St. Paul’s RISC Team (Advocacy)

About RISC

RISC (Richmonders Involved to Strengthen Our Community) brings together diverse faith communities to address the root causes of poverty and injustice in the Greater Richmond area. Members of RISC work together to build relationships, listen to common concerns, research community problems, and then take action to see that systems in the community are held accountable to principles of justice and fairness.

Currently, we are working to understand and address the root causes of homelessness.

We also remain committed to our ongoing goals from recent years to reduce drug use and crime in Richmond by promoting substance abuse treatment in the city jail; increase access to health care for those who are uninsured; and promote higher graduation rates in Richmond city schools.

RISC efforts have made a difference. Virginia Commonwealth University is working to improve the efficiency of the Virginia Cordinated Care for the Uninsured program at the university. Richmond Public Schools has stopped suspending students for attendance problems. And the city jail is addressing the need for drug treatment while those needing it are in jail.

RISC has learned over time that it works best to identify funding sources for the programs to be addressed and to speak with the real decision makers in a collaborative approach to seek solutions. Each year, RISC's members choose areas of concern to investigate after discussions among its 15 participating faith communities. We believe that by coming together, we build our power and ability to successfully live out God's call "to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God" (Micah 6:8).

Justice in July

What is your definition of social justice?

That's the question members of the St. Paul's RISC Team will pose on Sunday mornings as part of Justice in July -- the time of year they recruit new members to the group and solicit your input for what you'd like St. Paul's to achieve.

Beginning Sunday, July 3 and continuing on Sundays throughout the month, St. Paul's RISC Team leaders Bruce Cruser and Michelle Whitehurst-Cook invite you to stop by their table in the Gathering Space to reflect on what social justice means to you and the relationship you see between justice and your faith.

Team members will discuss how St. Paul's has been involved to date, RISC successes, and how members can be more involved. They will also solicit ideas about issues the St. Paul's team can focus on in the coming year.

2011-2012 Goals

The work of RISC has a cost and team members will also accept donations from the heart. St. Paul's RISC Team members have raised $650 to date and their goal is to raise an additional $150 this summer.

The citywide RISC budget will be available at the information table for those interested. RISC is financed through church member dues and individual donations, as well as some corporate support. St. Paul's gives $1,000 a year in dues and the team has pledged $800 for the summer fundraising campaign. The largest expense is a lead organizer hired by RISC to work with the churches to build membership; to support and plan meetings to research key issues; and to support and plan our annual Nehemiah Action, which drew 1,200 individuals to meet with the City Council at Good Shephard Baptist Church in spring 2011. As a result of that action, the city council pledged to help finance the Housing Fund already established by them but with no stable funding. This fund would prevent homelessness. Thirty St. Paul's members attended the Nehemiah Action this year. The St. Paul's team would like to grow to 40 members at next year's Nehemiah Action.

The quest for a just kingdom is a large undertaking, but it begins in small ways, as we proclaim Christ in our thoughts, our words, and our deeds, here on Grace Street, in the heart of the city.

Recent Team Updates

From Bruce Cruser, April 2011

I was inspired to be one of the 30 St. Paul's members and 1,100 people from all faith traditions filling Good Shepherd Baptist Church on April 14, 2011 to show the strength and diversity of support for affordable housing in Richmond. This was the Nehemiah Action, the annual action meeting of RISC (Richmonders Involved to Strengthen our Community). We learned that RISC had researched best practices for how the city can make a major turn to prevent homelessness and leverage significant funding for housing through an Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Such funds have worked well in other cities across the U.S., including other places in Virginia, and Richmond itself had created one on paper in 2008 but never activated it.

The choir sang while people from Bon Air to Church Hill filled every pew and the balcony. With brief but moving welcomes from Baptist and Presbyterian preachers and a Rabbi, the agenda was adjusted to accommodate Richmond City Mayor Dwight Jones, who made an unexpected appearance to demonstrate his support for the RISC trust fund initiative. Six members of city council were present to respond to RISC's concerns. There were some differences over details, but the larger question was whether they would commit to finding a way to get this initiative moving (as they had voted to do three years ago!), and all committed to activiate the city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund's board and move forward on this issue.

22% of Richmond households pay more than 50% of their income for housing. This represents an increase of 9 percentage points between 2000 and 2009.

Of those households earning less than $20,000 annually, 80% of them pay more than 30% of their income for their rent. This represents more than 13,000 households who are at increased risk of becoming homeless.

From Michelle Whitehurst-Cook, April 2011

April 14th at Good Shepherd Baptist Church was an exciting time where a sea of people for a multitude of churches of differing faiths came to gather for a common cause, prevention of homelessness in the greater Richmond community. Many of us already work together to provide services through Caritas, Micah and other mercy missions. Homelessness is a social justice issue which can best be tackled by a well organized and planned event such as the Nehemiah Action to bring about systemic change. We even had our own Mary Kay Huss assigned a special seat because of her work with housing coalitions. Each year your RISC Team polls St. Paul's members for areas of concern within our community. This year housing issues were identified. Through research committees methods that have been known to work in other jurisdictions are often suggested as the way to achieve our goals. Please continue to support RISC. Thanks to all of those who came out to support this very important life changing agenda.

Get Involved

You can help make a difference in our city by participating in RISC. Please consider joining the St. Paul's RISC team, which includes Michelle Whitehurst-Cook and Bruce Cruser (chairs), Martha Anne Ellis, Yvonne and Sonny Harris, Frank Mountcastle, Mary Ann Ready, Mary Schuring, Bob Jones, and Davis Wrinkle.

As a RISC team member at St. Paul's, participation includes attending two RISC meetings in the fall and three in the spring, plus quarterly meetings with our team held after church on Sundays. Your time, energy, and expertise are your contributions to RISC. There are no individual membership dues. Instead, each member institution pays annual dues of $1,000 to support the work of RISC.

Contact the Team Chairs at:

Michelle Whitehurst-Cook, mwcook@vcu.edu
Bruce Cruser, brucecruser@gmail.com