Orange County NC Website
47 <br /> Slide #11 <br /> •• {JILL <br /> Please <br /> ■ IF support! i <br /> ii } <br /> + I l . W 1 <br /> 'k <br /> Whitted 8fildirnq,Roam 230,38G WTryon 5t,lillishorough,WE <br /> L JAMM& <br /> 1i�4� www_arangecoun#yne,goMf�lackH�st�y �•+ake�.., <br /> b. Questions and Discussion <br /> Commissioner Richards asked what each committee listed on Slide #5 will work on. <br /> Dr. Fairbanks said these are internal committees that will work to streamline equity efforts <br /> happening across county departments. <br /> Commissioner Hamilton asked for information on the number of discrimination complaints <br /> the county receives and how long the cases take to resolve. <br /> Dr. Fairbanks said she would send that information to the Board. <br /> Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if the Inclusion Manager handles types of <br /> discrimination cases other than housing. <br /> Dr. Fairbanks said yes. <br /> Commissioner Fowler said she agrees with Commissioner Hamilton that it would be good <br /> to have some statistics about the types of complaints the department sees. <br /> Chair Bedford said she thinks with all of the turnover in the organization and the pandemic, <br /> the community may not be aware of the services offered, so she hopes that will improve with the <br /> more events they have and with the help of the Community Relations Department. <br /> Dr. Fairbanks said she agrees it is very important to engage the community, as well as <br /> addressing internal departmental needs. <br /> Chair Bedford asked if she would be part of the strategic planning group. <br /> Dr. Fairbanks said yes. <br /> Bonnie Hammersley said she would also like to provide some department history. She <br /> said the Human Rights and Relations department was independent when it was first created, then <br /> became part of the Housing Department, and she made the decision to make it independent again <br /> in 2018. She said a lot of people access the department and noted that the Human Relations <br /> Commission is really the external part of the department and have a lot of community events. She <br /> said during the pandemic, the department housed the Eviction Diversion Program under Annette <br /> Moore's leadership. She said that program has since been moved to Housing. She clarified that <br /> housing discrimination has always been investigated by this department. She said the department <br />