The York City Human Relations Commission (YCHRC) is mandated to monitor tension and bias incidents in the community and to report them to local, state and federal agencies.

A bias-related incident is when an action taken by a person or group is perceived to be malicious toward another person, or group based on bias or prejudice relating to such characteristics as actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation,
gender, age, or gender identity or expression or any situation in which intergroup tensions exists based on such group characteristics.

In addition to monitoring, and reporting these types of activities, the YCHRC works with community groups, civil rights organizations, faith communities, schools, and civic associations to address these issues in a positive way for the community.

To accomplish our purpose, the YCHRC builds cooperative relationships, shares information and resources, and coordinates incident response with law enforcement and community agents. The Commission also formulates effective strategies that are offered to schools and communities through technical assistance.
This includes programs like conflict resolution, ethnic and cultural diversity issues, racism, community dialogues, hate groups and more.

The YCHRC also maintains a resource library with books, videos and training materials on issues like race, religions, the holocaust, dealing with disabilities, cultural diversity, equal employment, fair housing, sexual orientation and more. Please contact the Commission for a copy of the resource list, or stop by the office to browse through the available materials. All resource materials are available for check out to the public.