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Voluntary ConcordSafe awareness campaign proposed as interim step toward town reporting system
Summary
A DEI Commission member proposed 'ConcordSafe' as a brand and landing page to raise awareness and guide residents to existing reporting options while the town develops a formal bias-reporting system; members stressed coordination, clear messaging, and pairing reporting with follow-up.
Members of the Bias and Hate Incident Reporting Work Group discussed an interim public-awareness campaign called ConcordSafe to increase awareness of where residents can report bias and hate incidents while the town builds a formal reporting system.
Brian Farber, a member of the DEI Commission, described ConcordSafe as a ‘‘brand and rallying point, not a formal reporting system,’’ with ConcordSafe.org redirecting to ConcordMA.gov. He said the campaign would provide a simple landing page and QR-coded stickers linking to resources, emphasize that emergencies should be reported to 911, and prioritize internal rollout for town offices and schools before broader community distribution to businesses and partners.
Paul Boehm and other members welcomed an interim, low‑barrier entry point but repeatedly emphasized that awareness alone is not sufficient: they urged coordination across town departments, the Select Board and the DEI Commission to ensure a future system includes response and accountability. Boehm described the initiative as a pilot to "explore key questions around bias and hate reporting and to inform a future unified reporting system." Several members raised concerns about the ConcordSafe name and suggested aligning the effort with the existing #YouBelongInConcord initiative, which organizers said may be better received by businesses and already contains elements the DEI Commission had developed previously.
The group discussed outreach tactics that include student leadership, library and business partnerships, and printed or sticker QR codes directing users to the landing page. Members stressed that the campaign should both raise awareness of reporting options and create conditions for trust by pairing any reporting mechanism with clear follow-up, education and prevention efforts.
No formal action was taken to adopt ConcordSafe; members agreed to continue coordination and to explore integrating the campaign with You Belong In Concord.
