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Danvers residents raise bullying concerns; committee weighs a crisis-response team
Summary
Residents told the Human Rights and Inclusion Committee that adult and youth bullying is worsening; the Accessibility Commission proposed a crisis-response approach to coordinate faster, more nimble town responses to incidents, and volunteers offered communications and outreach support.
The Town of Danvers Human Rights and Inclusion Committee spent a significant portion of its Dec. 19 meeting on community concerns about bullying and a proposal to create a coordinated crisis-response capability.
At the start of public comment, Ellen Graham of Precinct 4 urged the committee to help address what she called “racist bullies” in the community and said she had asked the Select Board to include an HRIC representative on the town manager selection subcommittee. Lisa Gallant described escalating youth bullying affecting schoolchildren and asked what citizens can do to help.
Christie Fair, chair of the Accessibility Commission, presented a draft statement the commission prepared in response to several incidents and proposed forming a small crisis-response team drawing from the Accessibility Commission and HRIC. “Rapid’s not the right term,” Fair said, clarifying that she meant a crisis-response approach designed to act in days rather than the weeks or months typical of monthly commission schedules.
Committee members agreed on the need for deliberation and consultation in some cases. Dr. Desmond cautioned that certain matters “require deliberation and consultation and negotiation,” and the group discussed building a response that balances timeliness with careful review.
A member of the public with a background in crisis communications offered volunteer support and said template-based communications could make a timely response feasible without overburdening committee members. The chair proposed identifying one to two HRIC volunteers after Jan. 1 to work with the Accessibility Commission and any outside volunteers to flesh out the plan.
The committee did not adopt formal policy at the meeting. Members asked staff and commissioners to research other municipal models, consider volunteers and task-force structures, and return with a more developed proposal for implementation and oversight.
Next steps: committee members plan to recruit volunteers, explore model programs, and schedule follow-up work early in the new year.
