2012 - A Year of Transformations CCISCO - Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization PICO National Network

CCISCO is committed to building civic engagement and increasing public participation by those most affected by injustice and inequity in Contra Costa County. We are a multi-racial, multi-generational, interfaith federation.CCISCO helps everyday people win extraordinary victories by providing a vehicle for them to speak, act and engage in public arenas. We believe in the power of relationships and that by acting together on our common values, we can imagine and create a new world. Since 1996, we have been organizing a voice for justice and equity in Contra Costa. We are a multi-ethnic, multigenerational, interfaith federation of 25 congregations and youth institutions representing over 35,000 families. CCISCO is a member of the PICO National Network and PICO California.

PICO is a national network of faith-based community organizations working to create innovative solutions to problems facing urban, suburban and rural communities. Since 1972 PICO has successfully worked to increase access to health care, improve public schools, make neighborhoods safer, build affordable housing, redevelop communities and revitalize democracy. PICO helps engage ordinary people in public life, building a strong legacy of leadership in thousands of local communities across America. More than 40 different religious denominations and faith traditions are part of PICO. With more than 1,000 member institutions representing one million families in 150 cities and 17 states, as well as a growing international effort, PICO is one of the largest communitybased efforts in the United States. Together we are lifting up a new vision for America that unites people across region, race, class, and religion.

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I have heard it said in social justice circles that community must appreciate in their ongoing ght for systemic fair treatment, equality and accountability that they are not simply out numbered but more often they are out organized. Finally an organization that organizes and teaches citizens how to stand up for itself, ght the important battles and be successful. CCISCO has added signicant value to the Richmond community and with an ambitious vision continues to contribute to its health and well-being. Devone Boggan, Director of the Ofce of Neighborhood Safety, Richmond CCISCO employs innovative thinking and strategies to address our countrys mass deportation crisis caused by the entanglement of local law enforcement with federal immigration authorities. CCISCO set itself apart through its vision, effective organizing, and ability to unite and not divide the immigrant community with other communities of color. This has not only resulted in local solutions that stop the further criminalization of immigrants, but in solutions that address the source of criminalization for all communities of color -- mass incarceration. CCISCOs sets a state and national example of how the immigrant rights advocacy can be strengthened and work towards justice for our entire community. Angie Junck, Supervising Attorney, Immigrant Legal Resource Center It is such a pleasure to work with all the caring people at CCISCO, I know when we put our thoughts and energy into an issue to help our communities together we can and do make a difference. Thank You for all your hard work! Jim Frazier, California State Assembly - District 11 I am currently working on a concept called the Moses Moment. The Moses Moment is the sacred moment when the burning in our hearts intersects with a faith summons to address situations where human life is being limited by oppression and dehumanization. The Moses Moment is a response to that experience by speaking truth to power, in particular the power that lies latent within common people to challenge the power assumptions of the status quo. This past year I witnessed a Moses Moment in the varied activities of CCISCO. CCISCO, an amazing collect of common people, responded to the power assumptions of the status quo and engaged the community in powerful experiences of social transformation. It was nothing less than the sacred to witness a shift in a move to build a jail into investing in people. It was nothing less than sacred to witness a radical drop in gun violence as the people experienced their own sense of empowerment. It was nothing less than sacred to witness massive voter turnout with the passing of Proposition 30. I am humbled to have been an eyewitness to a Moses Moment within the city of Richmond and Contra Costa County. Out of the Moses Moment experienced with CCISCO I now know as stated by the social scientist, Cynthia Kaufman that "a vision of the world that includes the possibility for change requires a major orientation in how we see the world." Reverend Dr. Alvin Bernstine - Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, Richmond

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THANK YOU TO OUR MEMBER CONGREGATIONS: Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church-Richmond, Easter Hill United Methodist Church-Richmond, Reach Fellowship International-North Richmond, St. Marks Catholic Church-Richmond, Temple Baptist Church-Richmond, Word Impact Christian Center-Richmond, St. Josephs Catholic Church-Pinole, Safe Return Project-Richmond, Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church, Queen of All Saints-Concord, St. Francis of Assisi-Concord, Antioch Christian Center, Antioch Church Family, Community Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, First Baptist Church of Pittsburg, Holy Rosary Catholic Church-Antioch, Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church-Brentwood, St. Anthonys Catholic Church-Oakley, St. Ignatius Catholic Church-Antioch, St. Peter Martyr Catholic Church-Pittsburgh THANK YOU TO OUR MAJOR FUNDERS: The California Endowment, Y&H Soda Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, The San Francisco Foundation, Walter and Elise Haas Sr. Foundation, Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation, PICO California, Crescent Porter Hale, Kaiser Permanente

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Table of Contents: 2012: A Year of Transformations - Rev. Dr. Ronald Burris ! 2012 Community Victories!! 1 - Let My People Vote! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 6 9 10 14 17 20 2 !2 ! ! ! ! ! ! 24 26 28

2 - Invest in People, Not Prisons! ! 3 - Keep Families United ! ! !

4 - Ceasere Lifelines to Healing !

5 - Freedom and Opportunity for Immigrant Families and Youth 6 - Keeping Families in Their Homes ! 7 - Building the Beloved Community ! 8 - CCISCO in the News ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

2012 - A YEAR OF TRANSFORMATIONS

The past year has witnessed incredible transformations that are credible signs of the power of people of faith to transform the world from despair and disparity into hope and opportunity. We have been blessed to witness a great awakening of a great spirit of humility, mercy and justice across our region and country. We have seen those people most impacted by oppression and injustice link arms and work together to build a new future that is founded on freedom, opportunity, healing and redemption.

We witnessed the tenacious dedication of clergy and community leaders who walk every week in the neighborhoods most impacted by gun violence to deliver a message of hope and healing. Once considered one of the most violent cities in the country, Richmond is now being lifted up as a model for the region as cities across the Bay Area as homicides and injury shootings decreased over 30% in 2012. We rejoiced at the passage of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights this past July which provides some of the strongest legal protections in the country to ensure that families can fairly negotiate to save their homes. After more than a decade of ghting for freedom and opportunity for immigrant youth, we celebrated the announcement of deferred action and CCISCO youth leaders launched CLOUD (Community Leaders Organizing Undocumented DREAMers), a new vehicle to tell their own stories and build a strategy to renew

our democracy and ght for citizenship for all aspiring Americans. This past year, CCISCO leaders also helped over 1,600 immigrant youth in Contra Costa apply for their new legal status. Across the region, families courageously fought to stay together and we won agreements for new policies to stop the separation of immigrant families. We built a powerful and prophetic campaign that urged our public ofcials to Invest in People, Not Prisons. We are grateful that Contra Costa County was the rst county in California to withdraw a proposed jail expansion and is now creating meaningful opportunities to strengthen our communities by investing in services, housing and employment for people coming home from incarceration. Finally, against overwhelming odds, we witnessed one of the most powerful expressions of faith in our shared destiny as
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hundreds of volunteers worked tirelessly to breathe new life into our democracy and help expand the electorate and pass Proposition 30 which turns back decades of disinvestment in our children, families and schools. CCISCO and PICO leaders organized the largest volunteer-led civic engagement and alongside our allies in labor and community, we helped to move over 1.6 million infrequent voters to the polls on election day. We know that there are great challenges ahead and that there is a erce urgency to continue all of the work we have begun. We also want to take the time to celebrate and share the tremendous work of

hand, heart and spirit and the thousands of clergy and leaders who allowed themselves to be instruments of Gods peace, healing and justice this past year. Regards, Rev. Dr. Ronald Burris, Pastor, Temple Baptist Church Richmond CA and Associate Professor, American Baptist Seminary of the West, Berkeley CA On behalf of the CCISCO Board of Directors

The past year has witnessed incredible transformations that are credible signs of the power of people of faith to transform the world from despair and disparity into hope and opportunity.

