Annual Meeting/Community Problems Assembly

Monday, October 23rd, 2006

7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Prince of Peace Moravian Church

1880 NW 183^rd Street

Miami Gardens, FL 33056

All PACT board members and Justice Ministry Network members are expected to attend this important meeting.  We will hear reports about community problems from each member organization and vote to choose new priorities for 2006-2007.  Secure parking is available at the church, but please carpool with others from your congregation if possible.

Justice Ministry Networks

PACT member congregations and organizations are building power to hold systems accountable and transform Miami into a place where fairness and justice prevail.  You can be part of that effort by becoming a member of your congregation's Justice Ministry Network.  Requirements include:

•  attending the annual meeting/ community problems assembly on October 23, 2006 and the Rally on February 26, 2007
•  attending the Nehemiah-style community action meeting on March 26, 2007 and bringing three other participants with you

Current Progress on PACT Issues

Health

PACT's work to ensure that all children have access to basic health care has seen some great success in the past few months.  When schools opened this fall, 29 schools had full-funding for school-based health centers, and there are plans to open in a total of 80 schools still this year.  At the past PACT Board meeting, Patti Stauffer testified that "my clinic wouldn't have any funding if it weren't for PACT -- we would have been shut down."  Stauffer is the director of one of the school-based health centers.

Education

PACT is working to get the school district to adopt a high quality induction training program for new teachers so that new teachers get the support they need to be effective in the classroom.  The campaign is moving, and PACT is building support for induction among administrators, teachers, and school board members.  The campaign has been delayed for a few months due to negotiations between the teachers' union and the district.  Once those negotiations are completed, PACT will resume its efforts on this issue.  PACT expects that some components of an induction program will be implemented still this year and that a more robust program will begin next year.

Housing 

Working as part of a coalition of organizations, PACT recently secured $19 million in new funding for low-income affordable housing from the Board of County Commissioners.  The campaign, during the county's budget process in September, included a prayer vigil and all-night tent city on the lawn of the county government offices in downtown Miami.

DART Training

The next opportunity to attend DART's five-day leadership training will be
November 13-17, 2006.  The training covers the basics of Congregation-Based Community Organizing.  Rosita Montfort and Merline Coffey, both from Holy Family Catholic Church, and Ana Jackson from Sellers Memorial United Methodist Church attended the last DART training in June.

Celebration Dinner

On August 28, 2006 about 100 PACT leaders gathered at the Biscayne Bay Marriott Hotel for a dinner to mark the conclusion of PACT's annual Support Drive.  Church By The Sea, which raised the most money from individuals and small businesses, won the Monsignor LaCerra Memorial Award.  Helen Stankiewicz from Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Willie Mae Gibson from Ebenezer United Methodist Church, and Geneen Massey from Church By The Sea were all inducted into the Micah Guild because they personally raised more than $1,000 from individual donors.