By Mia Khatib
RALEIGH — There are many different neighborhoods and communities across the city, but everyone has similar desires for community safety.
Raleigh residents united at Southeast Raleigh YMCA Jan. 25 to discuss what issues their communities are facing and how they can band together to bring change.
“Part of our life, making you feel safe, is knowing everything that’s going on. That means knowing your neighbors, knowing who’s across the street and knowing what’s going on around you,” Bishop Clarence McClain said at the community speak out, hosted by Refund Raleigh. “A lot of the problems you’re experiencing, not only in your neighborhood but neighborhoods around, is because people are not talking.”
Some recurring concerns included rising housing costs and taxes, over and selective policing, unsafe road infrastructure, food deserts, gun violence, littering and more. Residents expressed a need for more affordable and dignified housing, livable wages and job opportunities, safe and green community spaces, speed bumps and sidewalks, and mental health services.