Florida has four faith-based community groups that work for social justice as part of People Improving Communities Through Organizing, better known as the PICO National Network.

“In working together, we all share the same values and help each other take care of those who can’t speak for themselves,” said Pat Heick, a parishioner at St. Isaac Jogues, Orlando, and a longtime member of the Orange County group, Federation of Churches United to Serve.

On behalf of the group, Heick helped administer a survey in her parish to ascertain health care needs, and has participated with the PICO children’s health care initiative locally, statewide and at the national level.

FOCUS, along with the other PICO group in the Diocese of Orlando — Congregations for Community Action in Brevard County — recently joined with other federations across the country to bring the issue of funding children’s health care coverage to the national level, to Congress.

Pat Bradley, a parishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes in Melbourne, has been working with Congregations for Community Action since 2002 and summarized, “Faith without works is dead, but this whole trip, everything that is happening, is a primary success. We were communicating with congressmen and their staff. It truly meant something.”

Two other federations — Affiliated Congregations To Improve Our Neighborhoods in Gainesville in the St. Augustine Diocese and the Greater Pensacola Community Organization in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee — have focused their efforts on assisting their communities to provide adequate housing, to rebuild and recover from the significant impact of the hurricanes.

The Gainesville group has hosted several PICO regional meetings, assisting in building an infrastructure for the state, as well as locally. The main thrust in the Gainesville area has been in working with Catholic Charities to assist low-income families with utilities payments.

Father Roland Julien, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Gainesville, said, “We have to see that Jesus is calling us to work with others in building our communities to make them a better place for everyone. Individually, we have little effect, but together we can make a difference.”

The greater Pensacola community sustained major damage from Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Dennis in 2005 and adequate housing remains a critical issue. The group helped organize community input sessions for the area’s Interfaith Housing Coalition, which on March 2 dedicated 26 acres next to the Pensacola Catholic High School for a 250- to 300-unit housing development. It has also worked with the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to help 35 families living in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers find housing.

Father Richard Altenbaugh, retired pastor of St. John Parish in Pensacola, said, “It was a joy to see the number of people from different churches who were able to work together on common issues that were resolved.”

Msgr. Michael Reed, chancellor for the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, added, “(The Greater Pensacola Community Organization) raises the awareness of the needs of the poor and the injustices that exist in our diocese and they have helped the people to resolve the problems.”