2012 COMMUNITY VICTORIES

Moved Contra Costa County to allocate over $4.035 Million to be used for housing, jobs, and services for formerly incarcerated people in Contra Costa County

We helped Contra Costa become the rst county in the state of California to defeat a jail expansion under realignment

With 250 volunteers we led the largest civic engagement campaign in Contra Costa We touched 116,000 voters, we identied 28,000 votes, and we helped move 8000 people to the polls to help pass PROP 30!

We led over 80 night walks in Richmond and East county, with more than 2000 participants standing for Peace every week. This helped to decrease homicides and injury shootings by more than 30% in Richmond in 2012

We organized 8 DACA workshops with over 1600 people in attendance and we helped more than 200 DREAMers apply for Deferred Action

After 4 years of campaigns to end the foreclosure crisis our worked helped to lay the ground work for the passage of the Home Owners Bill of Rights in California, which was passed this year
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1 - LET MY PEOPLE VOTE: HOW COMMUNITY ORGANIZING HELPED TO SAVE CALIFORNIA AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR DEMOCRACY

On November 2, 2012 Californians voted to approve ballot Proposition 30, marking the rst time in over 30 years that Californians voted to approve a measure to raise revenue and invest in our public infrastructure. This campaign represents a critical turning point in California history. Despite broad acknowledgement that failure to pass Prop 30 would result in devastating cuts to our schools and universities, all of the major public opinion polls pointed to a defeat the week before the election. The measure had been battered by millions of dollars spent on attack ads nanced by some of the wealthiest ideologues in America, including Charles Munger and the Koch brothers. So what happened? One of the largest community-led civic engagement efforts in the history of California helped to identify over 1.6 million infrequent voters who came out in favor of Proposition 30. CCISCO helped to lead the largest volunteer effort in Contra Costa County and contacted 133,000 voters and identied 27,000 infrequent voters to come out and vote for Proposition. As a part of PICO California we helped to lead the largest volunteer-led civic engagement effort in California as a part of the Reclaim Californias Future alliance. After decades of investment in shrinking the electorate, the Reclaim Californias Future movement demonstrated what is possible when everyday Americans work together and urge

"A Votar mi gente! We're out here to get our voices heard because we are the future, and because we can't vote as DREAMers we have to cast our votes in the street, and the people we are helping to turn out to vote are our voice." - Mikisli Reyes, Karina Brenes, and Juan Reyes - CLOUD -Community Leaders Organizing Undocumented Dreamers 11

We won in passing Prop. 30, but in reality we won so much more - Juan Zaragoza - CLOUD

people to vote their values. Californians withstood one of the largest voter suppression efforts to confuse and frustrate voters and instead they voted for a future founded on redemption and opportunity. CCISCO and PICO California clergy and leaders fought hard to ensure that this measure would be on the ballot and urged Governor Jerry Brown to negotiate with our allies supporting the Millionaires Tax and we celebrated this historic compromise in April when over 300 clergy met with Governor Brown and launched our campaign to build a Land of Opportunity in California. We gathered the largest number of volunteer signatures to ensure that Proposition 30 would be on the ballot. We then built our infrastructure to run a highly effective and accountable civic engagement campaign that would focus on expanding the electorate and reaching out to voters who are traditionally ignored by the political elites: immigrants, people of color, Spanishspeakers, and youth. We invested in the training and develop our community leaders to tell their own story of opportunity to help inspire voters around the country.

Over 300 people volunteered for the campaign in Contra Costa County and dozens of volunteers made thousands of phone calls every night utilizing a sophisticated pdialer system that allowed a volunteer to speak with hundreds of voters during a two hour shift. Every weekend we walked precincts with historically low voter turnout to build relationships with voters across the county. Entire families, high school students, immigrants, DREAMers, formerly incarcerated citizens voting in their rst election all participated as a reection of the beautiful mosaic of our community and democracy. In the end, well-organized people power was able to prevail over the wealthiest people in the country through disciplined organization, intense commitment and inspiring people to invest in our shared future. On election day, we contacted over 6,000 voters in Contra Costa County alone and knocked on over two thousand doors in cities across the region. We won in passing Proposition 30, shared Juan Zaragoza, a CCISCO Democracy Fellow. But in reality we won so much more. Indeed, community organizing and grassroots community
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leaders helped to demonstrate what is possible when we invest in expanding the electorate and focus on the common good and our shared future. For a Summary of our civic engagement campaign see our Let My People Vote Page on Pinterest

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2 - INVEST IN PEOPLE, NOT PRISONS!

A society that invests in bail reform, human services, housing, and jobs for ex-offenders makes community based solutions an obligation, and safe return and reintegration an expectation. This is good news for the people of Contra Costa County. In committing our souls and resources to investing in people, not prisons we are following the leading of Jesus, and fullling the gospel mandate to make lifting the lives of the least of these our highest priority. - Reverend Kamal Hassan

Contra Costa County made history this year and attracted national attention as the rst county in the state of California to defeat a proposed jail expansion during a period when 22 of the 23 largest counties in California have proposed jail expansions over the past two years. AB 109, the new state realignment policy was developed to respond the revolving door to prison evidenced by the nearly 70% recidivism rate and the Supreme Court decree to resolve the prison overcrowding crisis. Many counties have failed to follow the meaning of AB109 when instead of creating programs for people coming home from prison to reduce recidivism, they instead have chosen to use AB109 funds to build more prison space. Contra Costa County is the rst and only county in California to withdraw from a proposed jail expansion and is leading the way in pioneering innovative strategies to improve public safety and reduce recidivism. A broad movement of faith leaders, formerly incarcerated residents, civil rights organizations, service providers, and public safety ofcials aligned in Contra Costa to build momentum for this signicant shift. CCISCO and the Safe Return Project, alongside the Community Advisory Board for the CCP, the Re-entry Solutions Group, the League of Women Voters,Richmond Progressive Alliance and many other organizations have helped to build a powerful public voice for investing in people and redemption and not mass incarceration. CCISCO, the Safe Return Project and our allies packed early morning meetings for over six months to advance an agenda to create opportunities for people coming home from prison. After months of community involvement and testimony at these monthly meetings of the Contra Costa Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) State Senator Loni Hancock stated in September, I hope everyone

