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Background <br />"Poverty in Orange County: The Issues that Remain," the 2001 Human <br />Services Advisory Commission (HSAC) forum, began on a somber note <br />September 12 as participants and presenters struggled with shock and <br />grief over the previous day's terrorist attacks in New York and <br />Washington, D.C. HSAC co -chair Rosetta Walsh opened the event with a <br />moment of silence commemorating the nation's losses before shifting the <br />focus to the forum's topic. The intent of each year's forum is to bring <br />together members of the Orange County community to learn about and <br />help find solutions to pressing social concerns that affect people on a <br />day -to -day basis. The 2001 forum (the HSAC's ?th) served in some ways <br />as a follow -up to the poverty forum held 12 years earlier in 1989 ?. <br />Overview <br />Orange County Commissioner Barry Jacobs spoke about the importance <br />of addressing four issues: protecting our freedom, protecting our health <br />and safety, providing quality education, and helping those who are least <br />able to help themselves (people and our environment) . He said that the <br />purpose of the forum was to talk about those for whom we can provide <br />more assistance so that they can be more empowered in our society. <br />The issue has grown increasingly relevant because the most recent <br />census data shows that there are still one million people living in poverty <br />in North Carolina and more than a third of them are children. In Orange <br />County, 10.5% of the citizens live in poverty. Jacobs made the point <br />that the terrorists had performed acts of extreme spiritual poverty. <br />Dr. Andrew Dobelstein, professor at the School of Social Work at UNC- <br />CH, delivered the keynote address. He said that while improvements <br />have been made on many fronts over the past twelve years, other <br />structural poverty - related issues are still pressing in Orange County. <br />These structural issues include the high number of single - parent <br />families in Orange County (29% according to recent census data); racial <br />discrimination and segregation that has led to African- American children <br />being behind in school with respect to their white counterparts; and <br />high housing costs that continue to push low - income families and <br />