SE North Carolina News

New Hanover County issued the following announcement on Nov. 10.

In an effort to expand the ongoing conversation about violence in our community and safety within our schools, New Hanover County is hosting a pair of digital “Let’s Talk” public forums next week on November 15 and 17.

These webinar-style Zoom events will feature an array of panelists, including local service providers, families, teachers, school administrators, law enforcement officials and more. Community participants can join the virtual meeting to listen to the conversation and submit questions by typing them into the chat feature.

Let’s Talk: Community Violence Forum – November 15 at 6 p.m.

The first virtual public forum, “Let’s Talk: Community Violence,” will start at 6 p.m. on Monday, November 15. The panel will feature local law enforcement, community groups and parents as they discuss issues taking place around New Hanover County that are leading to and are a direct result of violence within the community. Attendees will then be able to ask questions and share feedback via the chat. Click here on November 15 to attend the Community Violence Forum on Zoom.

Let’s Talk: School Safety Forum – November 17 at 6 p.m.

The second virtual public forum, “Let’s Talk: School Safety,” will start at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 17. The panel will feature representatives from New Hanover County Schools’ Central Services, school administration and parents. The discussion will center around how issues that start in a community impact the school environment, and how to help ensure safety on school campuses. After the panel discussion, attendees will be able to ask questions and share feedback via the chat. Click here on November 17 to attend the School Safety Forum on Zoom.

“Talking about the adversities that face our community and schools is an important step toward addressing the issues that threaten safety in both places,” said New Hanover County’s Chief Diversity & Equity Officer Linda Thompson, who will serve as facilitator for both forums. “These two community forums will be opportunities to openly discuss what is happening and hear directly from our community on what they are seeing, concerns they have, and how we can tackle these problems together.”

If you are not able to attend the discussion live, each “Let’s Talk” forum will be recorded and posted on the New Hanover County YouTube channel, added to nhcgov.com/schoolsafety and shared on the county’s social media platforms the following day after each event.

Original source can be found here.