ASHEVILLE – Self-Help Credit Union will host the third annual “Bringing it Home:  Building a Local Economy for Everyone” conference from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Oct. 7.

The conference’s main venue will be the YMI Cultural Center, 39 S. Market St., with some workshops next door at the Block off Biltmore and at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Connecting the Dots: Working Together Toward a Stronger, More Equitable Local Economy.” The keynote speaker will be Deena Hayes-Greene, managing director of the Racial Equity Institute in Greensboro.

Hayes-Greene specializes in trainings that include, according to a press release, “an in-depth analysis of systemic and historically constructed racism and its impact on contemporary systems and institutions across the U.S.”

She was elected to the Guilford County Board of Education in 2002 and re-elected in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2016 and also serves on the Ole Asheboro Street Neighborhood Association and the Guilford County Gang Commission, and as board chair at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum. She is a former human relations commissioner for the City of Greensboro.

Other workshops include:

• “Money, Money, Money,” with Dr. Joseph Fox, on finding grant money and other sources of revenue for your organization or business.

• “Developing a Successful Built Environment Project,” with a panel of experts in the field discussion how to carry out a large project involving real estate.

• “Our Youth, Our Future,” a panel of people working in organizations working with youth

• Two panels of local business owners who are people of color, one of African-American entrepreneurs, the other of Latino and Latina entrepreneurs.

Marisol Jimenez will open the conference with an interactive activity on “Establishing Group Norms, Common Language.”

Some of the other features will be performances by Word on the Street youth, a travelling exhibit from Duke University on “Trying to Get By. [Not] Making Ends Meet in NC” and networking sessions in which folks will be able to meet and interact with people who are engaged in both similar and different work.

The exhibit “Courage, Truth, Change: Inspiring and Engaging Youth Through Art and Story,” which features portraits of several local youth leaders, will also be on exhibit at the YMI during the conference.

Child care and transportation within the city limits are available, if requested in advance with registration. The event is free and open to the public, with registration available on a first-come, first-served basis at bringingithomewnc.org. Breakfast and lunch will be served by a “Cornucopia of Caterers,” featuring several local businesses owned by people of color.

Free parking will be available at the corners of Spruce and Marjorie streets or at the bottom of the hill, at the corner of Market and S. Charlotte streets. To learn more, contact Jane Hatley at 828-239-9231, ext. 3473.