HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-05-18-HSC-min.pdf HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
Minutes of the Meeting of May 18 , 1982
Present Steve Baran, Roberta Black, Tom Zarle, Judy Zabin, Ilene
White, Bea Phear
Youth Commission
The meeting began with a brief joint session with the Youth Commission
to consider future working together It was decided that the two
groups would get together in the fall to talk about the possible Youth
Awareness Week Meanwhile, the Youth Commission will consider its
plans and decide if it wants to pursue this as a project and bring in
other groups The Human Services Committee feels that they do not
want to be a catalyst for this project, but are very willing to consider
playing a supportive role, and that many groups should be included
Providers Council
There was discussion about how the Youth Awareness Week fits in with the
thread of continuity and communication for ongoing planning and needs
assessment We want to take a leadership role for the meetings and set
the tone, but not become the providers council exclusively It would
be best if the providers themselves spun off with individual seminars
and the committee remained somewhat in the background, just keeping
things going Perhaps the student intern that Bea hopes to have in
the fall could have these meetings as one project, under the guidance
of the committee
Bea reported on the responses to date Thirteen people from 10 agencies
are planning to attend so far, and three agencies want to be included
but are busy that day There was concern about being too exclusive
or too inclusive We questioned whether private therapists should be
directly invited and decided that they could come through a blanket
statement in the newspaper, but would not be invited specifically
Judy and Steve will draft a letter to the editor or an article to
announce the meeting Committee members will follow up on those who
have not yet responded
Judy Concord Court Lex Counseling Services
Roberta School Guidance, Hayden Recreation
Ilene Council on Aging, Visiting Nurses , Hospice Care
Steve Department of Social Services, Jim Crain
Tom Lexington Clergy
Bea Fire, Police, Health (incl Board) , Housing Authority
Lauren Goldfarb of Cable TV will be added, without her camera, which
was seen as potentially too intrusive Steve Doran will also be invited
The agenda was set Welcome and introduction to the Committee - Steve
Agencies introduce themselves to get acquainted
Tabulation of responses to questionnaire - Bea
General discussion of goals - Tom
Ilene suggested this last item be started with the question "What positive
things would you like to see come out of future joint meetings?" Steve
also suggested addressing what sense of communication there has been
among agencies , to try to get at process issues as well as content
Tom reported that Mystic Valley wanted to know what other agencies
were doing and said they perceived a (false) fear that there was
duplication of services They want to see a series of these seminars
Bea reported that the tone and speed with which agencies returned
their questionnaires (not required) indicated a tremendous enthusiasm
Mechanics There will be a table for literature Nancy will get donuts
and/or danish Roberta will get name tags; Ilene will get paper napkins &
cups; Judy will bring her large pot and get coffee , cream and sugar Bea
had asked the Manager about funding and he said no, as he feared a
precedent in having committees entertain Steve will discuss this with
Jim Crain, with the thought that it might come from the Selectmen' s
budget Meanwhile, each committee member will contribute
Senior Center
Bea reported that the CoA sub-committee had completed a report outlining
space needs as related to tDogram It was a wonderful committee that
really did some outstanding work and came up with a design for the
section of Muzzey that would be designated There was general feeling
that the Muzzey conversion would not pass, but Bea felt the work was
not wasted for the future Steve is not sure a senior center is needed
Planning
Steve reported that he had talked with Marge Battin after reading a
letter in the Minuteman from Marty Rawls about the need for planning to
meet social goals vis-a-vis Muzzey Marge is inviting several people
informally to discuss this Steve, Marty Rawls, Bob Bowyer, and Bea
for next week Bea said the Planning Board is very interested in housing
issues and Bob Bowyer and she have been discussia5 alternative such as
accessory apartments Bea attended a conference on elderly housing, and
feels the need is not to create new elderly projects , but to expand the
existing housing resources to better meet their needs and let them remain
in their own homes through accessory apartments , sharing, or equity
conversion mechanisms
Chair Car
Bea reported that the policies and application forms are ready to go, and
applications will be received in June for a July 1 starting date
Mystic Valley
The application for an extension of the special permit has been submitted
in a timely fashion The date for the hearing has not yet been set The
committee decided to submit a statement to the Board of Appeals speaking
to the role of a mental health center, but not this specific case Bea
will draft for approval at the next meeting (enclosed)
Alcohol
Bea reported that Jack Monderer had called her after he spoke with
Bill Blout about the issues of teenage drinking and driving around
prom time The schools have been doing some education, but fear they
are not reaching enough parents Bea wrote a letter to the editor
Judy pointed out that it was a good step in working together that the
schools wanted to talk with both RePlace and Human Services, and that
such issues (or this specific one) might come out of the providers
meetings with a little more advance warning
Pending
Evaluations for next budget cycle, and cementing the Review Process
Community Residence map and siting questions
Metropolitan Area Planning Council - meeting with Gerry Frick
Someone to take CMARC as a primary focus
Writing contract for FY83 with CMARC, Mystic Valley, and Replace
Meeting Schedule
Future meetings will be
Tuesday June 8 at 7 30 am - Providers Council
Wednesday June 9 at 7 30 pm - regular meeting
Monday June 28, 7 30 pm
Monday, July 12 , 7 30 pm
Monday, August 2 , 7 30 pm
Monday, August 23, 7 30 pm
Monday September 13, 7 30 pm
Respectfully Submitted
Beatrice Phear
D R A F T 5/19/82
TO BOARD OF APPEALS, TOWN OF LEXINGTON
FROM HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
RE MYSTIC VALLEY MENTnL HEALTH SPECIAL PERMIT
The Lexington Human Services Advisory Committee has received
a request from the Mystic Valley Mental Health Center Association Inc
to support its request for an ammendment to its Special Permit
We support added availability of human service resources within
the Town and believe that the role of a mental health center that
provides comprehensive care does need to have varied hours to meet
the needs of citizens The committee further believes that it
cannot ascertain the impact of a change of hours on the immediate
neighbors, and is therefore unable to speak to this specific
request beyond the statement that varied hours of operation are
of value to the community at large
Steve Baran, Chairman
Lexington Human Services Committee