The California Democratic Party (CDP) endorsed the Department of Peacebuilding Act of 2017 (HR 1111) and adopted the CA Department of Peacebuilding’s “Resolution to Budget for Peacebuilding for People and the Environment” as we took our message of peace and compassion to the CDP statewide Executive Board meeting in Anaheim from 8/25 – 8/27/17, where the CDP also celebrated the 97th anniversary of women securing the right to vote.
Lobby Days 2017: A Washington D.C. experience focused on lobbying for H. R. 1111, the Department of Peacebuilding Act of 2017. Please gather your family, friends and neighbors and join us as a significant citizen peacebuilding and nonviolence presence in DC this year.
During an extended 2017 Mother’s Day celebration, we advocated for a U.S. Department of Peacebuilding (HR 1111) and other peacebuilding initiatives with legislators throughout the country with Mother’s Day “Peace wants a piece of the federal budget pie” meetings, letters and pie drop-offs with members of Congress and Senators in at least CA, GA, IL, MA, ME and OH.
The City of Oakland did a good thing on June 20, 2017. It created a Department of Violence Prevention (DVP), with a Chief of Violence Prevention reporting directly to the city administration and a mandate to work directly with victims of violent crime — and those who are most likely to be future victims or perpetrators of violent crime – by pursuing a public health approach to dramatically reduce violent crime and end the cycle of trauma in impacted communities.
Make this Mother’s Day a call for our nation to prioritize peacebuilding by establishing a U.S. Department of Peacebuilding and by practicing peace in our personal lives, the community, schools, a more humane justice system and internationally.
“This is one of the most important testimonies I have ever given,” said Captain Shawn Terris after urging the California Democratic Party (CDP) Legislation Committee to endorse the 2015 Department of Peacebuilding Act (DoP/ HR1111), sponsored by Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s (CA-13).