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Our Mission
What is the ABTF? The Anti-Bias Task Force of the Town of Southampton (“ABTF”) was established, in 1995 by resolution of the Town Board, as an advisory committee of the Town. Its mission is to help facilitate dialog among diverse parties to further equal opportunities, fair play and social justice for all in our community. The ABTF works with community, educational, business and secular leadership, as well as with residents, to develop and implement ways to prevent and combat prejudice, racism and discrimination. The ABTF seeks ways to bring people together to learn about the true richness of our community and the benefits of working and living together. What can you do? Join a committee. The ABTF has several committees that are open to all and that focus on specific areas such as education, legislative and government, communications and outreach, and special projects. There are no fees or dues. How does the ABTF Function? Members are appointed by the Town once each calendar year. Everyone else is welcome and can participate at monthly meetings, which are held at 10AM –Noon on the first Monday of each month at Town Hall, lower level conference room (See the SH Press for announcements or go to www.abtf.org for a calendar of events, committee chairs and contact information). Various Town and other officials will attend meetings from time to time. Committee chairs and other active members meet in executive session once a month to review tasks, goals, grievances and other matters. Annually, a nominating committee reviews candidates for chair positions. How do we deal with grievances? From time to time people want an extra-judicial resolution of a dispute or incident. This is an important part of our role and where possible we try to bring parties together for meaningful dialogue. Incidents that the ABTF may be asked to address include: biased comments in school or emails, neighborhood disputes, bias in housing, bias related to work, age, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender and sexual orientation. Anyone can contact the ABTF’s HELPLINE at 631-283-6000, ext. 1922 from 8AM-4PM or at www.abtf.org. An ABTF committee reviews all submitted Incident Reports and follows up with the grievant. You can initiate a grievance in confidence, recognizing that if you wish to proceed after the ABTF officially accepts the grievance, it will attempt to speak with the other party/side of the incident. Other Matters: There are many organizations in the Town, County and NY State that provide assistance for a whole host of matters including discrimination in employment or housing, bias crimes, emergency shelter and emergency support. A list of many such organizations can be found on our web site, www.abtf.org . For more information or questions please call our Help line or email us at abtf@southamptontown.ny.gov . |
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