For a complete list of our current initiatives, contact our office at
(323) 234-8154 or info@rcno.org.

Public Health Reentry Policy Initiative
RCNO and its affiliates are engaged in a statewide public policy initiative in California to increase access to health care for formerly incarcerated persons. The project will establish task forces in five counties (Alameda, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego), develop policy recommendations to impact access to health care, and increase coordination of free and reduced cost public health resources and health education for ex-offenders and their families.
Click here to view Fact Sheet

RCNO / Look University Youth Violence Prevention Initiative
RCNO is partnering with Look University, a networking program developed by musical artist MC Hammer, to conduct a multi-faceted national campaign focused on urban youth. Specifically, the RCNO/Look University Youth Violence Prevention Initiative aims to create a paradigm shift in the popular music industry and also in popular culture by producing and promoting socially responsible lyrical content and music videos that do not glorify drug dealing, violence and nihilism, but instead address social issues many inner-city young people confront. By using music and videos as an entry point, RCNO and Look University intend to develop a new base of informed, socially conscious, young change agents.
Click here to view Fact Sheet

Second Unit Supportive Housing Initiative With support from the Corporation for Supportive Housing, RCNO is undertaking a multi-year mobilization and policy advocacy supportive housing project that will increase housing options for ex-offenders in South Los Angeles by promoting the development of second units (also known as in-law apartments or granny flats) on existing properties owned by faith-based organizations. The initiative aims to prevent homelessness and decrease recidivism among ex-offenders in South L.A by expanding their potential housing choices, and also by providing job training and case management services to equip ex-offenders with the skills and connections they need to become economically and socially productive.

Inside Politics: A Response to Term Limits in California
Term limits have rendered elected officials transactional. Most state legislators spend their first term learning the political process. Their second term is spent positioning themselves for their next political office. Consequently, bureaucrats, committee consultants and capital staff hold the institutional memory. This gives them an inordinate amount of power and control of the legislative process. RCNO's Inside Politics Initiative is designed to help its members understand the obscure but powerful invisible institutional players that really control the state's legislative process. RCNO believes this is the most effective strategy for improving the lives of California's most vulnerable communities.

Youth and Family Development
RCNO has blended organizing and public policy formation in developing successful efforts including a fatherhood program to reunite ex-offenders with their families, and a Girl Talk program to reduce the number of teenage women becoming pregnant and contracting communicable diseases. We are in the process of developing a gang violence prevention and intervention program model for faith-based institutions to provide services and engage in policy and advocacy work.

Faith in Communities
RCNO, in collaboration with Special Services for Groups (SSG), has created Faith in Communities (FIC) to build the capacity of faith-based organizations to compete for public funding for programs.

Beyond Equity Coalition
The Beyond Equity Coalition is made up of a 30 member public and private community action groups and was formed in April 2006 to address the gentrification of downtown Los Angeles and the impact on residents, business owners, property owners and churches in South Los Angeles.
Click here for a list of our accomplishments.