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C.O.P.S. stands for Communities Organized for Public Service

For 50 years, COPS/Metro Alliance has given ordinary people a powerful voice in the decisions that affect their communities. We are a nonpartisan organization of dues-paying member institutions working to improve life for families in the San Antonio region. Our members have included religious congregations, schools, civic associations, labor and professional organizations, and non-profits.

We are a university of public life where people become leaders, developing the courage and skills to accomplish more than they ever thought possible.

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COPS/Metro: "Immigrants are not a Danger. These Are our Neighbors"

November 13, 2024

[Excerpt] "Josephine López Paul is a lead organizer with Communities Organized for Public Service, or COPS/Metro Alliance, in San Antonio. Her organization is expecting 1,000 community members at an event on Dec. 8. “There’s division and trauma everywhere, so we’re hoping this gathering will...

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COPS/Metro Leader Father Jimmy Drennan Braces Community Amid Growing Fears of Mass Deportations

November 08, 2024

[Excerpt] "Father Jimmy Drennan, pastor of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church on the city’s Southeast Side, is a longtime leader in COPS Metro Alliance, a grass-roots advocacy organization marking its 50th year. For COPS Metro, the work remains the same. “We rise against any...

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SA Leaders Recognize Project QUEST for Highest Earnings Impact in U.S. at COPS/Metro Press Conference

November 07, 2024

On October 30th, city officials and business leaders gathered at COPS/Metro's press conference to celebrate the results of a new study showing Project Quest to have “the longest sustained earnings impacts ever found in a U.S. workforce development program,” according to study author Mark...

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COPS/Metro Leaders Share Stories and West Side Parish History at St. Mary's University

October 22, 2024

On October 4th, current and former COPS/Metro leaders shared stories and history from Westside parishes as part of an event at St. Mary's University sponsored by the St. Mary's University Center for Catholic Studies and the O'Connor Chair for the History of Hispanic Texas...

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Independent Study Documents 'Remarkable Gains' by Grads of Project QUEST

October 16, 2024

[Excerpts] Project QUEST has had the ongoing political and community backing of COPS/Metro Alliance... that helped launch the program in 1992 and worked to ensure that Project QUEST has ongoing financial support. Project QUEST’s strategies can and have been replicated in other communities. The...

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St. Margaret Mary, COPS/Metro Leverage Commitments on Police Substation

September 15, 2024

After organizing the vote in 2022 to secure the funds necessary to build a new police substation in southeast San Antonio, COPS/Metro leaders at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church hosted a community feedback meeting and leveraged commitments to address homelessness, mental health services, and neighborhood services....

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324 Assemble with SAPD Chief & Prepare for December Citywide Action

September 15, 2024

324 COPS/Metro delegates pledged to build an agenda and prepare for Citywide Action on December 8. Leaders from across San Antonio came together to recommit to the parish ID strategy with Chief McManus.  See action highlights below: Image Gallery:

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COPS/Metro Wins Missions Stadium Community Benefits

September 12, 2024

  COPS/Metro Ensures Community Benefits are Included in Tax-Funded Downtown Missions Stadium Project COPS/Metro is proud to claim a victory for our community by ensuring community benefits are now part of the partially tax-funded Downtown Missions Stadium project, thus creating a fairer deal for...

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COPS/Metro Fights for Community Benefits in Missions Baseball Stadium Deal

September 05, 2024

More than a year after closed-door talks began around a proposed stadium that would displace thousands of low-income residents, the City of San Antonio held its first public hearing.  COPS/Metro clergy and leaders decried the secrecy of negotiations and displacement of low-income families, while questioning...

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Community Hospital & 'TB Cottages' COPS/Metro Rescued Are Now at Forefront of Fight Against Diabetes

July 27, 2024

The Texas Diabetes Institute - recently cited by the New York Times in a groundbreaking expose of San Antonio's Latino amputation crisis - largely exists thanks to COPS/Metro.  During the early 1990s, when the local Lutheran hospital filed for bankruptcy, COPS/Metro built the political will...

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