Social Justice Ministry “My children, love must not be a matter of words or talk; it must be genuine and show itself in action.” (John 3:17-18)

Co-Chairs
Tish Galu
919.225.2986
galump@centurylink.net

Maurico Castro
919.423.6332
macalcdc@aol.com

Mission Statement/Purpose
We are organized so that families and institutions have a way to respond to the economic, political, social and cultural pressures we are facing. We want to make positive changes in the community that will make Orange County a better place to live and work.

Major Accomplishments
St. Thomas More and 25 other faith-based organizations/institutions come together to work for the common good. We are called Orange County Justice United in Community Effort – for short – Justice United.

Our Action Teams have worked diligently and have accomplished the following:

• incorporated a living wage policy in Chapel Hill and updated the policy in Carrboro
• partnered with RENA/CEER to make sure that the Board of County Commissioners do not locate a transfer station in the Rogers Road community
• negotiated with the Town of Carrboro and apartment complexes to make sure they are safe and healthy
• completed an affordable housing study in the Town of Chapel Hill and proposed a strategy which was adopted by the Town to use to review affordable housing needs.
• conducted an audit of the Pine Knolls and Northside communities and had the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro address the health and safety issues in each neighborhood
• determined short term and long term solutions for the 300% increase in the Efland community sewer rates which were adopted by the County Commissioners.

Major Activity
Listening to the families in our community to determine the concerns and issues that need to be addressed, researching the solutions and presenting the information to the community to affect change.

Meeting Frequency
A strategy team meets the first Thursday of the month at Empowerment, Inc.

Meeting Venue
Besides our monthly strategy team meetings, there are countywide leaders meetings held every 90 days and an annual meeting held usually in October-December to determine our direction and future work.

Estimated Time Commitment for Volunteers
One 2-hour meeting per month and two-three major events per year. The time commitment will depend upon the issue being researched and how the members would like to work together.

Special Skills
None are needed; Members need only an interest in helping those in need.