Press and Updates

October 25, 2023

[Excerpt] [A] new coalition of neighborhoods, churches and others formed Communities Organized for Public Service, or COPS, in 1974.... “That was the perfect storm that planted the seed that allowed COPS to flourish,” said Father Mike DeGerolami, also a leader for COPS/Metro Alliance. ...Garza...

October 16, 2023

[Excerpt] COPS/Metro Alliance is calling for people to participate in the Memorial to the Lost, which aims to recognize all the lives lost to gun violence in Bexar County over the last five years.... Organizers hope to line the streets surrounding the Alamodome with...

October 06, 2023

“Creating a culture of solidarity” is how Pope Francis described our work of organizing when he met with our COPS/Metro delegation together with our sister organizations in the West/Southwest IAF on Thursday, September 14. Traducción en español abajo COPS/Metro leaders Sonia Rodriguez, Fr. David...

September 17, 2023

[Excerpt] When Pope Francis told a group of U.S. community organizers that their work was "atomic," Jorge Montiel said, "I thought, 'Oh, you mean we blow things up?'" But instead, the pope spoke about how the groups associated with the West/Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation...

August 31, 2023

In August, COPS/Metro leaders Lorraine Gonzales, Mark Wittig, and Sr. Pearl Ceasar, as well as lead organizer Josephine Lopez Paul, were invited by Father Jim Schellenberg to a two part discussion on his talk show "Food for Thought". The conversation centered around COPS/Metro's efforts...

June 30, 2023

[Excerpt] COPS/Metro Alliance, the longtime coalition that advocates for working families and is in many ways responsible for the program’s existence, continues to raise concerns.

May 22, 2023

[Excerpt] "Our state legislators cannot muster the courage to act on the will of the people. Why? They fear the vocal minorities who have made gun possession an idol worthy of greater reverence than the lives of our fellow citizens. This is an abomination...

May 10, 2023

Less than a day after a bill that would raise the age to legally purchase semi-automatic rifles unexpectedly passed through Committee, Texas IAF leaders learned that Representative Guillen (from Rio Grande City) appeared to be actively suppressing House Bill 2744 from being heard on...

May 02, 2023

On May 2nd, COPS/Metro held an accountability session with candidates form district 3 and 5 along with 120 attendees. During the session, COPS/Metro sought commitments from the candidates to meet with leaders two weeks following the election to address issues surrounding quality of life...

April 30, 2023

On April 30th, COPS/Metro convened 200 leaders to press Mayor Ron Nirenberg and City Manager Erik Walsh on improving accountability for San Antonio's Ready to Work program by putting jobs on the table, improving the recruitment of quality participants, and holding contractors accountable who...