Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker Announces Wilmington HOPE Commission Panel of 25 Executive Committee Members and Associated Subcommittee Members Will Develop 'Wilmington Plan' to Address Societal Issues Related to Criminal and Violent Behavior.

Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker today announced the leadership and membership of the Wilmington HOPE Commission, which he established to identify, review, and act on the social and community issues related to instances of crime and/or violence in some areas of the City. In naming the new Commission today, Mayor Baker said he is following through on his belief that the root causes of crime and violence can only be addressed through a combination of effective law enforcement and substantive solutions to the community and social issues that contribute to criminal and violent behavior.

In a Mayoral Executive Order establishing the Wilmington HOPE Commission, Mayor Baker charges the 25-member Executive Committee of the Commission and six associated subcommittees with reviewing and assessing the myriad of social service, educational, recreational, and cultural programs available to City residents and developing a 'Wilmington Plan' to deliver those services and programs in a more effective, comprehensive, and targeted fashion. The Mayor said the goal is to improve coordination and cooperation among the service providers, reduce duplication of effort, and provide a foundation of service delivery that can help to reduce instances of crime and violence.

The title of the Commission is based on the word 'hope' which, according to Roget's Thesaurus, is a noun that expresses the concepts of expectation, optimism, anticipation, faith, and hopefulness. Mayor Baker said the word 'hope' is also the opposite of despair and should signal to those caught up in crime and violence, largely due to drugs, and to those who are the victims of crime and violence, that there is great hope that the Commission can propose changes to make their lives better and improve the community as a whole.