Public to debate county plan for human services

Nothing concrete has been decided, but leaders want a deeper conversation.

By Mark Price
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Posted: Wednesday, Sep. 02, 2009

The idea of creating a countywide “strategic plan” for human services will be tossed out for full public debate Thursday at a 7 p.m. hearing scheduled at University Park Baptist Church.

Organizers want to know if the public thinks such a plan is necessary and, if so, how to begin work on it.

It's a concept that was first broached at a similar July public hearing, also co-sponsored by Mecklenburg Ministries, the Community Building Initiative and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee.

Crowd response was so overwhelmingly positive to the idea that elected officials later discussed the possibilities of creating a strategic plan. Nothing concrete has been decided, however.

“We want to keep the question alive and have deeper conversation,” said Maria Hanlin of Mecklenburg Ministries. “We're trying to ask the questions of what is best for our community. We don't have the answers, but we hope people in the room will.”

Among the questions to be considered, she says: “Do we need a coordinated plan for the delivery of human services? What is currently under way? How do we connect the dots? Who do we look to for leadership?”

Scheduled panelists are Taylor Batten, the Observer's editorial page editor; Brett Loftis, executive director of the Council for Children's Rights; Dana McDonald of University Park Baptist Church; Pat Mumford, director of Neighborhood and & Business Services for the city of Charlotte; and Mary Wilson, director of the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services.

Thursday's meeting is from 7 to 9 p.m. at University Park Baptist Church, 6029 Beatties Ford Road. It is being jointly sponsored by the Community Building Initiative.

Moderating the event will be Bob Morgan, president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, and Willie Ratchford, executive director of the Community Relations Committee.

To sign up for the meeting or for more details, contact Renee Thompson at 704-336-2424 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .nc.us.