Local health agencies are co-hosting a county commission candidate forum to discuss mental health and incarceration in Douglas County. The forum will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St.
The forum is open to the public and will give those in attendance an opportunity to hear more in-depth information on these complex topics.
County commission candidates Jesse Brinson Jr. and Nancy Thellman, of the 2nd District, and Bassem Chahine and Michelle Derusseau, of the 3rd District, will speak. The moderator will be Mark McCormick, Kansas Leadership Center alumnus and executive director of The Kansas African American Museum in Wichita.
With tens of millions of dollars on the line and thousands of taxpayers affected, Douglas County is at a crossroads. In the next several months, community leaders will be influencing decisions about a proposed jail expansion and mental health crisis center, which together constitute the biggest capital investment in Douglas County for many years to come. The next county commission will be evaluating these projects during the next term and their decisions will impact our community’s public safety, public health and fiscal health.
Heartland Community Health Center, Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, Lawrence Memorial Hospital, Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, Health Care Access, DCCCA and Douglas County Dental Clinic will be co-hosting the forum.