Top Stories for Nov. 22, 2023

Mecklenburg County provides this weekly rundown of top stories from the Board of County Commissioners meetings from the Public Information Department’s newsroom. The Board met on Tuesday, Nov. 21. The agenda is available online. View the meeting at Watch.MeckNC.gov. The Board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. 

1. World AIDS Day: Dec. 1, 2023, marks 35 years of World AIDS Day. On Tuesday, the Board adopted a proclamation to honor decades of HIV/AIDS medical research, increased access to treatment and prevention, and a broader understanding of the virus. Mecklenburg County’s HIV/AIDS care efforts focus on diagnosis, treatment, prevention and response. In 2023, Mecklenburg County Public Health launched the Let’s Get Checked initiative that provides free HIV self-testing. Another key initiative is the Ryan White program, which funds medical and support services for eligible people living with HIV.   

2. Everybody Counts Charlotte: The Board has proclaimed November as National Homeless Awareness Month, and preparations are underway for the Point-in-Time Count. The annual count will be held Jan. 25, 2024, and Mecklenburg County is seeking volunteers to help complete surveys with people experiencing homelessness. Two information sessions are scheduled for prospective volunteers on Dec. 5 and Dec. 13. Residents can also donate items to help people sleeping outside until housing is secured. Last year, 1,916 people were counted, including 171 families, 106 youth, and 288 people sleeping outside.  Learn more using the Housing and Homelessness Dashboard. 

3. Honoring First Responders: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) recognized first responders and their outstanding work with people experiencing a mental health crisis. Each award recipient represents critical and impactful service, and each organization represents an invaluable contribution to our community. The team is a community collaboration between law enforcement, mental health agencies, consumers and their family members, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Charlotte, and Central Piedmont Community College. CIT was developed for law enforcement officers who are frequently first responders for persons in crisis with a serious mental illness.  

4. WATCH: Moving a School to Save Our History: As the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, it is also celebrating the painstaking work that went into moving the historic Siloam School. The school completed a nearly 10-mile journey to a new location on the campus of the Charlotte Museum of History, where it is now being restored into a community resource and center for education. The Siloam School is one of Mecklenburg County’s oldest remaining African American schoolhouses. Built in the 1920s, the building was designated a Historical Landmark in 2006 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The restoration will include exhibits about the 20th century Black experience and the region’s history of racial discrimination and injustice. Watch a video on the relocation of the Siloam School below. 

5. Happy Thanksgiving! Most Mecklenburg County offices and services will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 23 and Friday, Nov. 24.