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Orange County Stationary To: Forum Participants From: the members of HSAC Thank you very much for attending the Human Services Advisory Commission's (HSAC) Forum on "Collaborating to Build Safer Community" which was held at the Friday Center, September 14, 1994. HSAC members felt that the day provided a good opportunity for human services providers in Orange County to learn more about violence in our community and ways that we might address this complex issue. Included here is a list of the recommendations from the seven afternoon sessions, and a summary of recommendations made to the county commissioners by the HSAC. A review of the forum evaluations showed that most people found the morning overview by Mark Fraser and the panel discussion to be very beneficial. We appreciate the time and attention that Dr. Fraser and the panel members gave to us. The panel included; Marti Pryor - Cook, Director of Department of Social Services, Carl Fox, District Attorney, Chet Preyar, Assistant Superintendent of the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools, George Sheldon, Chair of the Department of Surgery at UNC, Sharon Patterson, Principal of A.L. Stanback Middle School, and Lindy Pendergrass, Sheriff. We acknowledge and appreciate the role each of the panelists plays in their daily efforts to help create a safe community for us all. After the panel discussion participants divided into seven groups to discuss the causes of violence in our community. Each participant then voted on the issues which he /she thought were most severe. HSAC members gathered during the lunch break and consolidated the seven reports in order to determine which seven issues were considered to be the main causes of violence. After lunch seven new groups convened to brainstorm ways that we could begin to address in the near future without large expenditures of money. We also heartily thank the seven people who served a facilitators for the groups. For the closing session the facilitator of each group reported to the entire audience the top three recommendations or ideas which came from their session. Each of the groups produced some excellent suggestions which hopefully will lead to action by all of us to make our community safer. The recommendations are included here. If you would like a more detailed list of the ideas generated by a particular group please contact Albert Kitrell in the County Managers Office. The main message that we are sending to the County Commissioners as a result of the forum is that: we can make our county a safer place to live by making our neighborhoods safe. Therefore, we recommend that coordination of human services, opportunities for our youth, and citizen involvement take place on the neighborhood level. Piloting efforts in a few neighborhoods would allow an opportunity to learn what strategies work best. Only through working together can we begin to change some of the factors that allow violence to exist in our county.