Council explores a human-relations forum to address social division and community cohesion

The council received a staff update about an ad hoc Human Relations group convened in 2024 to identify social divisions and potential community-building steps and offered preliminary direction to follow up with stakeholders.

Staff told the council that 19 community members and city staff met in 2024 to consider themes including social division and polarization, lack of community cohesion, discrimination and exclusion, mental-health and education. Staff recommended outreach to a broad set of community organizations — faith groups, student representatives, disability advocates, immigrant-community organizations and others — and suggested working with the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission on best practices and potential mentorship.

Why it matters: Council members expressed different views about structure and scope. Some urged a city-convened, ongoing forum that could coordinate outreach, education and targeted campaigns (for example, anti-hate or disinformation responses). Others cautioned against creating an additional formal commission or bureaucracy and proposed inviting the County Human Relations director to brief the council on models and deliverables.

Council direction: The council asked staff to consult with the County Human Relations Commission for suggestions, to broaden outreach invitations and to return with a plan that clarifies purpose, membership selection, meeting cadence and expected deliverables (public education, youth programs, hate-crime resources). Several council members emphasized the need to include Glendale Unified School District and Glendale Community College representatives and to ensure the group’s membership and outreach are broadly inclusive.

Ending: Staff will bring back the recommended engagement plan, including a proposal for how a forum would be staffed, resourced and evaluated.