International Day of Peace Action: The Youth PROMISE Act

The Peace Alliance

Call your Senators TODAY! (Or SOON)

Today we observe the U.N. declared International Day of Peace!

In honor of the day, we hope you will partner with Student Peace Alliance in their National Call-in Action in support of the Youth PROMISE Act (HR 1064/ S 435). Join youth across the country by calling YOUR Senators to ask them to cosponsor the Youth PROMISE Act. Thanks to your support, we already have over HALF of the U.S. House of Representatives signed on as co-sponsors! Let's do the same in the Senate.

Below is a sample script you can use to call your Senators. If you know the names of your Senators, you can simply call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. (If after hours, leave a message). You can find your Senators names and phone numbers here.

Call your Senator:

Hi, my name is ______ and I'm a constituent of Senator ______'s. I'm calling to urge him/her to become a co-sponsor of the Youth PROMISE Act, if they are not already. This evidence-based gang and crime prevention bill is currently in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The bill number for the Senate is S. 435.

This breakthrough piece of legislation will not only save lives - it will save much more money than it will cost. We need this now more than ever. Please ask as the Senator to put his/her faith back in our youth and give them a chance to meet their potential. Thank you for your time.

If you make a call or recruit others to make calls, please enter it online so we can follow up with your Senators!

Thanks for taking the time to make a difference!



Julia Simon-Mishel,
The Student Peace Alliance
The Peace Alliance

Forward this Message!

Youth PROMISE Act: Overview

On Friday, February 13, 2009, Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA-03) and Congressman Mike Castle (R-DE-AL) re-introduced the Youth Prison Reduction through Opportunity Mentoring, Intervention, Support and Education, or Youth PROMISE Act into the U.S. House of Representatives (Bill H.R. 1064). Companion legislation was also introduced in the US Senate (Bill S. 435) by Senators Robert Casey (D-PA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

The Youth PROMISE Act implements the best policy recommendations from crime policy makers, researchers, practitioners, analysts, and law enforcement officials from across the political spectrum concerning evidence - and research-based strategies to reduce gang violence and crime. These strategies will target young people who are at risk of becoming involved, or who are already involved in, gangs or the criminal justice system to redirect them toward productive and law-abiding alternatives.

"During my more than 30 years of public service, I have learned that when it comes to crime policy, we have a choice - we can reduce crime or we can play politics," Mr. Scott said. "For far too long, Congress has chosen to play politics by enacting 'tough on crime' slogans whose impacts range from a negligible reduction in crime to an increase in crime. As a result, the United States now has the highest average incarceration rate of any nation in the world and the cost of incarceration in this country has risen to over $65 billion a year. All the credible research and evidence shows that a continuum of evidenced-based prevention and intervention programs for at-risk youth will greatly reduce crime and save much more than they cost. This is what the Youth PROMISE Act will do," Scott added.

Learn more now!