About CRN

Who Are We?

The Community Responders Network (CRN) is a grassroots coalition committed to confronting and preventing incidents of bias in Central PA.

We all know that bias and intolerance happens in our communities, but sometimes it is difficult to know how best to respond to or prevent it.

In 2008, a concerned group of individuals came together following an incident targeting a local Muslim family. These individuals established the Community Responders Network (CRN) to ensure future targets received support for addressing bias incidents.

While our initial focus was on dealing with the immediate impact of bias incidents, our work has come to take a dual approach. We focus on both responding to incidents that occur and taking pro-active steps to prevent incidents of bias.

Today, our membership represents individuals from a diverse group of faith communities, ethnic backgrounds, nationalities, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and government entities working together to further community solidarity and unity.

The Community Responders Network respects the intersectionality of our mission and works closely with individuals and organizations in our community to advice us of what is happening and what is needed from CRN.

We also work closely with agencies like the PA Human Relations Commission, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League to inform them of bias incidents so that they can track them and take any necessary actions.

What Do We Do?

Our work has a dual approach, focused on both responding to incidents AND working to prevent them.

  1. Strategies for Community Action Committee- advise CRN activities to expand community dialogue and protect the safety, respect and dignity of all.
  2. Response Team- develops and implements action plans in response to incidents of bias in Central PA.
  3. Prevention & Education Team- develops and implements programs to address the root causes of bias through education.
  4. Building Bridges Team- engages additional communities in common ground discussion and participation to broaden and deepen support of CRN's mission.