JUSTICE INITIATIVES

Transforming Our Community Through Justice Events, Advocacy, Partnerships, Discussions and Learning Opportunities

The Justice Initiatives

The Portico's Justice Team engage in advocacy and justice efforts in our community. Get involved:

  • Join the Justice Events Team. Organize, coordinate, and produce events and public forums addressing social justice issues including affordable housing, the poverty-to-prison-pipeline, racial justice and more. Email Lizzy for more info.
  • Join a Justice Learning Group. Short-term learning groups invite exploration, connection and discussion around our personal understandings, biases and actions we can take about justice issues that matter. Email Lizzy for more info.
  • Join in H.O.P.E., join with The Hillsborough Organization of Progress and Equality to engage in true local justice efforts. Learn more below. Email Justin for more info.
COVER Justice Team - Hyde Park UMC Brand RESIZED
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Hillsborough Organization for Progress and Equality (HOPE)

Hyde Park/Portico is one of 23+ interfaith member congregations who belong to HOPE, a non-partisan community organization founded in 1988. Mission: promote justice, fairness, and the dignity of people.

HOPE engages and trains people to responsibly and successfully act together to hold officials accountable to improve the systems affecting the quality of life in our communities through a four-step process:

  1. Listen: We listen to our members in one-on-one meetings and “house meetings”  in order to surface community problems for research and action. The listening process also serves to invite more people to become a part of the justice ministry.
  2. Research: We research the problems to identify workable solutions. HOPE meets with stakeholders and policy makers as well as dives into data that relates to the issue(s).
  3. Gather: We gather a large number of people, in order to show our supportive power and attract the attention of the decision-makers who can implement the solutions we are requesting.
  4. Follow Up: We follow-up on the public commitments made by the decision-makers in order to ensure that there is action to address the problem by implementing the requested solutions.

Justice Events + Learning Groups: Past and Present