OUR HISTORY

The East of the River Clergy Police Community Partnership (ERCPCP) is a faith-based community development corporation that was founded in August 1999 when pastors from twenty area churches, former Police Chief Charles Ramsey, and other high ranking officers met to discuss how clergy and police might work together to reduce the critically high number of homicides among youth in Southeast, D.C. Our mission is to engage in healing, restoring, and transforming our communities from brokenness to healthy, self-sustaining, holistic neighborhoods. Historically, from 1999-2001 ERCPCP was selected by the Ford Foundation as one of five sites nationwide to replicate the Boston 10-point program, which was formulated on a holistic evidence-based approach. From 2004 – 2007, ERCPCP was selected as the U.S. Department of Justice Weed and Seed site in both the Frederick Douglas and Congress Heights communities. ERCPCP continued to address community and neighborhood unemployment and work readiness challenges pervasive in Ward 8 from 2004-2007 by implementing the Ready 4 Work White House Initiative. ERCPCP has a strong, respected history as an advocate and practitioner for reforming the juvenile justice system in the District of Columbia. Since 1999, ERCPCP has successfully undertaken the task of steering young people and families away from unhealthy behaviors towards a productive, self-sufficient lifestyle. The organization began as a Ford Foundation/Public Private Ventures-funded replication of the successful Boston 10-Point violence reduction program and has embraced evidence-based practices for empowering, educating, and enriching the lives of youth, young adults, and families ever since. Our Violence Intervention Program (VIP) and the Citywide Coordinating Council for Youth Violence Prevention (CCYVP) were both very significant efforts in reducing violence. ERCPCP has also conducted retreats with targeted youth and police officers at Camp Simms and was selected by the Deputy Mayor of Public Safety to address the problem of Kiddie Car Thieves in Benning Terrace. For ten years, we served as the lead entity of the U.S. Department of Justice Weed and Seed program in Congress Heights and Woodland Terrace.ERCPCP has also worked closely with each of the past four DYRS directors. The organization was involved with the planning of New Beginnings, attended the ribbon cutting, and had the tremendous honor of working with the agency in the implementation of the DC YouthLink community service model, as well as the development and operations of the DYRS Achievement Centers. For over twenty years, ERCPCP has built partnerships among houses of worship, criminal justice entities, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and government agencies to positively impact youth and families east of the Anacostia River. The formative years of ERCPCP, Inc. were marked by a dramatic level of success because the police, clergy, and community, east of the river were staunchly committed to building collaboration among the agencies and organizations The programs were developed to meet the needs as communicated by the community and realized by committed staff, devoted volunteers and experienced partners. Given these ambitious beginnings, there has been much to suggest that this organization can continue to make a powerful impact in “reclaiming a generation, one child, one person, and one family at a time”.