Who are we?

We are a faith-based community effort to end youth violence and restore hope to our streets.

Born out of the Wilkinsburg Ministerial Association in January 2011, The Sanctuary Project is composed of church members and community leaders who are working with Police Chief Cookie Coleman and Mayor John Thompson to end youth violence. Our current fiscal partner is The Christian Church of Wilkinsburg, which supplies our 501(c)3 non-profit status until we are able to obtain our own.

Summer Internships

We partner with the Wilkinsburg Youth Project to provide jobs for 50 youth for six weeks during the summer, including a team working on rehabbing homes with Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh. Our hop in the Fall of 2016 is to provide a mentoring program in the trades for youth working with Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh.

Teens and Greens

Youth work with members of the St. Stephen’s church to plant and harvest a community garden. They learn about nutrition and concerns around the environment and food security.

Training: Get Home Safely

Following the successful First Aide Training called When Critical Seconds Count, in which nearly 1,000 youth across Allegheny County were trained, the Wilkinsburg Sanctuary Project is creating a new training called Get Home Safely. Part of this training involves teaching youth how to respond to the police when they are stopped in the wake of tragedies across our nation. The second part of the training engages youth in a discussion about how to get home safely

The Sanctuary Project

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