CAJE

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Evansville is a member of CAJE, Congregations Acting for Justice and Empowerment.

Congregations Acting for Justice and Empowerment, or CAJE, is a tax exempt, non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation made up of 20 faith groups in southwestern Indiana, diverse in religion, race, and socioeconomic status. Members groups include Baptist, Catholic, United Methodist, Unitarian Universalist, Jewish, Lutheran, and non-denominational congregations in Warrick, Vanderburgh, and Posey Counties.

Mission Statement

The mission of the CAJE organization is to draw together people of faith to act powerfully to address local community issues through processes of relationship building, direct action, and negotiation with decision-makers.

History

CAJE was founded in 2003 and held its first action on February 23, 2004 with 700 people in attendance. At that meeting, Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel agreed to work on ways to improve housing code enforcement. He restructured the department so that the entire city is now being inspected and he increased the number of housing code enforcement inspectors from five to eight.

A few years later, the organization got the Vanderburgh County Council to include a new community dental clinic in their 2006 health department budget. This clinic opened on June 26, 2006 and has an annual budget of $285,000. This clinic supplies dental services to all persons with limited resources for dental care.
CAJE continues to grow in size and scope. Over 1200 people attended the annual Nehemiah Action in April 2012. CAJE has addressed issues in healthcare, education, housing, transportation, job access, drugs, and crime.

Source: Greater Evansville CAJE