realizes what a tribute to democracy this whole process has been. I am in awe of this community and the testimony you've given and the fact that it is really coming together with such promise for developing a whole new system. The whole promise of AB109 is not to replicate the failed system of the state level, but to build a new system that will break the cycle of crime and poverty and violence and put people on another track. Everybody talks about it almost nobody has done it successfully, and it sounds to me like Contra Costa is on the road to doing it successfully. You will make history if you do that; you will be a model for other places that are struggling with these tough issues. Finally, in early December CCP approved $4.035 million dollars that will be invested in community partnerships to develop programs for prisoners in jail and those coming home, including peer mentoring, several one-stop information centers and a pretrial partnership between service providers and the probation department to lower the number of prisoners who are in jail but have yet to be sentenced. Contra Costa Public Defender Robin Lipetzky introduced the motion and helped to champion the measure which passed 6 to 1 with unanimous and broad-based public support. "This is about the community stepping up and making its voice heard," Public Defender Lipetzky stated to supporters and press afterwards. "You answered the call; you developed solid proposals based on real research and evidence. This is a credit to your involvement and we are excited about moving forward." Formerly incarcerated residents played a critical role in shifting the perception about how to improve public safety and reduce recidivism. Leaders of the Safe Return Project played a critical role in
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I hope everyone realizes what a tribute to democracy this whole process has been. I am in awe of this community and the testimony you've given and the fact that it is really coming together with such promise for developing a whole new system. The whole promise of AB109 is not to replicate the failed system of the state level, but to build a new system that will break the cycle of crime and poverty and violence and put people on another track. - California State Senator, Loni Hancock

organizing a powerful voice to challenge the dominant narrative that says people of color are inherently violent and incapable of change. "This is about people that look like me having a chance at redemption and opportunity," Lavern Vaughn, founding member of the Safe Return Project stated during the press brieng after the vote. "All of us have made mistakes and none of us are without fault. We all deserve a chance to rebuild our lives."

For a More in Depth Report See: Invest in People, Not Prisons: Building Strategic Capacity to end Mass Incarceration in Contra Costa County and California For a Summary of the News Coverage on Our Jail Campaign See our: Scoop.it and Pinterest Pages

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3 KEEP FAMILIES UNITED: ENDING MASS

DEPORTATION IN CONTRA COSTA

Another landmark in this process was the alliance between immigrants and criminal justice advocates. CCISCO leaders built alliances that acknowledged the linkages between mass incarceration and mass deportations and pushed a common agenda to reduce the prison population through bail reform; investing in evidence-based strategies to reduce recidivism; and stopping the incarceration of immigrants as a result of immigration holds. As a result of the sustained community pressure, Contra Costa Sheriff David Livingston voluntarily offered to remove a proposed expansion to the West County Detention Facility from the conversation. Responding to the powerful public testimony presented at

these meetings, Livingston also announced his desire to change Contra Costa's policy to cooperate with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its secure communities program. Contra Costa currently holds undocumented immigrants in custody for ICE. Livingston further stated "I do not believe that it is in the interest of public safety to lock up low-level and non-violent offenders, At CCISCO, we believe that families are the sacred foundation of our broader community. We cannot build healthy and thriving communities when children are separated from their families through mass incarceration or deportations. What can we hope of a society that is torturing children because they are being separated from

What can we hope of a society that is torturing children because they are being separated from their parents by massive deportations and incarcerations - Nora Gonzales

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their parents by massive deportations and incarcerations said Nora Gonzales, one of thousands of mothers who organized to stop the deportation of their husbands last year. Over the past year, CCISCO clergy and leaders have won signicant reforms to help keep families united and have helped to demonstrate the human cost of misguided policies, such as the federal Secure Communities program. Throughout the course of the year, CCISCO leaders organized to help prevent deportations that would separate children from their families and helped to keep the Gonzales family united. Through the course of this campaign, over 300 community residents participated in trainings that exposed the abuses of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policies of detaining and deporting immigrants who came into contact with the justice system. We discovered that S-Comm has led to the deportation of over 82,000 residents of California - more than any other state. Contrary to this programs stated goal of prioritizing serious felony offenders, the vast majority of those deported--about 68%--are categorized by ICE as either

non-criminals or lower level offenders. Even U.S. citizens, survivors of domestic violence, and immigrants arrested only for selling street food without a permit have been unfairly detained due to SComm. Contra Costa county has the highest number of deportations in northern California. According to ICE IDENT/ IAFIS interoperability report through May 31st, 2012, 78% of the deportations involved people with non-criminal or minor level offenses. Through this campaign, we were successful in forging powerful alliances between African-Americans and immigrants which helped us build a shared agenda around reform criminal justice and immigration policies that lead to mass incarceration and deportations and foster a climate of fear and mistrust. We collaborated with the Richmond Police Department to craft a new detainer policy which insures that non-violent immigrants are not deported and in November of 2012 began negotiations with Sheriff David Livingston after he reversed his position and acknowledged the negative impact of detaining and deporting Contra Costa residents.

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CEASEFIRE LIFELINES TO HEALING

Over the past year, CCISCO clergy and leaders have helped to build a powerful movement for peace and healing in Richmond that is spreading across the county. We helped to lead over 80 night and day walks in Richmond and across the county with more than 2,000 participants volunteering over 4,400 hours to build a powerful voice to keep our communities alive and free. The Richmond Ceasere-Lifelines to Healing movement is a community-led movement that aspires to reduce gun violence; reduce recidivism; and build opportunity for those most impacted by gun violence. It is a broad-based collaboration between clergy, community leaders, formerly incarcerated residents, law enforcement and justice leaders, and service providers. The strategy is focused on delivering a clear message of accountability and opportunity to those individuals most involved with gun violence. Over the last year, we engaged over 1,200 Richmond residents through small group meetings in a public dialogue about the cost of violence. We heard stories deep pain and trauma, but we also heard a resilient spirit that was hungry for change. Over 240 residents participated in training to learn about the Ceasere-Lifelines strategy. Every week, a dedicated team of clergy and community leaders meet with law enforcement to help build trusting relationships and craft a shared strategy to transform Richmond. This past year, we launched the Ceasere-Lifelines to Healing callins in Richmond, which is a central component of the strategy where law enforcement and community leaders meet directly with those individuals most involved and impacted by gun violence. CCISCO clergy and leaders helped to lead over 80 home visits and helped to host over 60 participants in four call-ins over the past nine months. At the call-ins, participants hear a message of love, oppor-

tunity and accountability from clergy, community leaders directly impacted by gun violence, formerly incarcerated leaders, and service providers. They also hear a clear message of accountability from law enforcement ofcials who are meeting with individuals in one of the rst encounters with law enforcement where they are not under investigation. Participants are also partnered with community advocates and able to voice their concerns and share their needs and everyone is provided an opportunity to receive guided development to help them develop a life map and develop a plan to build a new life. Over the past year, we have witnessed a powerful transformation among many of the participants and throughout the community. Since we began the call-in strategy, there has been over a 50% reduction in injury shootings and homicides in Richmond and there was not a group-related homicide for the last nine months of 2012. In the wake of the tragic gun massacres from Aurora, Colorado to Newtown, Connecticut, we are mindful that over 60% of all gunrelated homicides occur in urban areas. Tragic loss of young life occurs on a massive scale everyday across America. Our work in Richmond is evidence that we can impact the gun violence epidemic and we need broad collaborations that provide focused accountability and opportunity in urban centers across America. We are committed to continuing and deepening this work until a spirit of peace and healing reigns in Richmond and across our country. For a Summary of the News Coverage on Ceasre See our: Scoop.it Page for Ceasere Lifelines to Healing

