Justice and Advocacy -- The Lehigh Conference of Churches

Resources for Public Policy Advocacy during the pandemic

Friday, May 15th, 2020

(How Quakers redesigned FCNL’s Spring Lobby Weekend in response to COVID-19)

Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
Spring Lobby Weekend – March 30-31 on Climate Change legislation:

plenary and breakout sessions were presented on-line, and recordings are posted.
there were also virtual meetings of local groups to plan lobbing visits, and virtual lobby visits with Members of Congress after the program presentations.
See details here

Also see FCNL resources on virtual meetings with Congressional offices.

File: environmental justice, news, resources

Webinar Series on COVID-19 and Social Justice Issues

Friday, May 15th, 2020

(United Methodist Church — Church and Society)

The weekly series, called “Pre-existing Disparities Revealed,” explores how the pandemic intersects with topics such as systemic racism, the carcel system, and access to food. “COVID-19 revealed societal injustices that already existed. This pandemic has magnified familiar societal, political, and economic disparities—now with the added urgency of a public health crisis,” said Aimee Hong, Senior Executive Director of Education and Engagement.”

Webinars will occur every Thursday, starting May 21 at 2 PM ET. Topics include:

May 21: Systemic Racism and Discrimination during COVID-19
May 28: Confined and Vulnerable: Detained and Incarcerated during COVID-19
June 4: From the Ground to the Table: Food Insecurity during COVID-19
June 11: A Just and Peaceable Global Relief from COVID-19
June 18: Imagining a Just Economy post COVID-19

All webinars are free and open to all, but you must register for individual sessions. See details and register
here.

File: news, racial justice, resources

NCC Peace & Social Justice Conference

Thursday, September 26th, 2019

October 1, 2019 (Tuesday, 9:00am-9:00pm) Northampton Community College
Peace and Social Justice Conference with workshops and presentations
on prisons and restorative justice.

9:30 – 10:45am – Lipkin Theatre – Restorative Justice Workshop
2:00 – 3:15pm – College Center 220 – Prison 101: Prison Industrial Complex
3:30-5:30pm – Lipkin Theatre – Documentary Inside/Outside, with Nandini Sikand.
5:30 – 6:30pm – Lipkin Theatre – Panel Discussion: “At the Intersection of
Education and Punishment on Prisoner Education Initiatives”
7:15 – 9:00pm – Lipkin Theatre – Climbing PoeTree musical performance
(… and more … See program schedule for details).

All events during the day are free and open to the public.

File: decarceration, news, restorative justice

Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison System
The Color of Justice:Reentry

Tuesday, May 28th, 2019

June 13, 2019 (Thursday, 7:00-9:00pm) NCC Bethlehem Campus

“Reentry.” Panel discussion with: Marie Bartosh, Northampton County Chief Adult Probation Officer; George Little or Kelly Evans, Pennsylvania Deputy Secretary of Reentry; Hasshan Batts, Executive Director, Promise Neighborhoods, Lehigh Valley; Nancy Dischinat, Executive Director, Lehigh Valley Workforce; Bonnie Winfield, Journey Home Project; and Bobby Apgar, returning citizen.
(more…)

File: decarceration, news

Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison System
The Color of Justice:Incarceration

Thursday, April 4th, 2019

May 16, 2019 (Thursday, 7:00-9:00pm) NCC Bethlehem Campus

“Incarceration.” Confirmed speakers include: John Wetzel, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections; Joe Welsh, attorney; Bonita Crowe, former employee of Northampton County, (and others TBA).
Location: Northampton Community College, 3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem, PA 18020 in the College Center, David Reed Community Room (Rm.220).
(more…)

File: news, restorative justice

Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison System

Thursday, February 7th, 2019

March 11, 2019 (Monday, 11:45am-1:30pm)
“Criminal Justice, the Color of Money”
How the criminal justice system discriminately favors those with financial resources. Guest speakers include PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro, President Judge of Lehigh County, Ed Reibman, and Northampton County Judge Craig Dally. This is a “Kick Off” luncheon for Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison System to promote our subsequent 3 part forum series on: Bail Reform, Incarceration and Re-entry.
REGISTER HERE ($25 includes lunch). Organized by Easton NAACP and CACLV.
(more…)

File: decarceration, news

Wells Fargo & Co – illegal and unethical practices

Wednesday, December 12th, 2018

Here’s what you should know if you do business with Wells Fargo & Co.

