Amplify Community Consulting is thrilled to be leading the Reimagine Public Safety Community Meeting Facilitation for Asheville NC , an effort prompted by the months long community conversations calling on the City of Asheville to Defund the Police. This community engagement effort will allow the City to rebuild trust sparked by the racial injustice happening in Asheville and across the country. The community’s feedback will be used to influence decisions on divesting and reinvesting funds from the City’s public safety services and implement a 9 month budget solution.

We are partnering with Glenn Thomas of Leadership Matters Group to conduct this work. And our team was selected alongside Raleigh community leader Shemekka Ebony.

“People are experiencing and expressing valid feelings of sadness and anger, fear and uncertainty,” Campbell said. “They look to local government to calm their fears and provide resources to address their issues and concerns. Unfortunately, we can’t always move as fast as people would like us to, given the complexity of the issues and available resources. But we want to reassure the community that we hear you and commit to working with you for as long as it takes to make our city better.” - City Manager Debra Campbell at August 25th Council Meeting.

“Blackness and being poor is not a monolith,” Smith said. “Everyone has a different experience and everyone has different needs. We’re going to have to be very specific to what the people in Asheville need, and we may not get that by September. But I’m telling us to be patient with one another and know that we’re all in this together.” - Asheville City Councilmember Council member Sheneika Smith.

Asheville’s forward thinking action to identify and connect with their residents in this way offers an incredible opportunity for us to create an experience that brings people together.

Read more about Reimagining Public Safety and learn about the upcoming community meetings here: AshevilleNC.gov