The Penn Hills Peace Coalition gathers residents of Penn Hills and the surrounding areas, as well as members of local nonprofit organizations, to create more safety and care in the township.
The team mobilizes and supports efforts toward violence reduction, creating continuous dialogue — even around hard conversations.
“We formed the coalition to help decrease a lot of the transient violence that we are seeing. Our families are very transient in this area so to be able to combat the rise in violent behaviors, whether in the schools or at the corner stores (is key),” said Ashley Blakeman, vice president of the Penn Hills Youth Football and Cheer Association.
For the most recent meeting in April, much of the conversation focused on the violence in Penn Hills’ schools.
Coalition members are concerned that four violence prevention programs have been removed from the school district in less than a two-year span. Another key focus is bridging the gap between law enforcement and the community, where the relationship currently is described as abrasive. They also talked about trauma.
Now that the Penn Hills Peace Coalition, founded in July, is approaching a full year of activity, the group is making strides.
The coalition has a crisis response plan and brings everyone in the community together to create an ecosystem to help reduce violence, Blakeman said.
The organization meets the first Tuesday of every month at Penn Hills Library. The next meeting will be May 6.
Members activate a crisis response plan in the event of violent behavior or a specific incident, such as a homicide. The goal is to respond as a community, coming together for the person and the location where the incident occurred, Blakeman said.
They also address social determinants of health when they can. The coalition includes CURE Violence East, which has a specific response plan for incidents.
The group gives the community a sense of agency, with at least 20 people showing up for its April meeting. Some have been residents of Penn Hills for more than 35 years, while others are neighbors and local advocates.
“Our goal is to give the community agency and awareness of the resources that are available so that if they are aware of something brewing in their own households or within their own family, they know where to turn and who is available to address the concerns,” said Dion Dupree, founder of Safe Spaces.
Prevention is key, Dupree said.
“Preventing acts of violence by creating accessible resources, so that when people need help, they know where to turn — to keep things from escalating into shootings, stabbings and fights,” he said.
When it comes to breaking down barriers with youth, Dupree’s Safe Spaces program is a free after-school program. At Safe Spaces, they work on developing healthy relationships with youths and provide a safe space for them to grow socially and emotionally.
“(We’re here) so that they can confide in us about some of the things that they are going through and get them the resources that they need.
Just being able to have those organic conversations, seeing them in the community, and understanding what is going on” is important, Dupree said.
Multiple little leagues also are part of the coalition.
Lee Davis, director of violence prevention for Greater Valley Community Services, came out to see how far the coalition has come. Davis helped the coalition get started and provided them with a framework and model.
Violence prevention in schools is important to Davis.
“Starting earlier, doing a lot of proactive work, and I’m glad to see more coalition members joining and voicing their concerns,” Davis said.
“I just wanted to give back to the community and help them find their purpose. ‘Reach the unreachable and teach the unteachable’ — that is the quote I live by,” said Larry Fielder, president of the Penn Hills Youth Football and Cheer Association.
Getting the entire community involved has been a huge part of the effort.
“Because everyone is affected, we want them to be able to participate in our coalition and understand that they are a vital part of the ecosystem,” Blakeman said.
According to Rianna Graham, community wellness project manager at CURE Violence Easy, the focus is on changing community norms.
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“How we function, that is something that is really important to us,” she said.
“Just being inclusive of all people, people who have experienced violence, or know people who have committed violence, or even just those who are concerned about the violence in the area,” Graham said.
The Penn Hills Peace Coalition also has joined forces with the CURE Violence East’s Wellness Coalition. CURE Violence East focuses on Penn Hills, East Hills, Wilkinsburg and Homewood.
“Those communities are invited into the coalition as well, to speak about their needs and hardships,” Graham said.
It’s about staying connected, she said.
CURE Violence East addresses immediate incidents. There is a phone number to call, and it deploys violence interrupters and outreach workers who respond to situations in real time.
Within the Penn Hills Peace Coalition, there are 37 community-based organizations that span areas such as housing, mental health, financial wellness, youth engagement, community engagement and violence interruption.
Lucille Prater-Holliday attended the recent meeting because she wanted to find out more about what’s going on in Penn Hills. Much of Prater-Holliday’s work is in Penn Hills as a community-based resource coordinator with Gwen’s Girls. The Homewood resident works with the pre-arrest and pre-diversion program.
“I understand that at least the middle school is having a lot of problems, and I wanted to find out what is going on there,” Prater-Holliday said.
Her son and grandsons live in Penn Hills.
“I want to make sure they are not thrown into violence,” she said.