Area leaders gathered at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown on Thursday to discuss ways to improve the community, particularly for young people.

The discussion came at the United Way of the Laurel Highlands campaign kickoff, called Community Needs Assessment.

Bill McKinney, president of the United Way branch, which serves Cambria and Somerset counties, said the meeting was about zeroing in on what the community needs and how local leaders can make improvements.

Leaders from organizations like the Alternative Community Resource Program and educational institutions like the Greater Johnstown School District were on hand to hear what's going in the area and talk about ways to better children and their families.


McKinney said there are a few things leaders learned from the assessment that he considers to be issues. One is "disengaged parenting," which he said is becoming more of a problem, but there are two more issues leaders say need to be addressed.

"Drug and alcohol abuse and actually early childhood development. We see a lot of issues with our youth not being ready for school, so these are some of the areas that we need to focus heavily on in the future" he said.

McKinney further said the community's help is also always needed and it doesn't have to be monetary donations. He said advocacy is just as important, as well as having more people involved and volunteering in programs and services.