March 17, 2013. The Lakeland Ledger.
WINTER HAVEN | Children who get criminal records for minor offenses and people who lack desperately needed transportation will be the focus of Monday’s call for action by the Polk Ecumenical Action Council for Empowerment.
PEACE is a county-wide grassroots movement of congregations seeking social justice. Its annual Nehemiah Action, attended by hundreds of supporters, is designed to get specific commitments for change from government officials and other leaders.
“We’re looking to get bus stops in certain areas where there is no transportation at all,” said Rick Quarantiello, a PEACE member from St. David’s Episcopal Church in Lakeland.
“We’re working for disadvantaged people who have had no way to get anywhere.”
Monday’s public event starts at 7 p.m. at First Church of the Nazarene, 244 Ave. D S.W. in Winter Haven.
Finding better alternatives for children who get into trouble has been an issue for PEACE in previous years.
Unable to get local prosecutors’ support for a civil citation program instead of a criminal record for some misbehaving youths, PEACE has worked with Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd on other alternatives, the Rev. Jean Cooley said.
One involves a prevention database, a method allowed and used by the state Department of Juvenile Justice, as a better way of determining the punishment and assistance children need, said Cooley, pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lakeland.
Three-fourths of juveniles referred by local schools for possible criminal punishment are accused of first-time misdemeanors, she said.
PEACE also wants increased use of Teen Court, an alternative existing in Polk County, instead of criminal court for some youths accused of misdemeanors.
The problem of insufficient alternatives for children in minor difficulty with the law is county-wide, she said, as is the need for expanded transportation.
Areas of Polk County have bus service, although it doesn’t run late enough for workers who aren’t on a regular daytime schedule, but some areas have nothing, Quarantiello said.
As an example of need, he mentioned people who pay $20 just to get into a vehicle for transportation and more if they are taking additional family members with them.
“It can cost them up to $60,” he said. “We’re trying to put an end to this.”
A woman at the Bartow courthouse after normal closing hours spent three hours trying to find someone to bring her home, he added.
Educational reform, health care for the uninsured and the need for more residential drug treatment facilities are among the topics PEACE has focused on in prior Nehemiah events.
