COMMENTARY ON RIGHTS : Human Relations Panel Embraces a New Change, Challenge : Consolidation with the women’s commission is a natural fit. But survival will depend on community support.

The inevitable squeeze of diminishing resources and increasing needs has hit home in Orange County.

Last month, the County Board of Supervisors consolidated the Commission on the Status of Women and the Human Relations Commission, cutting the combined budget by 50%. This significant restructuring and cut in resources brought with it the board’s direction that the new commission become self-sufficient from county general funds. We accept this change as an opportunity to build an even stronger organization. After 12 years of service on the Human Relations Commission, I can say that responding to change has been our strength.

Consolidation of the Human Relations Commission and the Commission on the Status of women is a natural fit. The concerns of women are a priority to the Human Relations Commission. Our current chair and vice chair are women, as are seven of our current 10 commissioners. As a woman who has raised children, worked her entire life and struggled against the preconceived notions that limit a woman’s opportunities, I am eager to take on some of the special concerns of women.

Our commission is now responsible for the domestic violence issue. This has a special and tragic meaning in my life. In 1983, my mother was murdered by her second husband, who had beaten her on several previous occasions.

As a community, we must develop educational programs and support structures to help abused spouses, such as my mother, to escape from their abusive partners before violence occurs.

Our formerly suburban, predominantly white county is now a diverse urban milieu with a school population that is 50% minority.

This change is chronicled in such predominantly white neighborhoods as Sunny Hills in Fullerton where Korean-Americans now account for one of every four high school students; in Garden Grove where whites, Latinos and Asians are almost equally represented; in Santa Ana where white students account for less than 10% of the school district’s population; in the predominantly Vietnamese business district of Little Saigon, and throughout the county where more than 100 languages and dialects are spoken in homes.

This change brings with it troubling human relations issues such as: hate-related violence; discrimination in employment and housing based on race, religion, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, handicap and socioeconomic or marital status; interethnic conflict and violence in schools and neighborhoods; domestic violence; lack of affordable housing; lack of accessible child care; intolerance toward people who are different; anti-immigrant sentiment and fear of change.

With help from county funds, the Human Relations Commission and the Commission on the Status of Women have addressed these issues with an array of projects. But as county government anticipates having fewer discretionary funds, we must look toward other institutions, cities, businesses and individuals to help pay for these essential projects. Without help from the community, county residents face great risks.

If we fail to teach our children interethnic understanding, continued workplace discrimination will waste human potential and increase litigation.

If we fail to combat domestic violence, more women and elders will be injured or killed by their family members.

If we fail as a community to stand up to hatemongers, the limits of acceptable behavior will stretch to tolerate overt bigotry.

If we fail to help our police to serve emerging minority cultures, tension between police and the community will grow, causing more violence and expensive litigation.

If we fail to build shelters for minimum-wage workers, overcrowding and its attendant consequences will deplete our county’s economic vitality.

If we fail to stop labor abuse in its tracks, our community standards will decline, significant tax revenue will be lost and responsible employers will be undercut and undermined.

My employer, Pacific Bell, has long supported and underwritten commission efforts. The company has a commitment to create an Orange County where diverse people can live together in harmony. Now, all companies, school districts, cities and individuals must join hands with the commission to continue this essential mission.

If support is not forthcoming, the Human Relations Commission may cease to exist.

We must determine today what we can do to make a difference in Orange County’s future. We have a choice. Orange County could become a dying community of segregated and warring factions, or a vibrant and diverse world economy. An active, community-supported Human Relations Commission can play a major role in influencing which it will be.