HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-08-23-HSC-min.pdf HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
Minutesof the Meeting of August 23, 1982
Present Steve Baran, Howard Reynolds , Judy Zabin, Tom Zarle, Nancy
Zarle, Roberta Black, Ilene White, Stan Finkelstein, Bea Phear
Minutes; There were no minutes taken of the August 9 meeting The
meeting was summarized in Steve ' s letter to Al Busa of Aug 9
Muzzey
Howard reported on the submissions received by the Selectmen ARTS/
Lexington proposed that some of the building be used for studio,
classroom, and exhibition space Howard felt that their ideas were
thoughtful and optimistic, and could probably be integrated with other
submissions Council on Aging limited themselves soley to their use
of Muzzey as a senior center and didn' t speak to the question of
integrating the senior center with other uses Lexington Housing
Authority wrote no proposal and offered no insight The Planning
Board offered two documents on site considerations and on the recommend-
ation for housing use They brought out the need for unmet but market
rate housing, eg congregate, as a common thread They set uncome
guidelines using MHFA standards The Human Services Committee was
the broadest in scope and concept, with a leaning towards the elderly
and preretirement populations
Providers Council
Bea distributed summaries of the responses to the questionnaire to
date She will telephone non-respondents this week There was
discussion on a possible thrust for the next and future meetings and
the use of the returned questionnaires
It was decided that the goal for the xeroxed material was as information
sharing among the providers and, more importantly, as a jumping off
point for discussion Since the League of Women Voters is doing a
Lexington booklet, information to citizens is less needed Roberta
brought up her concept of an angency spotlight in the Minuteman She
will talk with the nespaper about this
Regarding the goals for the providers meetings, Ilene pointed out that
people were anxious to describe their own agency and there was a social
purpose Judy felt that the written material should provide most of
this, and moving on joint problems was important and also a vehicle for
them to get to know oneanother Also the direction should come from them
It was suggested to use the subcommittee structure , whither breaking
down by age or topical issue, possible assigning them to groups or
offering a menu One theme that emerged from the responses was the need
for respite care and housing for a variety of populations Common issues
would be locating the community setting, training, and funding
Judy suggested giving the providers a profile of Lexington, which Bea
could do with demographics , which would be of particular interest to
regional agencies It could be compared with former years and put into
perspective with needs assessments and the providers ' perceptions of
gaps Tom mentioned structuring discussion with prepared questions
It was decided that a tentative agend for the next providers meeting
would be
1 coffee and socializing
2 presentation of Lexington profile , highlighting data that
related to the articulated gaps
3 break-up into assigned groups to discuss the profile and how
it relates to their problems and then choosing a topic for
a future meeting
Prepared questions for the discussion could be the purpose of their
meeting together with future agenda ideas , and the queRtion of how
they are responding to their fiscal constraints
The meeting is scheduled for October 7 from 3 00-4 30 Steve , Roberta,
and Bea will plan further with Rachel Rosenblum, Karen Bettacchi, and
Jack Monderer, if they are interested Committee meeting will follow
Handicap Subcommittee
Bea reported that David. Enman' s group has met twice, and calls themselves
the Enablement Committee They are aware of their as yet unofficial
status and are discussing their priorities in preparation for submitting
a draft charge to the Human Services Committee Bea reported that she
was very heartened by the group, and they seem to be having a joint
function of self help plus task orientation
RePlace
Steve met with the RePlace planning group of several former presidents
They are making recommendations to the Board on two issues taking
advantage of regional funding by going after money in concert with
other agencies (eq alcohol prevention under DMH or adolescent pregnancy
through DSS) , and more vigorously seek funding from the school system,
using Tony dough ' s informal channels, with the possibility of enlarging
contracts up to $10 , 000
Homes Needed
Judy announced that Woburn Council for Social Concern is starting a
network of families for a 7 day shelter program and is seeking hosts
Mystic Valley
Stan and Tom have a meeting on Aug 25 with the new crisis intervention
person Don Lund has resigned, and Stan has volunteered to serve on
the search committee Jim Crain tels that this would be a good idea
(Note Paul Cote became acting director on Aug 13 - Bea)
Next Meeting September 13 AGENDA SUB COMMITTEES
October 7 ; after providers council meeting
Respectfully Submitted,
Bea Phear
Dinner at Steve ' s on Friday, Sept 10 , pot luck (Judy coordinating menu)