PEACE (People Engaged in Active Community Effort)

PEACE MEMBER DRIVE 2008: RESPONSES TO POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

History:

The PEACE Organization was founded in 1991 by local congregations which came together to commit to work together on addressing justice issues in Palm Beach County. PEACE now includes 8 member congregations, and recently held an Action Assembly with 800 people present.

Who can be part of PEACE?

Any congregation or organization in Palm Beach County with a mission to work for . justice. Those who are not members of congregations can work as part of a team affiliated with a congregation.

Who controls PEACE?

PEACE is run by a board of directors. The Board is composed of the clergy person and 2 lay representatives from each member congregation.

How does PEACE decide what issues to work on?

Members of PEACE conduct an annual listening process within their congregations in order to identify the most pressing community concerns. From this Listening Process a list of areas of concern is compiled. Congregations then gather to vote on one or two specific areas to focus on each year. Some areas that have been chosen in the past include jobs, health care, education and crime and drugs, and housing. From there, issue committees are formed to do research on the problems in these areas and identify winnable solutions.

Who gets paid at PEACE?

The majority of the work of PEACE is done by volunteers. Currently there are only two full time staff people for PEACE.

What do funds raised go towards?

The majority of the funding for PEACE goes towards paying staff, training leaders through local and national workshops, and maintaining a small office.

How does PEACE achieve positive change in the community? PEACE addresses root causes of community problems by pushing for systemic change. PEACE accomplishes its goals through taking "direct action" using the example of Nehemiah on issues (gathering people to meet face-to-face with decision makers). PEACE is not a direct service organization. PEACE is not a political organization and does. not endorse political candidates.

The organization is a coalition of churches. It is important that the pastor be aboard to get anywhere in a congregation.

The current issues we are working on are:

+ alternative education (where the at-risk kids go; we have the school district paying attention. This is one of our winners.)

+affordable housing (it looks now as if seven of 11 members of the county's affordable housing council will be people nominated by PEACE. They are heads or activists in various agencies including the United Fund who our committee turned up as being interested in getting something done rather than talking)

+health care (pushing the Health Care District to make its underutilized low-income insurance program better known and to coordinate public health with Medicaid; about 60 percent of the people who turn up at public health centers are eligible for Medicaid, don't know it and are not told as of now)

+ homelessness (we just started working on it this year. First thing we found out is that public officials deliberately don't know how big the problem is. Officially, Pinellas county has four times the number of homeless we have because they count and we don't).

The working sequence is:

+ Identifying problems through one-on-one meetings or house meetings in congregations.

+ Voting on issues to tackle for the year (October)

+ Researching issues -- committee work.

+ Rally and Action (March) At the rally we turn out the biggest crowd we can -- today 1,000 by 2012, we hope for 3,000 -- and invite officials of public (usually) or private agencies to come in and pledge to do what we want them to do.

More info from Emily Small, lead organizer, 882-0403. The PEACE office is at Calvary United Methodist Church in Lake Worth, about three blocks from the Chamber of Commerce at 301 1st Ave. South.