps to clean up water contamination from the factory and to return in March to give a progress report to the community. Read more>>

VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Camden churches push for new police leadership, strategy
Camden Churches Organized for People mobilized more than 800 faith-community members to meet with New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram and the city's state-appointed Chief Operating Officer to press for new police leadership and new policing strategies to reduce violence in Camden. Read more>>

Organizing brings model violence prevention program to Oakland
Oakland Community Organizations (OCO) has won support from city officials for an Oakland Strategy for Violence Prevention and Intervention. The initiative to stem rising levels of violence and homicide in Oakland is based on a successful intervention model developed in Boston. Now OCO is helping community leaders learn how they can make the initiative work in their neighborhoods. Read more>>

HEALTHY FAMILIES
PICO keeps up pressure on Congress to renew SCHIP before Christmas
PICO launched a new e-mail campaign to build pressure on Congress to complete work on a strong SCHIP bill before Christmas. If Congress does not act before the end of the year, as many as 1.4 million children could lose their health care. States across the country are already planning to send letters cutting children off health care. Please join PICO in asking Congress to reach an agreement to cover 10 million uninsured children and to reduce, not increase, barriers for low-income children. Click here to send an e-mail to your Congressperson and to President Bush. 

PICO Florida helps win $1.1 million for 5,000 uninsured children
Federation of Congregations United to Serve (FOCUS) leaders travelled from Orlando to Tallahassee on October 1 to deliver 5,000 letters to State leaders asking them to add KidCare Reform to the October Special Session. The reform would improve inefficient administration that discourages parents from applying for the program and threatens the loss of millions of dollars in federal funding. Less than two weeks later the Florida State Senate passed $1.1 million legislation that will open 5,000 new slots in the program. In addition, the Florida Chief Financial Officer implemented changes that permit easier application procedures. Read more>>

Cortland, NY, rallies for children's health care
Moving in Congregations Acting in Hope (M.I.C.A.H.) in Cortland County, NY obtained the agreement of five state and local officials to partner on getting every eligible child in this mixed rural and urban community covered by health insurance within two years. Over 250 people from ten M.I.C.A.H. congregations joined with 20 community organizations at the public action meeting to launch a county campaign to cover all children and to press for state action to reduce enrollment barriers. Read more>>

Cover All Children rally in Melbourne, FL
Congregations for Community Action (CCA) organized a rally to promote SCHIP legislation in Congress. SCHIP provides health coverage for 225,593 low-income children in Florida. Both of Brevard County's Congressmen voted against reauthorization. Community leaders and health care experts told the rally attendees that loss of funding would probably create more emergency room visits and drive up health care costs. Read more>>

CIVIC PARTICIPATION
Ya Es Hora Ciudadania! Campaign gains strength in Los Angeles
LA Voices' continuing campaign with UniVision to naturalize eligible immigrants has found huge success. There are 5.7 million legal permanent residents of Latino descent that are eligible to become U.S. citizens. Almost 30% of those live in California and could transform electoral politics in the state if they became citizens. Citizenship applications have increased in LA by 118% since the beginning of the campaign in January 2007. Read more>>

GOOD SCHOOLS
Denver parents propose alternatives to school closing plan
Metro Organizations for People (MOP) is pressing the Denver Public Schools to reconsider a school closing plan that has been criticized by educators and parents for not guaranteeing a better education to students whose schools are slated for closure. MOP has worked with parents, teachers and community members to develop an alternative proposal that provides adequate time and planning for opening new schools to be successful and insures that students whose schools are closed are sent to high performing schools. Read more>>

NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION
New Anchorage bus stop turns blight into beauty
Anchorage Faith and Action Congregations Together (AFACT) won a new $90,000 bus stop in a long-neglected neighborhood as part of an ongoing effort to revitalize the community. The new bus stop is well-lit on its own island of safety and the number of riders is rapidly increasing. Read more>>

JOBS
Health Care Campaign Coordinator
PICO National Network is hiring a Health Care Campaign Coordinator to support state organizing campaigns to win health coverage for working families and their children. Applicants should have experience in health care policy and legislative and/or ballot campaigns at the state level. Read more>>

Online Communications Coordinator/Writer
PICO National Network is looking for someone with strong writing skills and online communications experience to produce content for our website (www.piconetwork.org), e-mail newsletters and action alerts, print publications and help manage online communication. Read more>>

Organizer Openings
PICO federations in Vermont, Massachusetts, and California have job openings. Read more>>

PICO needs your financial support
PICO's success in empowering families and improving communities depends on financial contributions from our donors. To help support our work on the issues you've read about in this issue of e-news and others, click here to make an on-line donation.

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