United Neighbors Community Partnership’s (UNCP) Violence Prevention Task Force announced plans for a Peace Summit to be held in the Spring of 2009. The kick off-event was held at the Bank Street Neighborhood Association’s monthly meeting on October 9, 2008, where the task force unveiled their plans during October in recognition of “Safe Communities” and “Domestic Violence Awareness” Month. Fall River Police Chief John Souza and Colleen Hart of the Mayor’s Office spoke in support of the task force and urged the community to get involved. “We applaud your shared efforts in recognizing the need for this event that brings together local groups and organizations working towards the same goal of making our city a safe city,” Ms. Hart said on behalf of Mayor Correia. The summit, now called the “Peace by Piece” summit will be a full day conference, featuring a keynote speaker and workshops on various topics relating to violence prevention. Christian McCloskey, task force member and Youth Services Coordinator, explained the relevance of the title, “it is so entitled because to achieve peace, everybody must have a role.  Everyone, from youth to the police to schools to social service agencies to neighborhood associations to the elderly, will be an important piece of the puzzle.” The goal of the summit is to bring together the community to gain the skills and knowledge to address violence in their own communities, raise community awareness and mobilize others within the community. Click here to see photos of one of the first planning meeting. For more information about the project, contact United Neighbors director Jenny Diblasi at 508-324-7900 or Youth Services coordinator Christian McCloskey at 508-324-2419.