By By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE
Staff Writer
The City of Washington’s Human Relations Council can’t solve everyone’s problems, but it’s there to listen and help when it can, Rick Gagliano told the Beaufort County Democratic Women on Wednesday evening.
“We make noise,” said Gagliano, vice chairman of the HRC. “We see people, we talk to people.”
Gagliano was substituting for HRC Chairwoman Evelyne Roberson, who was ill.
In remarks to club guests and members, he quoted from the council’s mission statement, saying the city-appointed body is there to “promote social and economic equality in the community, working with local government and other resources.”
The HRC convenes at 6:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month in the second-floor chambers of the Washington City Council at City Hall, he said.
The HRC’s meetings are open to the public, said Gagliano, who encouraged attendees to make their presence known at those sessions.
“We won’t get you out of jail or pay your bills, but we’ll help you out,” Gagliano told the club.
Recently, the HRC promoted Brotherhood and Sisterhood Week, culminating in the Taste of Washington, a free event featuring food from different cultures and restaurants around Washington, he related.
Three years ago, the HRC invited local pastors to visit other churches in a pulpit exchange, he shared.
Gagliano said the council also has supported Project Next Step, which has helped get young people off the streets, and has worked with the Washington Police Department to build relationships in crime-troubled communities.
“We’re all human beings,” he said.
Gagliano, a former candidate for Washington mayor, was introduced by Delores Lee, president of the Democratic Women.
Later, the club held a fashion show, but not before officers gave a plaque to Eltha Booth in honor of the immediate past president’s service.
The club was informed that the Beaufort County Democratic Party will use a phone bank to reach out to voters from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Aug. 7 at Beaufort County Democratic Party headquarters on Market Street in Washington.