The Public Safety Task Force exists to develop and build relationships that promote equity and justice while providing for the safety and protection of life and property. We’re committed to developing relationships both inside and outside of our task force that encourage mutual respect for each other.
We have been working with representatives of the police to address racism, reduce violence, and increase equity in how police resources are used for the protection of our communities.
Carol Ballance
4th Thursday of every month, 7:00pm-8:30pm, Wesley AME Zion Church
(Check the calendar for changes)
PIIN is proud to join over 25 Pittsburgh neighborhood, environmental, and justice organizations in supporting the Pittsburgh 100 Days Transit Platform developed by Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT). When Margaret Krauss of WESA-FM sought to interview the organizations supporting the plan, she specifically asked Laura Chu Wiens, PPT’s Executive Director, to interview a representative of [...]
Dr. David Harris On July 26, 2020, David Harris gave a sobering presentation, looking backward and forward into the future, pondering the challenges of Public Safety in our time. We hope you were able to join, but if you missed it or would like to watch it again, you can see the recording of the [...]
The Allegheny County Council is set to consider establishing a Countywide Citizens Police Review Board, PIIN invites you to join us and members of County Council for an important conversation and opportunity to share your input. We need a police review board to establish accountability. Transparency and accountability are critical to advancing 21st century policing [...]
Residents and activists on Wednesday decried a recent incident of racist graffiti at a Swissvale transit parklet and demanded a stronger response from the borough government. The group of eight that held a press conference outside of the Swissvale council meeting said they were “troubled” by graffiti on a garbage can in early November that [...]
Clergy, Spiritual Leaders and other leaders in PIIN, Once again, this world finds itself responding to another senseless mass shooting that took place in a house of worship. The hatred in this country and in the world has once again risen to a level that the infringement upon the sacred is not even questioned. Where [...]
The Public Safety Task Force of the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network (of which I am a member) has been working to ensure violent confrontations between the police and residents of this city are things of the past. A hopeful sign has been a move by the Pittsburgh police department to add new modules to the training and retraining of its officers. The modules are: “Procedural Justice,” “Implicit Bias” and “Racial Reconciliation.” The first two have been implemented and the third is soon to follow.
PIIN’s Education Task Force is actively engaged with community stakeholders, parents, and the faith community to establish community schools and guarantee the funding needed to provide a high-quality education to every child.
The spiritual leaders of PIIN believe that congregations are community institutions and that our communities are Holy Ground. As a faith-based organization, PIIN believes that the faith community is a sacred partner with the schools.
TBA
2nd Tuesday of every month, 5:30pm-7:00pm, Carrone Baptist Church
(Check the calendar for changes)
NOTE: Unfortunately our books for the White Too Long book study have not been received yet, so Rev Freeman and I have decided to delay our first session for 2 weeks to Monday March 6th. “To honestly be known is the first step to reconciliation, healing and ultimately love.” Rev. Richard Freeman The breach in [...]
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 [...]
On Thursday, February 6, more than sixty community stakeholders joined PIIN and the leaders and staff of Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) for an Imagine PPS engagement session held at Pittsburgh King PreK-8. Imagine PPS is a new city-wide initiative working together with community champions to re-imagine how the school district delivers education. During the session [...]
On Tuesday, May 29, 2019 at 11:00 am, the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN) and allies will held a news conference at the Pittsburgh Board of Education, 341 S. Bellefield St. Pittsburgh, PA 15213 to address concerns over the recent reporting of the Pittsburgh Public School Superintendent Dr. Anthony Hamlet, the district administration, and the [...]
Ten nonprofits are asking voters to approve a property tax hike of about $30 a year for the average homeowner to support the fund. Not everyone in the area approves of the idea.
Pittsburgh Public Schools just became the first school district in Pennsylvania to prohibit principals from suspending students in second grade or younger.
ALCOSAN is under a federal mandate to overhaul our region’s sewer system to reduce the discharge of sewage into our rivers. PIIN has worked with the Clean Rivers Campaign to urge a green-first approach to solving this problem.
We have also taken the lead to ensure that ratepayers — especially low-income residents — aren’t stuck with water bills they can’t afford to pay. As an Our Water Campaign coalition partner, we are also on the front lines of advocating for safe, affordable, publicly controlled water in Pittsburgh.
TBA
Pittsburgh residents have long recognized the need to fix the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) to ensure that every family in our city has access to safe, affordable drinking water. We’ve already seen what happens when private corporations like Paris-based company, Veolia, come to our city and take over our public assets. Pittsburgh cannot [...]
Last Friday, PIIN, alongside dozens of members of the newly formed Our Water Campaign, called upon the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) to improve water quality and service at the monthly PWSA board meeting. The Our Water Campaign was formed in response to widespread public health concerns stemming from last month’s boil water advisory [...]
On December 1st, PIIN and The Clean Rivers Campaign co-hosted a presentation of the city of Pittsburgh’s “Clean and Green” plan to solve flooding issues and stop the pollution of waterways every time it rains. The plan was released earlier that morning and is available in draft form for public commentary.
At a public meeting Tuesday, officials from Tulsa, Okla. and Indianapolis, Ind. talked about the dramatic changes their city made to the provision of water and sewer services. They presented to a mayoral panel tasked with deciding how best to address the systemic challenges facing Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA): crumbling infrastructure and lead issues [...]
The residents of Four Mile Run, an isolated neighborhood on the edge of Greenfield, have wanted one thing for a very long time: a major sewage infrastructure project to alleviate its flooding problems. The neighborhood nestled in a valley south of Oakland consistently sees flooding in heavy rains, including the overflowing of Saline Street in September 2016.
Residents asked questions about the effects of lead poisoning, the cost of lead line replacement and the responsibilities of local landlords at a panel discussion about water issues Tuesday night. The standing room-only event, dubbed “Not Another Flint,” drew more than 100 people to the Kingsley Association in Larimer. It was hosted by the Our [...]
Over-incarceration — and the lingering disability frequently following it — disproportionately impacts communities of color and unjustly denies people the right to earn a decent living, secure affordable housing, and more.
The Criminal Justice Reform Task Force was formed to reduce the mass incarceration of indigent people by targeting the broken elements of the criminal justice system that perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline and over-policing. Currently, our Task Force is working on ending the practice of out-of-school suspensions for our youngest students in Pittsburgh Public Schools as well as advocating for more counselors in the school setting.
For more about how PIIN helped the Alliance for Police Accountability pass Breonna's Law and helped put an end to solitary confinement in Pittsburgh, please click here.
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
On May 4th, the National Day of Prayer, PIIN hosted its second interfaith prayer vigil to honor the victims of death, abuse, and neglect, and to pray for end to the inhumane conditions at the Allegheny County Jail. Thanks to AHINSA, Alliance for Police Accountability-APA, Abolitionist Law Center, Thomas Merton Center, Bend the Arc: Jewish [...]
On the National Day of Prayer, Thursday, May 4th at 3:00 PM, PIIN will host its second Interfaith Prayer Vigil to honor the victims of death, abuse, and neglect, and to call for an end to the inhumane conditions at the Allegheny County Jail. We invite you to join us and stand for just, moral, [...]
