August Community Meeting with John Kenstowicz

Wed, August 30th, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Pittsburgh Mennonite Church 2018 South Braddock Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15218 John Kenstowicz is a self-proclaimed “leftover from the 60s”. With a major in Criminology from Berkeley, his first job after college was working as investigator on the south side of Chicago for Woodlawn Criminal Defense Services. Woodlawn […]

Colorful Background EXPO June Community Meeting with Mark Rice

Save the date for the PIIN Colorful Background EXPO June Community Meeting on Wednesday, June 28th, 2023, from 6-8 PM at Pittsburgh Mennonite Church in Swissvale. We will continue our training with an opportunity to learn from Wisdom Wisconsin Transformational Justice Campaign Coordinator Mark Rice. Register here: https://forms.gle/2MnjFxsjFC129ZUH8

Colorful Backgrounds EXPO Monthly Community Meeting – March 29th, 2023

Please share this information with anyone who might be interested in this program! A monthly meeting open to the public, happening the 3rd Wednesday of every month. These gatherings build community, provide vital information on available resources, feature guest speakers, as well as opportunities for much-needed peer support and connections between the formerly incarcerated, their […]

Colorful Backgrounds EXPO 2023 Cohort Starts Soon!

On Tuesday, March 7 – Tuesday, May 23, the next Colorful Backgrounds EXPO cohort begins. Colorful Backgrounds EXPO (Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing) is a program chartered by Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network and West End P.O.W.E.R. to train formerly incarcerated people to organize for change in the criminal justice system and build their employment prospects with a […]

Congratulations to the 18 Graduates 2022 Colorful Backgrounds EXPO

We are pleased to announce the 18 graduates of the Colorful Background Expo. These individuals have demonstrated their dedication and hard work to reach this point, and we are confident they will continue to excel in their future endeavors. We welcome them as members of our community and know they will be great leaders and […]

Ten Years Since Sandy Hook: A Vigil For Change

In December 2012, a tragedy occurred when 20 children and 6 educators were brutally slain at Sandy Hook Elementary School. We’ve lost far too many to gun violence in the years since, with 15,000 people from Pennsylvania alone having become victims. This is an epidemic that needs to be addressed and resolved as soon as […]

Interfaith Prayer Action – Updates from Sept. 1’s Event

On Thursday, Sept 1st Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN) hosted an Interfaith Prayer Action prior to the September Allegheny County Jail Oversight Board Meeting. Members of PIIN, Abolitionist Law Center, Alliance for Police Accountability, Reach, and West End POWER joined together to honor the 16 victims who have died in the jail since March 2020. […]