Supporting Wareham Public Schools and addressing the crisis of addiction are two issues that Church of the Good Shepherd parishioners will soon tackle.

Those specific issues were settled on after members conducted one-on-one interviews and asked for input at a public forum this summer. The polling was designed to help church members answer the following question: What are some ways we could be a stronger and healthier community?

To find out, church members created the Wareham Community Engagement Initiative. The committee interviewed 75 people about their joys, concerns and dreams for Wareham.

According to the group, two themes emerged: a desire to support local schools so that all children succeed and concern about addiction and the many people it impacts.

Based on those initial interviews, the committee will conduct a second round of polling focused on those issues. Interviews will be held until the end of August.

In September, the committee will meet to decide on how to move forward in addressing one of those problems and what specifically the initiative should focus on.

Anyone interested in being interviewed for the project may call the Church of the Good Shepherd at 508-295-2840. The committee will also have an informational booth at the Swan Festival on July 29 at Merchants Way.