On March 13, 2026, The H.O.P.E. Alliance at the Metro-Urban Institute (MUI) of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary held an Advocacy and Activism training session for H.O.P.E. Alliance partners led by Rev. William H. Lamar, IV (Pastor of Metropolitan A.M.E. Church in Washington, DC) and Dr. James McCarty (Clinical Assistant Professor of Religion & Conflict Transformation; Director, Tom Porter Religion & Conflict Transformation Program at Boston University). Twelve participants learned Power Mapping techniques to help identify ways to strategically target and prioritize access to persons in power to influence the justice needs the H.O.P.E. Alliance partners have. One of the partners from Youth Enrichment Services (Y.E.S.), described the training was something he would take back to have the young people in his organization do before they begin advocating for more change. The next month he trained young people in his organization and they did their own power mapping exercise and they will begin taking action to advocate for the change they desire in Pittsburgh.