PHILADELPHIA'S "TOWN HALL ON ERADICATING MARGINALIZATION . . . VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINABIILITY" MARKS ITS OBSERVANCE OF INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR MEN AND BOYS - SUNDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2018

CONTACT:

Mr. Stephen Ridley, Coordinator
SCI Graterford, PA LIFERS Public Safety Initiative External Navigator Project
(610) 803-3043
E-Mail: sar26@drexel.edu

Diane A. Sears
Member, OPERATION FRESH START (TM) Working Group
267-581-3963
E-Mail:  insearchoffatherhood@gmail.com

          Inaugurated in November 2014, the International Day of Prayer for Men and Boys (https://www.goodmenproject.com/featured-content/international-day-of-prayer-for-men-and-boys-to-be-observed-on-sunday-4-november-2018-wcz/)  brings together members of the Interfaith Community, key stakeholders, civic organizations, and concerned citizens to collaboratively address and resolve key challenges which marginalize Men and Boys and the communities in which they live.  These key challenges include, but are not limited to, violence, poverty, recidivism, inadequate or lack of access to mental and physical health resources and support services, legitimate real-life options, and positive role models.   Philadelphia will mark the observance of the International Day of Prayer for Men and Boys with the convening of a “Town Hall On Eradicating Marginalization . . . Violence Prevention And Economic Sustainability” on Sunday, 4 November 2018 from 10:00 A.M. (E.S.T.) through 1:00 P.M. (E.S.T.)  at the Juvenile Justice Center at 48^th Street and Haverford Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Registration and attendance is free.  To register, visit the following link:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/philadelphias-town-hall-on-eradicating-marginalization-violence-prevention-and-economic-tickets-51237011280. 

            The “Town Hall On Eradicating Marginalization . . . Violence Prevention And Economic Sustainability” will bring together Philadelphia’s Interfaith Community, key stakeholders, civic organizations, and concerned persons for a solutions-based dialogue addressing rising violence in the City of Philadelphia and its underlying causes in response to the “Call To Action On Violence Prevention” issued on 27 September 2018 by the Honorable James Francis Kenney, Mayor of the City of Philadelphia.  Town Hall participants will also learn about steps taken to address rising violence and its underlying causes by External Team members of the SCI Graterford, PA LIFERS Public Safety Initiative External Navigator Project and OPERATION FRESH START ™ Working Group members who work with The Honorable James M. DeLeon, a highly acclaimed veteran jurist, and the architect of OPERATION FRESH START™ -- a multi-tiered results-oriented blueprint for addressing and eradicating, inter alia, violence, recidivism, and poverty in the City of Philadelphia.  During the past 10 months, the two groups have held Working Group Meetings; worked on a plan that addresses violence, lack of positive role models, recidivism, and lack of legitimate real-life options; selected a section of the city to focus its efforts to address rising violence and its underlying causes, and the launch of its “Middle Neighborhood Orientation Campaign”. 

             Clergy, concerned citizens, business leaders, educators, block captains, school administrators, law enforcement professionals, members of neighborhood associations,  legislators, legal professionals, health care professionals and providers, social services professionals and providers, social entrepreneurs, Restorative Justice Advocates, community activists, Returning Citizens, Criminal Justice Reform Advocates, business leaders, and members of the creative community are encouraged to attend.

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