Fall 2019 E-Newsletter

Fall 2019 e-newsletter

HRAP Kicks Off Its 2019/2020 Year!

On September 25 ^th , 2019, students and their families gathered for our HRAP Kick-Off at the OC Human Relations office. This year we’re excited that our HRAP cohort includes 26 youth who attend 13 different schools throughout Orange County. The Human Relations Ambassadors Program (HRAP) is a year-long internship designed to provide advanced human relations training to a diverse group of Orange County youth. We’re thrilled to have such a diverse group of youth who are committed to becoming trained in advanced human relations and are ready to take action.

Learn More About HRAP

Constructive Conflict Engagement Skills Training

Learn more about our trainings

Our Dispute Resolution Team is excited to offer a new training series that provides individuals the tools to turn conflict situations into a positive experience while de-escalating high conflict situations.

This 5-part series explores the nature of conflict and provides opportunities to learn and practice positive conflict resolution skills. Each of the 5 sessions has a specific focus with educational materials, activities, and useful take-aways provided.

New Staff Join DRP Team

The Dispute Resolution Team is very excited about the new staff members who have joined our team in the last quarter. Each of these staff members bring a diverse set of skills that will enhance the quality of our programming and improve our ability to provide Orange County residents with an opportunity to resolve conflicts in a more peaceful manner.

Recent additions include Britney Weller , Alicia Christie and Victor Pham. They join our seasoned staff members, Peko Gomis , Lenora Forschner , and Kathy Shimizu , to create a dynamic team of very skilled conflict resolution specialists who are looking forward to accomplishing great things together.

Read more about the DRP team

2018 Hate Crime Report Released

Gideon Bernstein and Jeanne Pepper Bernstein, the parents of Blaze Bernstein, with Norma Lopez, executive director of the O.C. Human Relations Commission. (Scott Smeltzer / LA Times photographer)

Again this year we partnered with the County of Orange for the release of the 2018 Hate Crime Report. For the fourth year in a row we saw an increase in both hate crimes and incidents in our county. I believe this rise in hate crime and hate incidents is partly a reflection of the divisions in our nation. We have increasingly dehumanized and degraded people who don’t look like us or share our values and viewpoints. When we stop seeing our fellow Americans as human it makes the leap to violence more likely. We have seen a growing number of examples of the deadly combination of hate and violence internationally and nationally, Christchurch and El Paso most notably, which have also highlighted the ease of access to hateful ideas online that may also promote and glorify violence.

Excerpt of statement by Alison Edwards, OC Human Relations CEO

Learn More About the 2018 Hate Crime Report

kNOwHATE Campaign Expands California-wide

As part of the statewide expansion of the kNOwHATE campaign, OC Human Relations will partner with 5 regional organizations to offer a no-cost two-day training on the kNOwHATE toolkit. The kNOwHATE toolkit is geared towards educators and youth service providers interested in a school-wide implementation model to address and promote the prevention of hate and hate group affiliations among youth in California. If your organization is interested in hosting this training for your region, please contact Seema Shah for more information at 714.480.6578 or seema@ochumanrelations.org . No cost for the first 5 organizations to book by Fall 2019.

UPCOMING EVENTS

40-hour Divorce Mediation Training - Begins November 7

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Walk In My Shoes High School Youth Conference - November 8

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40-hour Basic Mediation Training - Begins January 16

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