HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-07-07-HSC-min.pdf HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
7-7-1980
Present Steve Baran, Howard Levingston, Nicky Osborne, Carol Perez,
Ruth Nablo, also Elizabeth Pressman and Bea Phear
Absent Ruth Butler
Bea Phear, Management Intern, began an informal discussion of her
plans for an elderly needs assessment At 7 55 when it appeared that the
chairperson would not be attending, Steve Baran called the meeting to order
The minutes of 6-23-80 were accepted as corrected
Ruth Nablo expressed the hope that the committee, at some future time,
would address some unanswered questions raised on June 23
Bea Phear told the committee her own background She also gave the
history of the elderly needs assessment An article on the 1980 warrant was
approved appropriating $7500 for an elderly needs assessment and examination
of the suitability of Munroe and Muzzey school buildings for use as a Senior
Center Ms Phear expects to spend about $3500 for the study needs The balance
of the money will be used for architectural studies if needed
For projection data Ms Phear will look at the figures published by
the Social Security Administration She is planning to speak to key informants
in Lexington, and to look at needs assessments done in other communities The
largest part of the study will be a mailed survey questionnaire to Lexington
elderly Discussion followed about whether the entire elderly population of
4,000 should receive the questionnaire or a random sample The question of
whether there would be a statistically large enough response from a mail survey
was also raised Ruth Nablo wanted to see responses from some -non-elderly
The Council on Aging, it was said, feels a great need for a Senior 'Center
Pros and cons of a telephone survey were mentioned It was also
emphasized that the questions should be easily understood
Ms Phear listed four major areas which go into a Senior Center and
which the questionnaire will explore
1 Socialization
2 Nutrition
3 Cultural enrichment, education
4 Health and physical exercise
A fifth area added was work, both volunteer and paid, including linkage with
other organizations and other age groups Some members of the committee felt that
a direct question "Do you think there should be a Senior Center" and "What should
it provide?" should be asked
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7-7-1980
Nicky Osborne suggested that the central tasks the Town is addressing
are an evaluation of the needs, how those needs should be met, and whether a
centralized or decentralized facility would be best
Bea Phear asked how do you set standards, that is, how do you interpret
whether an individual is or is not following good nutrition? One must also
respect the respondents
Steve Baran suggested perhaps including alternatives to a Senior Center
in the questionnaire He added that values should be tested before the survey is
developed Perhaps pre-survey discussion groups with some elderly could take
place
Types of housing in Lexington in which elderly reside mentioned,
including single homes, homes of children, private apartment, and Town apartments
Some surveys, perhaps, could be done in person, it was suggested Also,
perhaps some elderly would be willing to do pre and follow-up phone calls to urge
residents to respond
A second discussion of doing a random sample versus the entire elderly
population followed
Steve Baran urged that the survey use large print and have an easily read
format
Ms Phear asked whether any members of the H S committee would serve on
her advisory task-force There were no volunteers She will send memos to the
committee for advice and comment as she progresses
Publicity about the study was stated to be critical for getting a good
response A variety of organization newsletters were suggested to Ms Phear
Nicky suggested that a few key questions be asked in order to get at how
services should be organized Key questions also could be used to see whether
Lexington follows the national trends statistically
After Ms Phear left, Nicky asked how the committee wants to organize a
workshop? Once this is determined, she went on, a memo should be sent to the
Selectmen
Steve Baran and Nicky Osborne will redo their draft papers to send to the
Selectmen
The meeting was adjourned at 9 30 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
kh
Elizabeth H. Pressman