FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2023
Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville, and UVA Announce Community Safety Working Group
Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville, and the University of Virginia are undertaking a joint effort to convene local partners in a working group to develop recommendations for short- and medium-term measures that create tangible impact in the areas of mental and behavioral health, youth programming, and public safety agency coordination, in an effort to enhance community safety and reduce gun violence in our community. The working group will meet for as long as they produce actionable ideas and identify pathways for implementation.
Facilitated by UVA’s Equity Center and co-chaired by UVA and community representatives, the working group will include representation from the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, UVA, nonprofit organizations, and other groups from across the community.
The Working Group will deliver its recommendations to Albemarle County’s Executive’s Office, the City of Charlottesville's Interim City Manager, and the UVA President’s Council on UVA-Community Partnerships.
“The Community Safety Working Group is an example of durable partnerships in action – where the University is bringing research and analysis resources to the table and pairing that with local data from the County and the City and experiences of individuals and organizations working in the community,” shared Jeff Richardson, Albemarle County Executive.
“The collaboration between Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and the University is critically important in finding solutions and resources to address public safety concerns in our community," added Michael C. Rogers, Charlottesville Interim City Manager. “The incidents that have occurred have no jurisdictional boundaries, so a total community approach is needed.”
The President’s Council for UVA-Community Partnerships website will house information related to the working group.
