The forum will be held Thursday, November 15th, from 5-7 p.m.
at the Friendship Central School Auditorium. All county residents are
encouraged to attend.
The forum will host a panel of experts to include those who
work or live with this issue on a regular basis and have a perspective unique
to their experience, whether it be through actually surviving homelessness or
by working to help those that are impacted by housing issues. Our panelists will include experts on
poverty, low-income housing, housing and mental health, aging population needs,
education and veterans services. Each will speak for about 3-5 minutes and then
questions and comments from the audience will be heard.
In addition to community concerns about the affordability
and availability of safe housing for everyone, we will also look at housing
issues that impact our neighborhoods, such as blight and concerns for
homeowners who are struggling with upkeep due to costs or other issues.
Our intent is to get a better understanding of how these
conditions are impacting Allegany County residents, youth, veterans, educators,
health care and service providers and policy makers. ACCORD’s Executive Director
stated, ‘Homelessness is a serious and generally invisible problem in our
communities. We see people moving frequently, staying with friends and families
in overcrowded conditions and often, living in an unsafe environment because
they have no money for repairs or even the means for basic upkeep.”
For more information, visit ACCORD Corporations Facebook
page, go to www.accordcorp.org. or call Lesley Gooch-Christman, Executive
Director at 585-268-8204.