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FREEDOM AND OPPORTUNITY FOR IMMIGRANT FAMILIES AND YOUTH

Our faith calls us to work to welcome the stranger in our midst. CCISCO has fought to help immigrant families integrate into our communities and realize their aspirations to be recognized for their contributions to the American dream. Immigrant children and families have been at the center of this work. As part of this work, we are honored that we helped over 150 immigrants become new citizens this year through our partnership with the You, Me, We initiative in Oakley and with our allies at the International Institute of the East Bay and Catholic Charities. In addition, we also succeeded in passing a new policy in the City of Richmond which stopped the predatory conscation of vehicles. For the past ten years, we have worked hard to support the passage of the DREAM Act which would provide a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth. In June of this year, President Obama announced deferred action for DREAMers which would allow them to have protected status over the next two years. CCISCO youth leaders celebrated the opportunity and immediately went into action and formed CLOUD - Community Leaders Organizing Undocumented DREAMers as a new vehicle to tell their

own story and build a strategy to expand the circle of freedom and opportunity to all aspiring Americans. Over the past six months, CCISCO and CLOUD along with our partners at Catholic Charities and the International Institute held eight deferred action workshops with over 1,600 participants where youth and families learned how to apply for their new legal status. More importantly, CLOUD leaders were able to come out of the shadows and tell their own stories and dreams of being fully recognized as citizens. They touched the hearts and minds of the broader community about the need for pathways to citizenship for all aspiring Americans and played a vital role in helping to lead the largest civic engagement effort in the county. They are poised to help lead a movement to provide citizenship for 11 million aspiring Americans in 2013. For a Summary of our News Coverage on CLOUD and Immigration Reform see our Pinterest and Scoop.it pages

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KEEPING FAMILIES IN THEIR HOMES

For more than four years, CCISCO leaders have been leading the battle to hold the largest and wealthiest banks accountable for their predatory practices. They have helped to spark a national movement which has awakened our consciousness about growing chasm between rich and poor and the need to develop common-sense policies to hold banks accountable for their abuses. In 2012, we called on California Attorney General Kamala Harris and State Senator Mark DeSaulnier to join us in this important ght and they listened. CCISCO leaders met regularly with Attorney General Harris to help negotiate a signicant increase in the multi-state agreement which resulted in an additional $8 billion in relief for California homeowners, including principal reduction and State Senator DeSaulnier introduced one of the key components of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights which PICO California and our allies in the ReFund California coalition crafted with AG Harris. In July of 2012, despite tireless efforts of Wall Street lobbyists to defeat and weaken our efforts, Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Homeowner Bill of Rights into law. This represents the largest expansion of legal protections for homeowners in the country and allows homeowners to le legal action in banks defraud them during the loan modication process. The California Homeowner Bill of Rights has already contributed to a signicant decrease in unnecessary foreclosures and Contra Costa Countyonce the epicenter of the foreclosure crisis in the Bay Areaexperienced a 44% decrease in notices of default in 2012. We are now working alongside the Attorney Generals Ofce and our allies to help empower homeowners to take advantage of their new rights. In addition, we worked with Oakland Community Organizations and our allies at East Bay Housing Organizations and Com-

munity Housing Development Corporation of North Richmond to support the development of a new mortgage buyback program in Oakland (ROOT: Restoring Ownership Opportunities Together). We hope to expand this innovative model to Contra Costa County in the coming year. It was more than four years ago when CCISCO leaders rst gathered at Holy Rosary Church in Antioch to discuss how the community should respond to the foreclosure crisis engulng Contra Costa. From that rst meeting our actions grew and our voices spread across the country. After all these years of organizing and putting pressure on government and bank ofcials Governor Jerry Brown just signed into law landmark legislation that reforms bank's foreclosure practices and creates a fairer foreclosure process for California's homeowners. This legislation nally brings accountability to the banks for harmful foreclosure practices and allows homeowners to protect themselves from the commonplace violations that banks have exhibited in this foreclosure crisis.

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BUILDING THE BELOVED COMMUNITY: STRENGTHENING MULTIRACIAL ALLIANCES

At CCISCO, we are committed to building a beloved community where all people have a seat at the table of plenty. We recognize that there are many divisions which continue to plague us and thwart our ability to come together around our shared values. We are committed to working for racial reconciliation and equity and that means creating spaces where people can see each other as children of God and fully human. It means listening to each others struggles, respecting one anothers differences and knowing that the only way we can change this country is if we do it together. In the hope of hearing each others stories and getting to know each other on a deeper level we organized a series of dialogues and trainings to begin this process and brought in Rev. Alvin Herring of the PICO National Network to help lead a powerful daylong training in April. One of the most powerful moments of the event came when Andres Abara from the Safe Return Project and Andrs Velasco from St. Pauls Catholic Church talked about building unity between the AfriThere are too many who would try to divide us with fear, but our faith, our hope and our love are stronger than that. We are one Richmond. We are one community. - Andres Abara

can American and Latino communities and reected on the scripture from rst Corinthians in the Christian Bible which states, "If one part suffers, every part suffers; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Through our organizing Andres and I have built a fabulous relationship, and somehow God has brought us together to be a symbol for the need of unity in Richmond. Andres and I share a name and we share a common destiny. When my brother Andres is hurt, I suffer. When my brother Andres loses his freedom and is separated from his family, I suffer. When my brother Andres nds opportunity and work I rejoice. This is how we need to live. There are too many who would try to divide us with fear, but our faith, our hope and our love are stronger than that. We are one Richmond. We are one community. We are committed to continuing this dialogue to build a powerful and unied community where we are able to grow into our best selves and where everyone is valued and treated with dignity and respect.

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CCISCO IN THE NEWS

Throughout 2012, CCISCO took new strides in developing story based narrative strategies as a central part of our organizing. We instantly saw what it meant for our work to building messaging frameworks with leaders to prepare them to speak with media and to understand what communications strategy rm Smart Meme calls the Battle of the Story. The results of this work can be seen throughout this report and in the following pages where we feature the media coverage of our: civic engagement campaign, our Invest in People, Not Prisons campaign, with our Keep Families United work related to immigration reform and with Ceasere LIfelines to Healing. During the year CCISCO was featured in over one hundred different stories published through print, television, web, and radio media outlets. Beyond amplifying these stories on our social media channels we also began curating our stories based on our major campaigns which helped reporters to better understand the complex issues we work on and this also served as a repository that the community could turn to as the stories about their lives, their struggles and their victories poured in.
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Let My People Vote

Formerly Incarcerated Men Encourage Others to Vote - By Rachel Witte - Richmond Condential Johnny Valdepena, a 46-year-old Richmond resident who has spent more of his life in prison than out of it, will vote for the rst time next week. It wouldnt have happened, he says, without a lot of help and encouragement and now he and his fellow Safe Return Project members want to spread that encouragement to others. On a recent Saturday morning at Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, volun-

teers from the Safe Return Project and CLOUD, CCISCOs group of undocumented youth community activists, gathered for the Let My People Vote canvassing effort. The aim of the day? To encourage Richmonds infrequent voters to show up to the polls on Nov. 6. Valdepenas path to participating in the democratic process was not an easy one. His rst arrest came at 15, he said, and the next 30 years of his life were spent in and out of the prison system, a revolving door of six-month stints partnered with brief moments back on the street. His gang afliation and involvement in selling drugs inevi-

I go back in and try to pull the people out of darkness, he said. The hurt, the lost, the gang members. He said he tells them, You remember when I was right there with you. Look at me now. - Johnny Valdepena, Safe Return Project

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tably placed him back behind bars, and at one point Valdepena served 11 years straight for armed robbery. After doing time at Folsom, Solano, San Quentin and Lancaster, by the end of 2008 Valdepena said that he had had enough. He called his brother. I want to clean up, he said. Im over this. I want to put it behind me and move forward. After detoxing on his brothers couch, Valdepena found salvation and faith at church services. But his time in prison was not yet through. Me and my brother were watching Smackdown on a Friday night and the gang unit knocked on the door, he said. Valdepena had violated his parole when he failed to make an appearance at the parole ofce upon his most recent release from prison. The ofcers took him back to San Quentin, but this time, for the rst time, Valdepena asked the prison for help. He received counseling services and participated in a detox program. He was ready for a second chance. Adam Kruggel, executive director of CCISCO, said he sees the impact that Valdepena can have on those who have been through similar circumstances, which is why the group is focusing its canvassing efforts on neighborhoods where voter turnout is low and many residents have had their own experiences with law enforcement. We think that there is a growing movement across the state and county where voters are saying we need to invest in alternatives to incarcerationinvest in restoration and healing, Kruggel said. And Johnny is a powerful symbol of that movement.

