1. Human Relations and Diversity
Our Goal: A community of involved
people, who in the spirit of unity are proud
and confident of their diversity and
committed to the success of each and the
excellence of all.
Recommended
Strategy: Establish a human relations
commission to improve race relations and
communications at city and county levels,
and wherever there is a need for it.
Recommended Action to Begin Implementing
the Strategy: Make a proposal to the
elected officials recommending that they
oversee implementation of a Human Relations
Commission in each city/county of the
five-county River Region.
Return
Expected for Our Region: Effective
system for communication on diversity
issues, benefiting everyone
Other
Strategies to Accomplish Our Goal:
Establish an organized and effective system
(such as Interchange groups) for
communication on diversity issues.
Establish a community leadership academy to
help identify roadblocks that divide people
culturally, socially and economically and to
prepare candidates for positions in
government and schools.
Include
"Teaching Tolerance" materials in the public
school curriculum, along with information on
conflict resolution, and create multiracial
and cross-cultural events in schools,
churches and businesses to promote mutual
respect and understanding.
Develop
programs and incentives to end white flight
from integrated neighborhoods, schools,
businesses and organizations.
2. Health/Wellness/ Healthcare Delivery
Our Goal: A region that values and invests in
the health and wellness of every urban and rural
citizen, knowing that affordable, accessible,
comprehensive, state-of-the-art health care
facilities and service are available.
Recommended Strategy: Establish a consortium of
healthcare providers, government agencies and
citizens to assess met and unmet healthcare
needs of the fivecounty region, to identify
available resources and to develop immediate and
long-range plans.
Recommended Action to Begin Implementing the
Strategy: Establish a steering committee to plan
the first meeting of the task force (i.e. invite
members, set the agenda, etc.)
Return Expected for Our Region: Because
prevention is less costly than treatment,
healthcare costs in the region will decrease,
thus freeing our limited dollars for use in
other ways, benefiting all citizens of the
five-county region (youth, seniors, adults),
healthcare providers, and government entities.
Through the wise use of resources, healthier
schoolchildren will become successful,
taxpaying, productive work force/adults and will
be more beneficial to their communities.
3. Family and Shelter; Housing
Our Goal: A region with involved families and
individuals in safe and supportive communities
where all have adequate, affordable and
accessible housing.
Recommended Strategies:
A. Young Family Support: Provide all new parents
with access to child development and parenting
education information.
Recommended Action to Begin Implementing the
Strategy: Create a task force to conduct a
conference for agencies to share information.
Return Expected for Our Region: Reduction of
public assistance needs; safer environment for
children; prevention of child abuse and neglect;
reduced births to teens; greater parental
involvement in schools; raised quality of child
care; improved quality of life, benefiting
children, young parents,-especially teen
parents, all communities, children with special
needs.
Another Strategy to Accomplish Our Goal: Ensure
access to quality childcare through
public/private partnerships.
B. Housing: Establish a regional task force to
inventory the housing supply, conditions and
needs within 12 months and set targets for
meeting those needs.
Recommended Action to Begin Implementing the
Strategy: Create the task force and access
census information in order to start the
inventory.
Return Expected for Our Region: Overall
improvement of housing status; increase in
quality of life; neighborhood stability;
economic growth; family stability leading to
improvement in educational success in children;
better self-esteem, reduction in crime, improved
health, benefiting low-income families; regional
tax base (converts vacant lots into taxpayer
homes); business (stable neighborhood, better
employees); communities through improved public
health and overall quality of life.
Other Strategies to Accomplish Our Goal:
Provide support and incentives for the
rehabilitation of existing houses and
neighborhoods.
Support and fight for the passage of good
legislation to ensure adequate,
affordable and accessible housing.
4. Youth
Our Goal: A region that provides an improved and
increased number of safe and supervised youth
activities, programs and services through
organizations and facilities that empower and
nurture youth and that encourage the development
of positive values and self esteem -
particularly after school and on weekends.
Recommended Strategy: Create a partnership to
develop a regional approach to share planning,
ideas, knowledge, best practices and resources
for youth activities and programs.
Recommended Action to Begin Implementing the
Strategy: Form the initial task force to more
thoroughly identify what services are available
currently and who is providing them.
Return Expected for Our Region: Enhanced current
programs expanded to fill in the gaps to provide
a safety net for all youth, benefiting youth,
adults, parents, agencies, business and the
community
Other Strategies to Accomplish Our Goal:
Develop a stable source of funding for youth
education and activities.
Create youth leadership forums for children from
mid-elementary school on up.
Community leaders should develop a comprehensive
public campaign to encourage adults to volunteer
their time and resources in specific programs
for youth development.
5. Crime, Drugs and Public Safety
Our Goal: A region that provides a safe,
drug-free, low crime environment for all
residents, with schools and religious
institutions serving as a catalyst, with
improved police recruiting, training and
performance, with increased county fire
protection (enhanced by the use of technology),
and with increased public and traffic safety.
Recommended Strategy: Form an advisory panel
composed of a good cross section of regional
citizens (church, business, etc.) to meet on a
regular basis with elected and civic leaders to
offer advice on the needs of the community, and
in turn, the leaders can get the assistance of
the citizens on issues of importance.
Recommended Action to Begin Implementing the
Strategy: Work with the chambers of commerce to
organize an initial meeting and take the
initiative to bring in government, civic and
religious leaders. Leadership organizations,
such as Leadership Montgomery, can play an
important role in selecting civic leaders for
the first meeting.
Return Expected for Our Region: Better line of
communication between citizens and their civic
and government officials concerning important
issues, benefiting the entire region with a
substantially improved quality of life.
Other Strategies to Accomplish Our Goal:
Form a coalition of religious institutions and
community organizations to coordinate and
implement a program for neighborhood centers
that have family programs (drug awareness,
public safety, day care, etc.)
Increase revenues to provide better pay,
retirement benefits, better working conditions,
in order to recruit and retain more qualified
police officers; part of the training should
focus on diversity and human relations skills.
Increase drug and alcohol treatment programs for
indigent youth and adults in the region.
Provide a better communications system among
police agencies in the region.
6. Seniors
Our Goal: A region that assures a good quality
of life for its seniors by incorporating a
continuum of care that is socially, medically
and psychologically supportive, with safe
housing, necessary services and economic
support.
Recommended Strategy: Establish comprehensive
senior centers for recreation, medical needs,
human services, and distribution of information
on what services are available, who coordinates
them and for whom they are available.
Recommended Action to Begin Implementing the
Strategy: Schedule and host the first
coordinating council meeting.
Return Expected for Our Region: A better quality
of life for seniors, their families,
communities, governments
Other Strategies to Accomplish Our Goal:
Build on existing agencies that serve the aging
by providing a continuum of care for the elderly
in each area of this goal.
Provide community supported transportation for
industrial recruitment, commercial/retail
development and government officials concerning
important issues, benefiting the entire region
with a substantially improved quality of life.
