News

At its Oct. 1 meeting, the Board of County Commissioners proclaimed October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Mecklenburg County, and Oct. 12 as Domestic Violence Survivors Day.

Mecklenburg County has been recognized with ten 2024 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo). 

More than 1,100 veterans and their families were served at a three-day open house held in Mecklenburg County in late August, approximately $1 million in benefits likely to pay out as a result.

Two middle school students represented Mecklenburg County as national ambassadors at the Do the Write Thing (DtWT) Recognition Summit July 20 - 24. The two students’ writing samples were chosen out of 933 entries from 30 Charlotte-Mecklenburg middle schools. Students submitted poems, essays, and stories about how acts of violence have affected them. Most students wrote about cyberbullying, school fights, or gun violence. Qui’Arie and Justice were invited to Washington D.C. alongside 52 other middle schoolers, as well as their guardians and teachers.  

Mecklenburg County Veterans Services and other partners are sponsoring Veterans Benefits Live: VA in My Town: Mecklenburg County. Aug. 22-24, the single-stop open house will help veterans and their families or caregivers navigate the many services available to them. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other partners will help attendees one-on-one with their benefits, claims, appeals and other concerns.  

Many veterans return from their service carrying trauma. That is why Mecklenburg County Veterans Services is taking part in the North Carolina Governor’s Challenge, to prevent and reduce suicide among transitioning service members, veterans, and their families. Veterans in Mecklenburg County and across the state are invited to become a “Battle Buddy,” someone who ensures you are never alone. The N.C. Governor Challenge training is free and open to anyone in the community who wants to grow as an expert companion to service members, veterans, caregivers, and their families. 

Stacy Lowry, director of Community Support Services, is one of 56 civic and community leaders from around North Carolina to graduate from Leadership North Carolina. The class comprised leaders from across the state and across sectors—government, business, nonprofit, education, etc. A graduation ceremony was held May 8 at the Charlotte Museum of History.

Mecklenburg County has completed a draft of a behavioral health strategic plan and invites residents to review and offer comments, especially people with lived experience, family members, and service providers. Behavioral health generally refers to mental health and substance use disorders, life stressors and crises, and stress-related physical symptoms. In recent years, Mecklenburg County has identified behavioral health as a priority for improving the well-being of residents. 

Two students have been named National Ambassadors of Mecklenburg County’s annual “Do the Write Thing” writing contest. Qui’arie Randall from Northeast Middle School and Justice Fields from Whitewater Middle School may represent their peers during the National Campaign to Stop Violence Recognition Week in Washington, D.C. this summer. An initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence, Do the Write Thing is a writing program for middle school students that engages students to think about how youth violence has affected their lives and to consider what they can do about it. 

One in three young people in the United States experiences abuse by a dating partner. In an average Mecklenburg County classroom, that’s more than 10 students.