An Investigative Report by AFSC (American Friends Service Committee) provides an overview of Wells Fargo’s illicit activities and how government agencies and other public institutions have responded over the past three years.
Wells Fargo Chief Abruptly Steps Down – (New York Times: 10/12/2016) – lists other unethical practices by Wells Fargo.
Wells Fargo admits it incorrectly foreclosed on 545 home-owners it should have helped (Wash. Post, 11/6/2018) (more…)

File: decarceration, news

Lehigh Valley Homelessness – Barriers and Resources

Wednesday, November 28th, 2018

Bill White’s editorial and blog provide an overview of current homeless sheltering programs in Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton. That includes the winter shelter at the Allentown YMCA, Salvation Army, Sixth Street Shelter, Family Promise, Rescue Mission; Safe Harbor in Easton, and Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering Program. Evidently, the Lehigh Valley Rapid Results 100 Day Challenge on Homelessness is focused on Allentown only.
The LVHN Street Medicine team provides healthcare for homeless folks in the Lehigh Valley. The team sets up clinics at soup kitchens (more…)

File: housing/homeless, news

Cancel Governor Wolf’s new dehumanizing prison policies

Friday, October 19th, 2018

Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) policies instituted in September in response to the drug crisis in prisons have violated prisoners’ rights, restricted access to educational materials, and delayed people’s correspondence with loved ones on the outside.
On October 19, partly in response to public feedback, the DOC announced changes to some of the offensive policies listed in this on-line petition to Governor Wolf and described in news reports (below). A summary of recent DOC policy changes is posted here, and there is additional information linked to the DOC homepage: www.cor.pa.gov. (more…)

File: decarceration, news

Hazleton Integration Project

Thursday, June 21st, 2018

Hazleton Integration Project (on Facebook)
Joe Madden / Hazleton, PA (Chicago Tribune)
Going Home: Joe Maddon and His Plans to Reunite His Divided Hometown – youtube video clip about Joe Maddon, that tells the story of what Joe and his cousin Bob Curry have done to revive Hazelton.
10 years after immigration disputes, Hazleton is a different place
– Philly Inquirer story on the same topic as the video clip (April 4, 2016).
The Rising Anxiety of White America (National Geographic, April 2018)
Story about Hazleton: Demographic shifts rippling across the nation are fueling fears that their culture and standing are under threat.

File: news, racial justice

Justice & Advocacy

Advocacy Resources

Ecumenical Resources:

Resources for Public Policy Advocacy during the pandemic

Resources for Public Policy Advocacy during the pandemic

(How Quakers redesigned FCNL’s Spring Lobby Weekend in response to COVID-19)

Webinar Series on COVID-19 and Social Justice Issues

Webinar Series on COVID-19 and Social Justice Issues

(United Methodist Church — Church and Society)

NCC Peace & Social Justice Conference

NCC Peace & Social Justice Conference

Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison System
The Color of Justice:Reentry

Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison System
The Color of Justice:Reentry

Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison System
The Color of Justice:Incarceration

Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison System
The Color of Justice:Incarceration

Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison System

Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison System

Wells Fargo & Co – illegal and unethical practices

Wells Fargo & Co – illegal and unethical practices

Lehigh Valley Homelessness – Barriers and Resources

Lehigh Valley Homelessness – Barriers and Resources

Cancel Governor Wolf’s new dehumanizing prison policies

Cancel Governor Wolf’s new dehumanizing prison policies

Hazleton Integration Project

Hazleton Integration Project

Justice & Advocacy

Advocacy Resources

Ecumenical Resources:

Resources for Public Policy Advocacy during the pandemic

(How Quakers redesigned FCNL’s Spring Lobby Weekend in response to COVID-19)

Webinar Series on COVID-19 and Social Justice Issues

(United Methodist Church — Church and Society)

NCC Peace & Social Justice Conference

Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison SystemThe Color of Justice:Reentry

Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison SystemThe Color of Justice:Incarceration

Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison System

Wells Fargo & Co – illegal and unethical practices

Lehigh Valley Homelessness – Barriers and Resources

Cancel Governor Wolf’s new dehumanizing prison policies

Hazleton Integration Project

Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison System
The Color of Justice:Reentry

Criminal Justice Reform in the Prison System
The Color of Justice:Incarceration