SAN ANTONIO – COPS/Metro unveiled a new, decade-long strategy for neighborhood infrastructure and workforce development Sunday as part of its 50th-anniversary celebration.
More than 2,000 people gathered at the Henry B. González Convention Center for the announcement of the organization’s initiative, “Public Money for Public Good.”
The strategy focuses on three key areas:
A $5 billion investment in inner-city flood control and neighborhood infrastructure
Expansion of Project Quest, the organization’s workforce training program
Development of support systems for immigrant families
“We celebrate our local work,” said a COPS/Metro representative during the convention, highlighting the organization’s half-century of community advocacy.
Founded in the early 1970s as Communities Organizing for Public Service (COPS), the organization says it is the nation’s “oldest and longest-standing community organizing endeavor.”
Its model of community organizing has since inspired the creation of over 60 similar organizations across the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) Network.
The anniversary event drew support from sister IAF organizations, interfaith clergy, elected officials, and business leaders from across the West and Southwest United States.
Over its 50-year history, COPS/Metro and the West/Southwest IAF have secured over $1 billion for water and wastewater infrastructure in economically disadvantaged areas.
The organization has also developed programs to advance living wage careers, achieved living wage victories in five states, stopped predatory corporate tax breaks, and established the world’s largest network of solar-powered resilience hubs.
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