By Judge Duncan

On July 12, 36 people representing nearly every level of local government and invested community organizations came together for an all-staff retreat at the Schenley Ice Rink Building in Schenley Park.

Under the watchful eye and leadership of Assistant Director David A. Jones of the Community Affairs, Department of Public Safety for the City of Pittsburgh, this group of preachers, teachers, organizers, community activists, City and County employees and concerned citizens met for a full day of bonding and training in a wide range of areas from trauma response to basic American Sign Language. While such an endeavor is news to most, the truth is that this effort has been going on for quite some time now.

I first became involved with this effort in early 2023 as part of the Faith Based Initiative program and through an invitation from Director Jones to act as a representative for my church (Northside Institutional Church) and for Pittsburgh’s Northside.

The Faith Based Initiative trains and prepares members of various churches throughout Pittsburgh’s communities to be part of a rapid response team when traumatic events occur in any of the city’s communities. The team members are trained to assist in deescalating tense situations, crowd control, basic first aid, and essentially anything that might serve to prevent a volatile situation from becoming even worse.

According to Director Jones, the Faith Based Initiative which meets monthly to discuss the City’s issues and community concerns, was developed from a desire of Mayor Ed Gainey to utilize the influence of local faith-based leaders to assist and act as community liaisons during times of crisis. The effort is non-denominational and reaches across the city and beyond. It is also a key step toward the goal of achieving a “ZERO violent crimes” status within the city of Pittsburgh.

In addition to the ongoing readiness training being received by its members, among the Faith Based Initiative achievements thus far is the activation of a city-wide prayer chain in response to violent occurrences within the city and the development of a community plan for when disaster strikes, focusing on prevention, reaction and recovery under the guidance and instruction of Chief Darryl Jones, Fire Chief for the City of Pittsburgh Fire Bureau.

According to Director David Jones, combining the faith-based initiative with the all-staff retreat brings together all partners, collaborators and community stakeholders to get to know each other and to build and understand that we are all serving the same consumer. Director Jones also pointed out that “such a collaboration is breaking down silos and has never really been done before.”

Indeed, this most recent outing was attended by representatives from REACH, the Neighborhood Resilience Project, Safer Together, the Safe Passages Program, Pittsburgh Board of Education, Department of Human Services, City Park Rangers, the Group Violence Initiative, Office of Nighttime Economy, various Stop the Violence grant recipients including Ozanam, Project Destiny and the Kingsley Association, City and County employees and a host of other dedicated professionals committed to making Pittsburgh the safest and most thriving city for all. Director Jones cited years of developing relationships through community involvement, consistency and “being a person of my word” as the key to his ability to assemble such a diverse and dedicated group of people.

To paraphrase Nick Cotter, Data Analyst, Allegheny County Department of Human Services, anyone who says City and County aren’t working together is not paying attention to what we’re doing here. I must concur.

Although I was initially invited as a faith-based representative, being able to bring the court’s perspective to the table has proven to be valuable in this effort and personally rewarding for me. The collaboration of the City, the County, the Court and the church represents a “boots on the ground” effort to serve the community in times of crisis as well as in times of calm. It’s good to know that the future of Pittsburgh looks bright when we recognize that we’re all in this together.