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3 <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 Wash 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 served in some ways as a follow-up to <br /> the poverty forum held 12 years earlier in 1989. <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 issues related to poverty 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 />