In November, 2016, the SUNA steering committee leadership met with the leadership from the Lierman and East Urbana neighborhood associations (LNAC and HEUNA), because our three Urbana neighborhoods have been experiencing increased gun violence.  Following are some common goals that we hope to address:

• Improve communication among the various Urbana neighborhoods
• Show support for each other. If someone from one Urbana neighborhood addresses a problem at a city council meeting, we should all attend and show support.
• Resume the Mayor’s Neighborhood Safety Task Force and hold regularly scheduled meetings. (This group has not met since April 2013.)
• Create a communication vehicle to let renters know their rights.
• Resume a meeting structure with landlords so they know their obligations to their tenants, the neighborhood, and the community.
• Require all owners of multiple housing units to have working security cameras and working security lighting.
• Work with code enforcement to take care of problems that can easily be eliminated, such as litter and abandoned vehicles.
• Make sure absentee landlords--not just managers--are aware of problems.
• Work with The Urbana Police Department so that citizens can express concern about a specific problem without having a squad car respond to the home of the reporting person.  Perhaps department procedure would allow a phone call from an officer. We’re not talking about a victim reporting a crime; we’re talking about neighborhood situations where a resident has information about a problem that could help the police.
• Be informed about Urbana’s commissions and divisions and know their responsibilities.  It is not always necessary to go to the city council with a problem. Sometimes it is more effective to go to a specific board or commission.
• Encourage our residents to be watchful and to participate in their neighborhood.