More than 300 diverse community residents gathered at Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church on November 19, 2009 and addressed the issue of violence in Richmond by focusing on the creation of jobs, training and mentoring programs. The action was organized by CCISCO leaders which from St. Mark's Catholic Church, Easter Hill United Methodist Church, and the Iron Triangle Neighborhood Council.

The goal for the town hall action was to have both the community and public officials commit to work towards changing the culture of violence in Richmond. The current unemployment rate for Richmond is 17% leaving families to struggle in poverty and many Richmond residents and youth with little or no opportunity. The mantra repeated throughout the night was simple, "Nothing stops a bullet like a job."

"Refineries lay off local people and hire people from other states, this is not fair to our families or our community," said CCISCO leader Jesus Hermosillo, "We only have the pollution here. We need our local government to find solutions to create jobs here in Richmond."

Public officials agreed to all of CCISCO's proposals. Mayor McLaughlin committed to introducing legislation that energy upgrades be required on homes as part of real estate sale or foreclosure with the potential of creating many jobs for the community in the long run.

City Manager Bill Lindsay agreed to work with residents to develop the code of conduct and provide security at parks with a high incidence of crime. He also agreed to convene the owners of all publicly subsidized multi-family dwellings within the next sixty days to hold them accountable for effective security and enforcing a code of conduct. This approach has worked in the neighboring Atchison Village in the Iron Triangle which has seen violence drop dramatically.

During the meeting both African American and Latino residents shook hands and welcomed each other. "We have the power in this room to make change," said Richmond Chief of Police Chris Magnus, "We know that when people get out of their homes and start talking with their neighbors, it makes a huge difference."

Together, with the proposals presented by CCISCO leaders and the commitments made by public officials, the difference between a violent and vibrant Richmond begins now.

Below is the list of CCISCO proposals:

1) CONGREGATION and COMMUNITY OUTREACH

• MENTORING PROGRAM: We are proposing to establish a mentoring program to lift up our young people and which would have an initial focus at Kennedy and Richmond High Schools. We are proposing to develop a partnership with congregations; school district; Office of Neighborhood Safety; and Contra Costa College. We are requesting funding support and training through Office of Neighborhood Safety and want to help design the program in partnership with the Office of Neighborhood Safety; West Contra Costa Unified School District; and Contra Costa College. CCISCO member congregations are committed to recruiting 50 volunteers to receive training to become mentors.

2) PUBLIC SAFETY

• Work with the community and neighborhood councils to develop a clear code of conduct to be established and enforced at all participating parks.

• Provide security at all parks with identified public safety issues.

• Convene all multi-family management companies receiving public subsidy within the next sixty days, including the Richmond Housing Authority, and hold them accountable for providing effective security and enforcing a code of conduct.

• Work with CCISCO members and the Iron Triangle Neighborhood Council to apply for funding to develop a program to green blighted public land and employ local youth for a summer community gardening initiative.

• We also want to see a greater degree of communication and accountability from the Richmond Police Department and Contra Costa District Attorney to the community around their strategies for public safety and prosecution of violent crimes.

3) JOB TRAINING

• Develop congregational partnership to use churches as job training sites and to recruit congregational members to participate in ongoing energy efficiency programs.

• The City of Richmond should establish a dedicated revenue source to support job training programs and partner with the West Contra Costa Unified School District to expand vocational training at Richmond and Kennedy High Schools. Some potential opportunities for funding include dedicating 2% of all funding for capital projects towards job training and dedicating Measure T funding towards job training.

4) QUALITY JOBS

• Expansion of energy efficiency programs to create new jobs through adopting the following proposals:

- Work with CCISCO leaders and our partners to develop legislation to require energy upgrades linked to foreclosures along with any home sales;

- Hire 100 youth this summer to conduct community outreach program for financing options for energy efficiency;

• Strengthen local employment programs for school district, city, and community college district. Some potential ways to improve the local employment programs are:

- Improve reporting, monitoring, and enforcement.

- Strengthen the local employment program by making hiring targets for permanent jobs a requirement and not simply a goal.

- Involve community stakeholders in negotiations for all upcoming project labor agreements to develop strategies to improve community access to employment.

The House leadership unveiled legislation yesterday that would extend affordable health coverage to 36 million Americans, while taking important steps to control health care costs, all without adding to the federal deficit. While important issues remain to be resolved, the bill shows that it is possible to provide adequate subsidies to make coverage affordable to low-wage working families, while being fiscally responsible.

The affordability battle still rages in the Senate. For this reason, CCISCO and PICO as well as 160 organizations across the country are calling on Senator Reid to keep health care affordable in the Senate version of the health care bill.

To read the letter to Senator Reid click here.