Acton-Boxborough United Way — Community Forums

• ABUW Community Forums
• Forum Chat Room

The ABUW’s series of Community Forums are open discussion sessions where key leaders — agency representatives, school and town officials, clergy and other constituents — gather to discuss priority concerns facing area residents.
These events focus on raising awareness of issues, brainstorming to identify collaborative solutions, and addressing common concerns. An equally compelling result of these Forums is the vital networking, sharing of ideas and concerns, referral information, and connections to other resources that takes place among the participants.
After a three year hiatus, the Forums were revived and the first was held in June 2004. This session brought old and new participants back to the table to review the list of priority issues identified in the ABUW’s 2001 community assessment, and to identify those issues that had surfaced in more recent months. From this meeting, it was clear that the Community Forums needed to continue on a regular basis.
Another, held in September of 2004, was focused on specific issues and moving forward with plans to address the lack of local transportation for seniors, immigrant families and low-income households. Additional time was spent discussing the myriad of challenges that immigrant families face — language barriers, cultural conflicts, labor issues and more — and a plan was put in motionto make that another priority agenda item for future Forums.

Subsequently, a forum was held in January of 2005 to discuss the local transportation challenges, with a focus on the obstacles faced by vulnerable populations - senior citizens, immigrants, youth aged 12-16, people with disabilities, etc. A Task Force was assembled from that Forum, which subsequently led to a town-led initiative with two primary populations - those vulnerable folks mentioned above, and commuter needs.

The Forum on Immigrant Issues was held in the fall of 2006 with many representatives who both serve that population, or who seek more information about what is available. Here

The most recent forum was held in November of 2007, with an open agenda for attendees to bring their most pressing concerns to the table. Many different issues were raised, with a high priority being placed on the need for a centralized social services coordinator. This discussion led to the formation of another Task Force, which succeeded in bring a proposal forth to the Town of Acton's elected leaders, and ultimately to the spring 2008 Town Meeting. Their efforts resulted in the approval of a proposal for a Community Social Services Coordinator for the Town of Acton, and the expectation at this writing is that a hire will be made sometime during the course of the fall of 2008 / early winter of 2009!

For updated information about those events, please check back to this website, or send an email to .

Click here to read the Minutes from previously held forums:

June 2004 Forum

September 2004 Forum

Transportation Forum - January 2005

Immigrant Issues Forum - October 2006

November 2007 Forum