“I think everyone agrees the city needs to move forward. We don’t need to be stuck in whatever rut we seem to be in right now,” said Rev. Sylvia King from the Christ Centered Community Church in Johnstown.

Rev. Sylvia King wants to find solutions for problems facing the greater Johnstown area.

That’s why she helped organize a Citizen’s Talk panel set for Tuesday night, where community members can get answers to their questions on a  variety of issues: blight, homelessness, drugs, crime, sewage issues and youth outreach.

Organizers of the panel said anyone from the greater Johnstown community is welcome to attend.

“A lot of us leaders get stuck in the same problems everyday, day in and day out. So we want to look outside the box also,” said Johnstown Police Captain Chad Miller.

Miller is on the panel along with other local and state leaders from the Johnstown Housing Authority, Greater Johnstown School District and the Cambria County Commissioners. 

He said not every question will have an easy answer, but working together with the community is key to addressing the problems.

“That’s what we want to figure out: what problems the citizens have, what issues the citizens see in the different communities, and what they can bring to us to help us see so we can try to collaborate together and help the greater Johnstown area,” Capt. Miller said.

Rev. King said, at the very least, this will be a chance for people in the community to hear from city leaders what’s being done to better the area.

“Oftentimes, I think people need to hear what efforts are taking place in order for us to come out of where we are at. Trouble don’t last always,” said Rev. King. 

The Greater Johnstown United Neighborhoods is hosting the panel from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, at the Christ Centered Community Church on Somerset Street in Johnstown.