Since his release in 2009, Valdepena has taken the helping hand he was given in prison and extended it to Richmond and the neighborhood where he was once a criminal. He said his opportunity for a second chance has inspired him to help others realize their own ability to create change. I go back in and try to pull the people out of darkness, he said. The hurt, the lost, the gang members. He said he tells them, You remember when I was right there with you. Look at me now. Valdepena preaches a message of hope and change, something he said draws him to support President Obama. Many people in Richmonds neighborhoods complain about needed improvements, he said, but nobody goes out and votes. Who better to teach them about the importance of exercising that power than a formerly incarcerated man, he said. Come Election Day, as he casts his rst ballot, Valdepena will have overcome some tough challenges something he also appreciates about the president, he said. Adversity is something I respect, he said. I truly believe when people tell you you cant do something, you need to use it as a stepping stone to show them you can. These days, Valdepena lives in constant appreciation of his faith, family and freedom and his vote. It does make a difference, he said, and my voice does need to be heard.

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Undocumented Youth Organize for Immigration Reform by Julie Brown - Richmond Condential Yazmin Martinez spent her Saturday morning in the Iron Triangle walking sidewalks littered with garbage and weeds, knocking on doors and asking residents who dont normally vote to show up at the polls this November. She was encouraging voters to exercise their civic right because she cannot. Martinez is one of an estimated 5,000 undocumented immigrants in Richmond, according to a 2010 study by the Public Policy Institute

of California. While Martinez doesnt have a say in elections, that doesnt stop her from being politically active. Martinez said that because she cannot vote does not mean she cant encourage other people to vote for the things she believes in. Shes not walking these streets alone. Martinez recently joined a new group that is organizing undocumented youth who want to pursue comprehensive immigration reform. Days after a recent presidential decision to offer some undocumented immigrants immunity from deportation and work permits,

Deferred action, CLOUD organizers say, is a step in that direction. But the bigger-picture goal is permanent immigration reform. We dont want to just settle for this, said CLOUD member Jesus Gonzales, 22. We want real, comprehensive immigration reform. So not only I can benefit, but my parents, my sister anybody who deserves to be here.

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Carlos Martinez and Jose Juan Reyes decided to form Community Leaders Organizing Undocumented Dreamers, or CLOUD, to advocate for teenagers and young adults who want to apply for deferred action. While counseling youth through the process of applying for deferred action, CLOUD is also training its members to volunteer and help others apply. In two summer events that drew around 600 people, the group provided information about deferred action and screened possible applicants. I got really inspired by seeing the work that they were doing, said Jaquelin Valencia, a 20-year-old leader in CLOUD. I like community organizing, and I think thats what got my attention. I want to do what theyre doing. I want to inform. More than 40 dreamers attended a CLOUD meeting in late September to hear about the application process. Heather Wolf, the director of Catholic Charities of the East Bay and an immigration attorney, led attendees through the dense and complicated paperwork. When I came here I felt like I had no help from anyone. I know that feeling, said Horatio Torres, a 19-year-old CLOUD member who said he wants to help his friends and family learn more about deferred action. I feel like people need to help because sometimes theyre scared to ask. Yazmin Martinez was seven years old when she crossed the Mexican border in the trunk of a car. She was lying next to her two-yearold brother, she said. Her parents were in the front. At one point on the drive, she said, an Immigrations and Custom Enforcement vehicle started tailing them. She said the ofcers pulled them over and pointed guns at her parents. The ofcers didnt know there were chil-

dren in the car until Martinez looked up. At that point, they actually stopped and let us go, she said. I didnt really know what was going on, Martinez said. We were just following my parents. I knew they just wanted the best for us. It was tough. And then when we got here the language barrier the whole transition was very hard. But we were able to overcome it. The memory brought tears to her eyes and her voice wavered. Right now, we feel that weve been growing up here, she said. We deserve a chance to be recognized and not be in the shadows. Deferred action, CLOUD organizers say, is a step in that direction. But the bigger-picture goal is permanent immigration reform. We dont want to just settle for this, said CLOUD member Jesus Gonzales, 22. We want real, comprehensive immigration reform. So not only I can benet, but my parents, my sister anybody who deserves to be here. For Martinez, family is her biggest reason to ght for citizenship, more so now than ever before. She gave birth to a baby boy in June. Unlike Martinez, three-month-old Giovani Cruz is a citizen. I dont want to be afraid of being deported, Martinez said. I want to be able to work hard to give my baby everything he deserves. Reyes and Carlos Martinez formed CLOUD in partnership with Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization, which is leading a campaign to get unlikely voters to the polls in November. Volunteers from CLOUD and CCISCO are making phone calls on weekday nights and knocking on doors Saturday mornings to en32

courage Latino residents to cast a ballot in favor of Proposition 30, which would raise sales tax, and income tax for taxpayers making more than $250,000, and direct the money to public schools and public safety. Proposition 30 is really a critical measure about investing in our future, said Adam Kruggel, executive director of CCISCO. We are focused on really empowering, encouraging, all people of color to vote, especially folks who dont traditionally participate in the democratic process. While raising taxes for public schools and safety is a different matter than immigration reform, CLOUD members like Yazmin Martinez still hope Prop 30 passes. Martinez graduated from Richmond High School with honors in 2010 and had lled out applications to UC Berkeley, UC Davis and San Francisco State. But she never applied. It was too expensive and not being a citizen, she didnt qualify for nancial aid. My only choice was community college, Martinez said. CCISCO is targeting all Latino and Spanish-speaking voters in Contra Costa County, and has a goal of talking to 30,000 voters countywide. We want to actually be able to document that we moved 6,000 voters, Kruggel said. In the Iron Triangle, Martinez scanned her clipboard for the next address on the list and looked up. It was a house guarded with an iron fence and dogs. As soon as she stepped closer, one of the dogs ran down the stoop and barred its teeth, defending its territory with a piercing bark.

Hello? Martinez called. No one came out. Hello? she called again. This time a woman opened the door. Is Alisa here? Martinez asked. Shes out, the woman responded. Martinez kept going. We were just trying to spread the word about Proposition 30. After explaining the proposition to the woman, and pleading with her about expensive tuition not only in her case, but every child and student in California, Martinez left the woman with a couple pamphlets and moved on to the next door. Walking down the sidewalk, Martinez admitted that she was intimidated walking around a new neighborhood, knocking on strangers doors, dogs barking at her. But she kept walking forward. One foot in front of the other stepping forward for her son, for her parents who havent seen their family in Mexico since they crossed the border, and for her dream to go to college and become a pediatrician. Thank God were getting this opportunity, she said. We will take advantage of it. We will keep ghting.

