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Brockton Interfaith Community (BIC)
BIC was founded in 1990 and has
16 institutional members. It is moving from a 1 person
to 2 person staff.
Brockton is a city of about 90,000
people located about 20 miles southeast of Boston. It
is a working class income city that is about 20%
Latino, 20% African-American, 15% Cape Verdian, and
45% white.
BIC currently is working on the issues
of after-school programs, youth summer jobs, community
policing, and constructing affordable housing.
At a December 17 leadership congress,
after a listening/outreach campaign held in their
member congregations over the last 4 months, they have
chosen youth, crime prevention, and jobs as their 3
issue priorities. BIC has a Clergy Caucus that
meets regularly.
BIC has many accomplishments over the
years; construction affordable homeownership units,
funding for after-school programs and job training
programs and ESOL programs, affordable homeownership
progams, etc.
600 people attended its largest public
action meeting during 2007. The Mayor and Police Chief
attended. At a candidate’s forum BIC had in October,
both Mayoral finalists made many commitments to
their issue agenda and to meeting with BIC when they
took office.
BIC is now developing an agenda around
youth, jobs, and community policing for public action
meetings in February and April.
BIC is part of the Massachusetts Communities Action
Network (MCAN), affiliated also with the PICO National
Network
MCAN is a statewide federation
of six organizations including UIA and BIC. It
additionally includes affiliates named Essex County
Community Organization, Worcester Interfaith, and
Pioneer Valley Project. MCAN was founded in 1985,
MCAN is a growing statewide
federation building itself in the tradition of
PICO-California and LIFT in Louisiana within the PICO
Network.
MCAN provides on-going support to each
of the affiliated organizations through regulare
meetings with the Directors, organizers, and leaders.
We also provide support on fundraising, media, issue
research and strategy development.
MCAN helps coordinate statewide issues
that the affiliates like UIA, BIC, MICAH, etc. want to
work on together. These statewide issues have
produced some real results statewide and increased
resources for the local communities of these
organzations in recent years;
1. Youth violence prevention--Campaigns have
gotten $26 million in new state funding to communities
for teen prevention programs, summer jobs for teens,
and resources for law enforcement strategies on gangs.
2. Job Training--Campaigns have gotten $24
million in funding for job training programs operating
in cities around the state.
3. Health Care--We are part of the ACT
Coalition that led the organizing to pass
Massachusetts’s landmark health care law for the
uninsured and is working now on its implementation.
We have a website with some of
our activities and accomplishments at
www.mcan-oltc.org
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