South Pittsburgh Peacemakers
The Coalition does aggressive community outreach which is one of the cornerstones of our program and what makes the SPCP unique and irreplaceable to the communities that we service. We target active gang members, shooters and violent offenders through the South Pittsburgh Peacemakers (SPP) component of SPCP, which is in partnership with the Group Violence Intervention Initiative (GVI), City of Pittsburgh.
The South Pittsburgh Peacemakers consists of South Pittsburgh intervention specialists and a chaplain, who are trained peace makers, violence interrupters and outreach workers designed to prevent shootings by identifying and mediating potentially lethal conflicts in our communities. We also follow up to ensure that the conflict does not reignite.
The staff of the South Pittsburgh Peacemakers has combined over 75 years of intervention experience. Trained culturally-appropriate outreach workers work with the highest-risk youth (shooters) to make them less likely to commit violence by meeting them where they are, (streets/gang house, etc.) talking to them about the consequences of violence (jail/death), and helping them to obtain the social services they need such as job training and drug treatment.
Workers engage leaders in the community as well as community residents, local business owners, faith leaders, service providers and the high-risk youth conveying the message that violence should not be viewed as normal but as a behavior that can be changed. The involvement of the entire community from police to youth, business owners to residents and faith based organizations all working together are the keys to the success of this program. With providing a strong safety net, resources and different modes of accountability we are able to make a positive impact on families in South Pittsburgh. In partnering with GVI and Rev. Cornell Jones, GVI Coordinator, City of Pittsburgh, as well as utilizing the expertise and community support of Zone 3 police, the SPP has been very successful in keeping the peace and curtailing violence in South Pittsburgh.
Our Staff
Rev. Justine Jones
Chaplain
Saint Larry Harris
Outreach Worker