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Invest in People, Not Prisons Jonathan Perez, 19, told the board at the meeting that he himself benefited from opportunities aimed at re-integrating exoffenders. "A little over a year ago I was locked up in Martinez. When I got out, I knew I wanted to do something different, but I didn't know how," he said. "I'm living proof that if you give people the opportunity, they will change." Supes Approve Budget Allocating State Realignment Funding - San Ramon Express News The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a $20.7 million budget to support state inmates rerouted to county jails under California's realignment plan. The more than $20 million will expand some departments and cover operational costs associated with the hundreds of addi-

tional low-level offenders that would previously have been housed in state prison and are now under county jurisdiction under state Assembly Bill 109. This afternoon's vote comes after six months of debate among the members of the county's Community Corrections Partnership, or CCP, about how to allocate $19 million in state realignment funding. The prolonged negotiations mean the county's public safety departments will receive the funding only now that the scal year is halfway through.
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The CCP executive committee includes the county's public safety and criminal justice department heads, including Sheriff David Livingston, District Attorney Mark Peterson, Public Defender Robin Lipetzky and Probation Chief Philip Kader. The committee's newly approved budget allocates more than $15 million to hire new personnel and for other costs related to AB 109 inmate caseloads. In addition, $5.2 million of the spending plan is earmarked for partnerships with community organizations aimed at reducing recidivism, or the rate of inmates returning to jail. Members of community groups such as the Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization, or CCISCO, and the Safe Return Project, as well as several community leaders from Richmond, packed CCP meetings over the past six months to voice their support for solid investment in programs that keep offenders off of the streets, such as one-stop service centers providing education, housing and employment resources to ex-offenders. At Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting, several community leaders and residents again urged the board to approve funding for such programs. "You need to invest in people, not prisons," Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin said. "It's been said over and over again that we have to address the roots of crime, and that means to address the roots of recidivism by providing opportunities." Jonathan Perez, 19, told the board at the meeting that he himself beneted from opportunities aimed at re-integrating ex-offenders.

"A little over a year ago I was locked up in Martinez. When I got out, I knew I wanted to do something different, but I didn't know how," he said. "I'm living proof that if you give people the opportunity, they will change." Supervisor John Gioia, who agreed with the need for investment in community anti-recidivism programs, commended the CCP for drafting a budget that takes into consideration the needs of the county's various public safety departments. However, not all of the county's law enforcement and criminal justice departments received the funding they requested. District Attorney Mark Peterson's ofce did not receive any of the $1.1 million requested to fund the added workload for AB 109 defendants. The board rejected that request, vowing instead to make funding for the district attorney's ofce during the CCP's budget 20132014 Fiscal Year budget. It was disappointing, although I'm happy the Board of Supervisors unanimously believes it's a priority and should be made a priority," Peterson said of the decision. The board also said it would set aside funding in the upcoming CCP scal year budget for law enforcement departments.During the course of the CCP's budget negotiations since June, the sheriff also compromised, agreeing to table a proposal to expand the West County Detention Facility in June by roughly 150 beds. Roughly $2.7 million of the budget has been set aside for the expansion in the event that recidivism programs are not successful. "I don't agree with everything on the budget, but I think it gets us further toward...reducing the recidivism rate," Livingston said Tuesday.

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Once Behind Bars, Group Advocates for Prisoners Coming Home by Julie Brown - Richmond Condential When the door opened at West County Detention Facility for Tamisha Walker, it was dark. After six months in jail, Walker was free. But she was alone. No one was there to pick her up. All she had was a bus ticket and a bag. You just get on a bus, Walker said. And its a long, lonely ride.

Jeff Rutland knows the lonely freedom Walker spoke of. Hes reminded of it every time he sees a released inmate walk down MacDonald Avenue from the Richmond BART station in a gray sweatsuit with a paper bag. He once walked that same path. You see that look, Rutland said. I know the struggles and hardships they face. Which is why two years ago last month Rutland and Walker brought their experience to the just-started Safe Return Project to help people coming out of jail or prison.

It makes better policy when people who have been directly affected by the issues are at the table, said Eli Moore, a program director with the Pacific Institute, which started the Safe Return Project two years ago with Richard Boyd of Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO) and Devone Boggan of the Office of Neighborhood Safety.

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We are the voice at the table, Rutland said. Not only for the reentry community, but for the community at large. Before the Safe Return Project, when Contra Costa County and Richmond were discussing prisoners coming home and developing a strategic plan to better serve the incarcerated, the critical voice of someone who knew reentry rsthand was noticeably absent. The idea came from a fundamental recognition, said Adam Kruggel, executive director of CCISCO. We were unequipped to understand the challenges that people coming home face. After receiving a grant from the California Endowment, the group put out a job announcement specically seeking those who had spent time in jail a curious posting that caught the eyes of Rutland, Walker, and a handful of others. Rutland was just a month out of prison when he responded to the ad. He lled out the application because he was ready to make a change. But he surely didnt imagine himself sitting in boardrooms two years later with the district attorney, the sheriff, and the chief of police talking about prison policy. I dont think anybody knew what would happen, he said. But it moved forward. Clarence Ford was the youngest person at a September basement meeting at the Richmond Civic Center, but that didnt stop him from speaking up. Ofcials were discussing the ve stages of arrest, incarceration and reentry, and the 24-year-old wanted to make sure that an education component was included to help offenders understand the judicial process. He was speaking from personal experience. Its like a foreign language, he told the room.

Ford is one of the newest members on the Safe Return Project. He went to jail when he was 20 and got out a year ago. With the support of his mother, Ford is a full-time student. Going to jail, he said, gave him time to sort out his values and see who he wants to be. He joined the Safe Return team because he shares their goals, such as a one-stop center for people coming home to help with job training, housing, and other needs. But he also wants to make sure the younger voice is represented. If Im not there, then things are going to continue to be the way theyve always been, Ford said. Looking ahead, the Safe Return Project has big plans. Eventually, the group wants to become independent from its parent organizations, CCISCO and the Pacic Institute. Walker and Rutland said they would like to create a support group for formerly incarcerated people that will not only be a platform to support each other emotionally, but with networking and education. They also see the need for a service providers meeting, a round table where people coming home can leave with someones business card to call. And they want to expand their Ban the Box campaign to the county, and then the state, Walker said. The initiatives the Safe Return Project commits to run on a philosophy of restorative justice. The groups members, each of who has committed a serious crime, served their sentences and want to change. They hope to heal the community and give back. And at the same, help themselves. Theyre coming back to their community and trying to make things right, Kruggel said. Theyre very honest and forthcoming about the mistakes theyve made in the past and are very committed to their communities to make things right. I think thats the heart and soul of restorative justice.
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Sheriff Withdraws Jail Expansion Plans - KPFA 94.1-FM Berkeley - CLICK TO LISTEN TO STORY Opponents of a controversial plan to expand jails in Contra Costa County are celebrating a victory, after County Sheriff David Livingston backed off his plan to build 150 new jail beds. The jail expansion plan was opposed by many activists who want money to go to services for former offenders returning to the community, instead of to county jails. They say the jails should free non-violent inmates awaiting trial and undocumented immigrants held on behalf of the Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. They want

the county to spend more on services, investing, in their words, in people not prisons. Busloads Protest Plan to Expand Jail by Chip Johnson, Chronicle Columnist - San Francisco Chronicle MARTINEZ -- The very idea that Contra Costa County residents would support a $6 million county jail expansion with funds from a state law mandating counties to provide alternatives to incarceration was met with stiff opposition at a meeting Thursday inMartinez. Three busloads of it, to beexact. Activists from Richmond and elsewhere on the western side of the county packed a hearing room in a

