Faith in Action

Each spring, the FIA Coordinating Team solicits applications from congregation members for outside organizations to become one of our two annual Faith in Action partners. One of the criteria for selecting these organizations is that there will be opportunities for church members to be involved in community service and volunteer work.
Contact: faithinaction@ucdsm.org

• Judy Davis
• Steve Gilson
• Jack Hackett
• Hillary Hippen-Leek (special projects)
• Harvey Harrison (Just Voices champion)
• Gene McCracken (Knock and Drop champion)

Hawthorn Hill

Hawthorn Hill‘s mission is to establish and operate housing programs for homeless families with children that help them obtain permanent housing and to provide services to help families achieve economic self-sufficiency. Hawthorn Hill runs a short-term shelter and also a long-term housing program in single family and duplex homes in Des Moines. Caseworkers meet families where they are, working with them to secure transportation, daycare and education as well as housing. They are grateful to be selected to our Faith in Action partner for 2022-23 and look forward to working in partnership with us during the coming year

Let’s Talk

Let’s Talk has been volunteering in Des Moines Middle schools since January 2014 to help students resolve conflicts in a peaceful and restorative way where each student has a chance to talk about what happened from their point of view, how it has impacted them, and what they will do going forward to make things work better.  They help create a culture of respect and inclusion and work to decrease the disproportionate number of students of color suspended and referred to the juvenile justice system.

Update: November 2021

Thank you, First Unitarian for selecting Just Voices Iowa as a recipient for your 2022 Faith In Action giving program. Our mission is to build a platform that educates, advocates, and collaborates to end racially-biased policing in Des Moines and across Iowa. We boldly envision a society free from racial oppression.

Using research and data collection, we know that there is great racial disparity in how Black and Latinx residents are policed in Des Moines. We talk to victims who have experienced emotional, life-changing trauma, not to mention economic impact from unjust racial profiling and systemic racism through the criminal justice systems. Through the stories, we bring the data to life in relevant and authentic ways.

Updated Data on our Website

Please check out our website . You’ll find charts and graphs reflect policing for the five-year period of 2016 through 2020. From traffic stops for equipment violations to speeding to data on the DMPD’s disparate enforcement of marijuana laws, it’s all there. What’s most disturbing is that nothing is getting better. Our conclusion is still true: Des Moines disproportionately polices and targets its Black and Brown residents.

We Could Use Your Help
In June 2021, Just Voices Iowa, published a report that examined the workings of a DMPD special unit known as the Special Enforcement Team (SET). The 35+ page report is on our website, too. Next up, is an in-depth study of the 2020 racial justice protests that happened in Des Moines.

As you know, there were hundreds of protests in the Summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. All over the nation and the world and yes, many in Des Moines. Peaceful protestors were met with police violence, military-level weapons, and many unjustified arrests. We’re going in-depth on what happened in Des Moines, but we need your help.

If you’ve got a few hours a week to spare, we need your help in our research of the 2020 protests. We’ll train you. We plan to kick the research off in early December. Thank you in advance!

When considering a Faith in Action nomination:

• You and your contact at the organization need to read the FIA Partnership Responsibilities.
• If you and your contact person think this might be a good fit, you’ll need to work together to complete the nomination form and submit it to the FIA team by April 18, 2022, for the 2022-2023 partnership year.