Conference brings N. Charleston residents together to address community issues

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A local organization hosted an event Saturday for community members to get together and discuss common problems in the area and find solutions as a group.

Men and Women Empowerment Conference, hosted by Positive Vibes Ronjanae Smith, brought dozens of North Charleston residents together to talk about issues they have with the school district, gun safety, keeping children safe and violence in the community.

“One of the issues that we faced in our community is community apathy,” Community advocate Pastor Thomas Dixon says. “That our community does not get up and get involved in the issues that really affect them every day.”

A panel of community leaders helped facilitate the discussion with one member representing gun violence prevention, an education advocate, community leader and political advocate.

Not just discussing problems, but more importantly solutions were at the top of their list. Ronald Smith, Positive Vibes Ronjanae Smith Founder, tried to focus on specific actions they can take.

“They [the community] want to know solutions. ‘What can we change? What can we make happen?’” Smith says. “The biggest solution that we came up with today was for people to keep their new car doors locked was number one, more of us going into the schools was number two and talking to the kids that need our help.”

The conference was the first of its kind and the group plans to host another in the fall.

“Whatever programs is necessary that our community is doing everything that it can in order to ensure that our communities are safe, that our communities thrive and that our communities are being taken care of by those who have been elected to govern us,” Dixon says. “So in every aspect, we’re calling on the community now to get up and get involved so that we can actually be that beloved community.”

They hope they can come together as a village to address the issues in their community and use solutions that actually work.

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