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county building to defeat a proposal from Sheriff David Livingston to add 150 beds to the West Contra Costa County Detention Facility in Richmond, which already houses more than 1,000 male and femaleinmates. The forces aligned against the jail expansion plan were so overwhelming that Livingston's proposal never even made it to a vote of the Community Corrections Partnership, the county entity set up to recommend how to spend the money that Sacramento is giving to local governments in exchange for transferring thousands of inmates from state prisons to thecounties. Livingston capitulated when the talk turned to creating a new committee - and another layer of bureaucracy - to guide the planningprocess. "Let's hold on the expansion if it helps to move the discussion forward," Livingstonsuggested. Activists holding signs and wearing stickers saying "Invest in people not prisons" were joined by clergy members and ofceholders past and present, including former state Assemblywoman Loni Hancock and Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin. Livingston is a member of the Community Corrections Partnership. The panel also includes representatives of the courts, the district attorney and public defender's ofces, and the county probation and health departments. Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus also serves on thepanel. The committee has been given a $19 million state grant to build a government and community-based network that can provide comprehensive rehabilitative services to probationers and parolees released back into thecommunity. The nation's prisons and jails have become institutions of higher criminal learning. Rehabilitation and reform just aren't part of the program, if they ever were. So any plan that keeps violent offenders locked up and

provides nonviolent offenders with an opportunity to aid in their own rehabilitation is a better plan that what we havenow. Not muchsupport - Although Livingston reserved the right to reintroduce the jail expansion plan at a later date, it appeared support would be hard to come by in the Community Corrections Partnership, and nonexistent in thecommunity. It was a signicant turnaround for anti-jail-expansion activists, who said the sheriff's plan appeared to be a done deal a little more than two monthsearlier. Activists said Thursday's decision was a victory for efforts like the Safe Return Project in Richmond, which employs recently released probationers and parolees as community organizers and researchers. Without a jail construction project, more money will be available for suchgroups. Alternatives tojail - Adam Kruggel, who heads the Contra Costa Interfaith Support Community Organization, credited such efforts with reducing the rate of homicides and injury shootings in Richmond by nearly 50 percent in the past ninemonths. He noted that the county reserves 140 beds in the Richmond lockup for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to house suspected illegal immigrants. Taking back those beds would be one way to provide for any inux of county inmates, hesaid. If the realignment money that the state is giving to counties goes for providing jobs, housing, health and education services, it won't be necessary to build a bigger jail, Kruggelsaid. "I think ultimately the issue here is, what kind of community do we want to have?" said the Rev. Kamal Hassan, pastor at Sojourner Truth Presbyterian Church inRichmond. "If we want a community where people can grow, be rehabilitated, welcomed back and go on to lead productive lives," Hassan said, "incarceration does not get usthere.
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Richmond Ceasere Lifelines to Healing We are building a communitybased coalition for peace," Rev. Eugene Jackson, CCISCO Organizer Volunteers Hit Richmond Streets to Keep the Peace - By Roger Roberts, Contra Costa Times RICHMOND -- The 25 peace activists gathered in New Hope Missionary Baptist Church on Friday night listened as a 78-year-old grandmother gave them their marching orders. "Stay on message out there," resident Bennie Singleton told them. "Ceasere, ceasere, alive

and free. Now let's go show that we are here and we care." With that, the group hit the streets, passing out brochures and talking to everyone they encountered over the next hour as they toured the tiny, crime-plagued community of North Richmond. Friday's outreach was part of a volunteer effort that has been building momentum since late last year, when the city was awarded a $370,000 grant from CalGRIP, a statewide initia40 tive to address gang violence at the local

level.The grant helps local anti-violence workers, clergy and volunteers implement "Project Ceasere/Lifelines to Healing," which previously helped reduce violence in cities such as Boston and Chicago. "Ceasere isn't a program, it's a movement, a campaign," said the Rev. Eugene Jackson, an organizer at Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization, one of the coordinating agencies. Jackson said more than 1,000 residents have participated in dozens of "nightwalks" through all the city's neighborhoods since September. He said the effort revolves around meetings at local community centers with parolees and other high-risk populations, rapid responses to saturate streets with activists after deadly shootings, and walks through communities to spread the message that violence will no longer be tolerated. "We are building a community-based coalition for peace," Jackson said. And there are signs the effort -- along with ramped up police patrols and operations in North Richmond by the Ofce of Neighborhood Safety -- is having an impact. There have been 10 homicides in Richmond this year, fewer than the average pace of deadly crime in Richmond in the past decade. Last year, the city saw 26 homicides, a total boosted by a summer spate in violence that resulted in 18 killings in June through August. Most of the gun violence, police say, is triggered by long-simmering feuds between rivals in north, central and south Richmond neighborhoods. "We are cautious about where we are now with the number of homicides because the streets can heat up very quickly," said Richmond police Capt. Mark Gagan. "But the good working relationships among community groups is cause for optimism."

There have been three homicides in North Richmond this year, a 4,000-resident enclave divided between city and unincorporated Contra Costa County territory. There have been no killings here since May 14, when 22-year-old Orlando Yancy was killed in a driveby shooting. Soon after Yancy's death, the Ofce of Neighborhood Safety launched its Summertime Gun Violence Interruption Initiative, a strategy focusing the agency's resources in North Richmond. "North Richmond is a containable theater, a small place with just ve ways in and out," said agency director DeVone Boggan. "Along with Ceasere out here doing their work, we think by focusing our resources here in the summer months we can decrease gun violence throughout the city." On Friday, playing children scattered around the cul-de-sac of the Las Deltas Housing Projects as the two-column line of volunteers trouped in, led by the Rev. Alvin Bernstine, a longtime anti-violence advocate. Adults emerged from their apartments to greet the group. A few joined them to walk and spread the nonviolence message to their neighbors. One of the marchers was Adittya Raj, 53. Raj wore a shirt embossed with a picture of his son-in-law, Edwin Martinez. Martinez, a 22-year-old Contra Costa College student, was shot and killed in central Richmond in January while sitting in the passenger seat of his sister's car.

