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“I want better, and I am getting it because of Landforce. ”

We don’t often tell the individual stories of our crew members, recognizing that those stories belong to them alone, and are not ours to tell. We are deeply grateful to “R” for his generosity and enthusiasm to share his journey with us.

His words will give you the truest sense of who he is, how hard he has worked, and what Landforce strives to be for all of our crew members. Read R’s story about the impact of his time at Landforce. 

We invite you to join us in providing the platform to this future and thank you for considering a donation to Landforce. Your generosity contributes towards a brighter future for everyone who comes through our doors.

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Landforce is registered as a 501(c)3 under the name Pittsburgh Conservation Corps. Donations to Landforce are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.

The Need for Landforce

Poverty is a real and serious issue in Pittsburgh. Currently, 21% of Pittsburgh’s population lives at or below the poverty rate, a full 6% higher than the national average. This disparity in wealth is also reflected in data relating to homelessness, home ownership, employment, education, health and well-being, and most other measures of “livability” in Pittsburgh.

While Pittsburgh experienced a lower unemployment rate overall during the recent “Great Recession,” we also were experiencing much higher levels of unemployment among key sectors of Pittsburgh population. In 2012, 16.6% of African American Pittsburghers and 11.8% of Hispanic Pittsburghers were unemployed, respectively nearly three times and two times the unemployment rate of White Pittsburghers (6.1%).

Likewise, this inequity continues with arrest and incarceration rates in Pittsburgh. Here, African American youth were arrested at 5 times the rate of their white peers, but across the nation African American youth were arrested at twice the rate of their white peers. Similarly, African American adults were arrested at three times the rate of their white peers in Pittsburgh, but only twice as much across the nation.

By providing work, training, and supportive services, Landforce aims to fight against the wealth disparity within Pittsburgh’s population by providing opportunities for individuals to overcome barriers to employment and obtain family-supporting wages.

For more data on this subject, please see “Barriers & Bridges” and “Pittsburgh’s Racial Demographics 2015.”