HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-12-17-HSC-min.pdf HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
( Minutes of the Meeting of December 17, 1984
( Present Roberta Balck, Ed Foley, Sheila Martin, Stan Finkelstein, Leonora
Zola, C.C. Chao, Judy Zabin, Bea Phear
Minutes
The minutes of the meeting of December 3, 1984 were approved as mailed.
Lexington2,000
A letter was sent to the Selectmen as drafted at the meeting of December 3 Roberta
read in the newspaper that a meeting had been called, but the committee was not
included.
Enablement
Bea summarized the Enablement Committee's public meeting Dave Enman made
introductory remarks describing the 504 rights and the Town's need to comply
with General Revenue Sharing guidelines Bob Harris showed slides of some
Town buildings, and Christine discussed other Town prgrams Nancy Schock
acted as facilitator Bea found it interesting that the audience was more
interested in non-municipal issues, and kept turning to stores and banks as
problems rather than Town programs The attendance was fairly small, about
20 people There will be a follow-up article in the newspaper, with a returnable
questionnaire
MR Housing
Bea met last weekend with Jim McLaughlin and Bill Crane to discuss neighborhood
acceptance issues She felt that Jim was less persuaded of the need to act
proactively, thinking that neighbors could approach the Housing Authority with
questions Bea drafted a letter for him, with a timetable of action, which he
may or may not choose to send to neighbors
The schedule is enclosed with these minutes
Town Meeting
Bea informed the committee that Town Meeting has been called for March 25
Congregate Housing
Roberta informed the committee that she had named herself to serve on the Selectmen's
advisory committee on elderly congregate housing No meeting has yet been called.
Franklin School
The committee felt they had too little information to recommend a developer from
among the three finalists, but they voted unanimousely to support a housing use
over a school use Leonora was asked to go to the Selectmen's meeting and testify
Budget FY 1986
Goals Roberta reminded the committee to think about goals
CMARC David and Marion were not able to attend the meeting Their recommendations
( will be received at the next meeting, when the total package is voted.
\ C
Mystic Valley
Stan and Leonora distributed a draft They recommend funding of the $15,000
request The number of clients with no insurance demonstrates the agency's
need for support Leonora is interested in the mix of Lexington and other
{ communities, and will ask this for FY86 reports
( The most recent quarterly report, received 12/17/84, does not have a discussion
section with analytic treatment of data. Judy feels the need for this, with
comments on the significance of discontinuing the crisis service and trends in
need areas Stan thinks it is harder to write than it sounds, as they are not
clear as to what the committee wants Stan says this is easier to get in the
quarterly meetings with Richard Weiss
Hospice
Stan and Leonora are recommending the total request for both demonstration
programs - $4,800 The agency has demonstrated community linkages and serves a
need.
There was discussion about their ability to implement the programs, especially
locating volunteer nurses It was felt that the demonstration funding was to
make the effort, but with a clear understanding that the funds could not be
used for other services The payments would be on a quarterly basis with
progress reports required.
It is understood that many clients may not be Lexington residents, but Stan
will urge a Lexington co-sponsor for the groups (to provide space) and active
seeking of clients through physicians, clergy, and schools
Judy pointed out the need to recognize that Hospice charges only a $35 registration
and no fees, and that people who benefit are not necessarily in financial need.
Reporting will ask about Lexington client use.
RePlace
Sheila and Ed spoke with Bill Blout about the use of a new part-time staff
person. He had been thinking about big brother/big sister training and the
possibility of coordinating professional volunteers as well as working with
elderly, battered women, and expanding to child abuse prevention They had
discussed the possibility of adding to a current staff member's hours rather
than a new-hire
Roberta asked about the possibility of changing drop-in hours to include
weekends Sheila said that the church was not interested in allowing that
without staff, and none of the staff wanted to work weekends
Bobby cited some of their last three years statistics from minutes of their Board
1982 1984
daily drop-in 38 12
counseling new cases 54 27
suicide 15 7
psych emergency 19 11
housing emergency 29 22
Screenedand referred out and outreach contacts both remained constant
The committee felt that if RePlace numbers were dropping, it was hard to argue
for expansion It was decided to recommend a staff salary increase of 7% ($2,800)
but no other increased funding
It was also decided to have a meeting with Bill and some of his Board to
( discuss general trends and issues in services to youth, with emphasis on identifying
some alternate linkages such as through counselors, principals, project BASE,
alateen, tough love, Minuteman School and other less "establishment" groups that
might be identified. Roberta also suggested that Bob '1t'--411-1-, might be very
interested in sponsoring a needs assessment per R1 p
Veterans
Bea said it is very hard to project. Veterans services are based on state law,
and the number of claims varies greatly from one year to another Bea can see
no rationale for these variations The most expensive benefit is health care
The Town pays for benefits and is reimbursed by the state at 75%, about 18
months later The committee took no position on Veterans Services
Next Meeting
January 7
January 21
Respectfully Submitted
Beatrice Phear
1