Greensburg event Saturday hopes to connect community members and local police

A Unity in the Community rally scheduled for Saturday in Greensburg will work to bridge the gap between community members and local police.

The Bridging the Gap event will bring together speakers and organizations like Westmoreland Community Action; Pennsylvania State Police; Ray of Hope, a suicide prevention organization, and more.

“It’s so important to me that we are working together to bridge the gap,” said organizer Ronel Baccus. “I organize these events so the community can hear from different perspectives and highlight how we need to come together to make change here in Westmoreland County.”

The goal of the event is to create open dialogue between the community and police officers.

The event will run from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. at New Creation Family Worship Center.

Saturday’s event will feature a panel discussion, free food, resource tables and entertainment. In addition, a food drive will take place that will be used for Thanksgiving meals.

It’s part of the Unity in the Community rallies that have taken place at Greensburg’s St. Clair Park this year, each with the goal of highlighting different social issues.

In June, organizers held a rally to mark Juneteenth, the commemoration of June 19, 1865, the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news the Civil War was over and that enslaved people were freed under the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862. It was hosted in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Conference of the NAACP.

Another rally was held in September, where speakers emphasized the need to work together on a broad front to improve conditions for all people, regardless of race, gender and income status. In addition, speakers said people must take personal responsibility, have a deeply felt commitment and be active to ensure basic human rights, including voting.

In October, organizers held a Breaking the Cycle event aimed at bringing awareness to domestic violence. Speakers included NAACP state President Ken Huston and organizations including Westmoreland Community Action, Sages Army and Ray of Hope.