Minutes-04-18-2023-Business Meeting

Browse Search

2 people experiencing homelessness are served less effectively than their white counterparts. She said they discussed connecting the dots across systems to get to a place of equity and justice. She said without a safe and affordable home, people cannot participate in democratic civic life. She said it is clear that the county needs more investment in permanent supportive housing. She said that on April 29, 2023 from 1 to 4 p.m., the Orange County Remembrance Coalition is holding a soil collection ceremony at the Orange County Courthouse. She said they will commemorate Cyrus Guy, Daniel Morrow, Jefferson Morrow, Washington Morrow and Wright Malone, all of whom were lynched in Orange County. She said that in a soil selection ceremony, soil is retrieved from the approximate or nearby location to where a lynching occurred and placed in two jars with the lynching victim's name on them. She said one jar will stay in Orange County in remembrance and the second is taken to Montgomery, Alabama to the Equal Justice Initiative's museum where it will be exhibited with thousands of jars from around the United States. She said the collection of soil is intended to bring community members closer to the legacy of lynching and to contribute to the effort to bring a lasting and more visible memory to the history of racial injustice. She said there will be proclamations, libation ceremony, and presentations to families of the victims. She said there will be a corrected Resolution of Apology on the consent agenda during the meeting, which corrects name and date errors. She said she is a member of the Orange County Remembrance Coalition and will read the Resolution of Apology. She asked the Board to formally designate her as the Board's formal representative on the Orange County Remembrance Coalition. She said that the Board's action would make her role on the coalition more transparent. Vice-Chair McKee made a motion to designate Commissioner Greene as the Orange County Board of Commissioners' representative to the Orange County Remembrance Coalition. Commissioner Fowler seconded the motion. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Commissioner Richards said she attended a meeting for TARPO on April 131". She said that, along with Commissioner Portie-Ascott, she toured the Emergency Services department. She said there are upcoming events for Re-Entry Month. She said she was able to attend the fireside chat in Hillsborough. She said she was struck by many of the same statistics that Commissioner Greene mentioned with homelessness. She said that most people experiencing re-entry have multiple issues, including housing needs. She said it is becoming more obvious that the county needs the support of a behavioral health diversion center. Vice-Chair McKee said he attended the Junior Livestock Show and Sale. He said the event originally started as joint event between Durham and Orange counties along with 4-H and FFA. He said he first participated about 60 years ago. He said it has evolved from a cow and swine show to cow, swine, and sheep show along with other events. He said he hopes it goes on another 60 years. Chair Bedford said she attended a DSS Board meeting. She said that there was an equity study by SAS, once children are in DSS or foster care. She said that they looked at the number of days in care, the number of placements a child experiences, and the percentage of children in kinship care. She said that numbers are trending in the right direction, especially in kinship care. She said there was a disparity between black and white children in the number of placements. She said there will be an additional study on what other factors could be addressed to reduce that disparity. Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she and Commissioner Richards toured Emergency Services, attended a TARPO meeting and received a review from Transportation Director Nishith Trivedi, which she appreciated, and attended the re-entry fireside chat. She said she attended the Junior Livestock Show. She said she attended the Tarleton and Bonnie B. Davis Memorial