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"Edwin loved everybody, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Raj said. "He would be happy to know that we are out here making a difference." African-American Elder Plays Key Role in Violence Prevention Efforts - By Monica Quesada - Richmond Pulse Bennie Singleton quietly entered the church, Richmonds Garden of Peace Ministries, looking for other night-walkers. With a household of children and grandchildren waiting for her at home, there were plenty of other things Singleton could have been doing on a Friday night but the 78-year-old grandmother just had to come out and walk. We are tired of going to funerals, said Singleton. We are tired of children killing each other. For more than a year now, Singleton has been involved with Ceasere, a group of concerned residents, clergy and police who are working together to stop violence, especially gun-violence, on the streets of Richmond. Their main activity is a weekly Friday night walk through problematic areas of the city, where they distribute information and do their best to get young people and other community members on board with the idea of a citywide ceasere. On this particular Friday the walkers were at Pullman Point, a townhouse-style apartment complex in central Richmond with a history of street violence. Once there, the walkers formed two-person teams and canvassed the entire grounds. It was a quiet night with only a few people out on the sidewalks, but each person the group encountered was given a few words and some literature. Singleton was more quiet than usual. With the Ceasere yers held close to her heart, she walked strong and steady through the neighborhood while we spoke. I dont really like people to know what Im

doing. I get embarrassed if people give me a compliment, she said. I like to do things in the background. Nonetheless, Singleton has shown herself to possess the character to act and responsibility to lead when necessary. I wish there were a lot more Bennies in [Richmond] because the city would already be a better place, said Rev. Eugene Jackson, an organizer at Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO) and one of the leaders of Cease Fire. She represents the fact that even though you are a senior you do not stop serving. She has a place and a purpose. Singleton, said the Reverend, is an important source of encouragement for young people because like other elders with deep roots in Richmond, she carries the memory of a time when the citys reputation was not so tarnished by negativity and community violence. No Jim Crow, But No Less Racist Singleton still introduces herself as Bennie Lois Clark Singleton. Clark, her maiden name, is one she has been unwilling to let go. I use [the name] now, more than anything because [my parents are] responsible for what I am, she said. They made me who I am. Clark-Singleton was born in Louisville, Arkansas in 1934. Like thousands of other African Americans in the south during the Jim Crowe era, the Clarks looked to the north and the west as places that could offer more opportunity. They migrated to California after being recruited to work at the Richmond shipyards during World War II. Back then, in the 1940s, Richmond was a racist town. Still a child, Clark-Singleton remembers seeing Ku Klux Klan marching down McDonald Avenue. Nevertheless, she still preferred Richmond to the
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segregated south because she was able to attend an integrated school. I really liked that, she said, [because] whatever they taught those white kids in that class, I could learn it. They couldnt exclude me. Even though the schools were integrated, they still did their best to track African-American children into trade classes like machinery or woodshop or domestic courses for girls, like sewing or cooking. But Clark-Singleton was raised in a family that valued education and her parents managed to force the school to give her a college-prep education. [My father] was a strict disciplinarian who pushed us to get our education, said Clark-Singleton about her father, Benjamin F. Clark Sr. Clark-Singleton started working at the age of 17 at the U.S. Navy as a clerk. She got married a year later and had her rst child at 19 years old. A life of family and work distracted her from studying. However, when her father started attending night school, she also went back to school and eventually earned her college degree. That man is not going to outdo me, she recalled thinking at the time about her father. When Clark-Singleton and her husband, James Singleton, were going to buy a house in Richmond, they were told that only whites could buy the house. Unwilling to accept the limitations being imposed on them, they packed their bags and headed south to Los Angeles. My dad always had us in situations where we were just people with other people. We always lived in a mixed neighborhood, Clark-

Singleton said. I have never felt inferior to anybody because of my color. But Los Angeles turned out to be no fairytale for the young couple. It was worse than Richmond, she said. Ten years later, the family was back home in Richmond. The Singletons, now with three children, bought a house at Atchison Village in 1971. Her husband died that very same year, and Clark-Singleton has been living in the home ever since, the matriarch and main provider for a growing family. She continued working in the banking industry until 1997, when she retired. Today, her family has expanded to include ve grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Like Father Like Daughter Benjamin F. Clark Senior was a loving but strict father who would take his six children to the movie theater every weekend to see a western, although he usually fell asleep. My dad [would] sleep everywhere, said Clark-Singleton. Anyplace. Clark-Singleton and the other children didnt know at the time that their tired dad was not only busy working multiple jobs he was a welder and the owner of a grocery store, among other things but helping others in the community. Clark was a man of service. It wasnt until her fathers funeral that Clark-Singleton found out all the things that he was doing, she said. Among those things was his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. He also helped to start and manage the citys rst farmers market, and fought for improved schools in Richmond. After retiring, he would take care of senior citizens and sick people, visiting them, feeding them and cutting their hair.
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I see myself in him, said Clark-Singleton. I see a need, and I just do it. I dont like wasting time. Like her father before her, retirement didnt stop Clark-Singletons drive to remain a productive and helpful member of her community, and she soon began looking for volunteer opportunities. Her rst stop was the Literacy for Every Adult Program where she volunteered as a teacher, but soon came to feel that education wasnt her strong suit. So she switched her focus to neighborhood improvement efforts in Atchison Village and the Iron Triangle. At the time, the area around McDonald Avenue and 8th Street werent being regularly cleaned, and city properties like the Nevin Community Center and Park had become dangerous areas, hot spots for criminal activity. So Clark-Singleton and other neighbors got organized and began attending city council meetings to demand more attention be paid to their neighborhoods. What do you mean no street sweeping? What do you mean you cant ticket the cars? Clark-Singleton remembered her reactions to the citys justications. We would go up there en-masse. After applying lot of pressure, the city nally took them seriously. They got their streets cleaned and the Nevin Community Center back from drug dealers and drug addicts. It was a victory for grassroots democracy, and a good indication that residents in Richmond could change their circumstances, if they were persistent enough. It takes a lot of people concerned enough to do something, ClarkSingleton said. Richard Boyd moved to Richmond six years ago, and met ClarkSingleton at an Atchison Village neighborhood council meeting.

Hed decided to get involved, he said, because of the amount of violence he witnessed on his block. Through Clark-Singleton, Boyd got involved with CCISCO where he now works as a community organizer. Bennie is by the book. When we get off track she pulls us back, she keeps us focused, Boyd said. When shes around, we listen. Today, Clark-Singleton keeps on helping community-organized programs, dedicating almost half of her week to two volunteer programs: Ceasere and Safe Return, another program organized by CCISCO, the Pacic Institute and the Richmond Ofce of Neighborhood Safety. The program aims to help parolees integrate back into the community. Cease Fire is the program to which she dedicates the most time and energy, motivated by the young people in whom she still sees hope. These are children starting out, she said. They still can make choices and decisions that can alter their lives. When she walks on the streets of Richmond with the other Ceasere volunteers, she approaches young people as if she were a grandmother or an aunt. I speak to them with respect, she said, And if they need a hug, I give them a hug. She also has a wish for Richmond youth. I hope [young people] will see [Richmond] as the city I grew up in, she said. Where people trusted each other and you could go out, all over. It shouldnt be too much to expect, said Clark-Singleton. After all, she said, there are more good people in Richmond than there are bad people.

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For More Information Contact CCISCO at: EAST COUNTY: 202 G St., Suite 1 Antioch, CA 94509 phone: (925) 779-9302 fax: (925) 779-9303 WEST COUNTY: 1000-B Macdonald Ave. Richmond, CA 94801 phone: (510) 232-1393 fax: (510) 232-3287 MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 883 Antioch, CA 94509

Find us online at: CCISCO.org Facebook - facebook.com/CCISCOCA Twitter - twitter.com/CCISCOCA Pinterest - pinterest.com/CCISCOCA Scoop.it - Scoop.it/CCISCO Rebel Mouse - Rebelmouse.com/CCISCO