HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-02-04-HSC-min.pdf Minutes
I Human Services Committee
2/4/98
Present: Helen Cravis, Barbara Ciampa, Co-Chairs; Roz Gittleman; Eva Glick;
Linda Pucci; Nancy Freed and Steve Baran (Recorder), Social Service
Department; Kathy Callahan, LICSW
Absent: Lauren MacNeil, Gregory Kotonias-Payne, and Rick Safford
Minutes of 1/7/98
The Minutes of 12/3/97 were reviewed. The spelling for the Director of
Development for the Support Committee for Battered Women was corrected from
Roseanne Katchaturian to Rouzan Khachatourian.
Rouzan Khachatourian, Support Committee for Battered Women
Rouzan Khachatourian of the Support Committee for Battered Women said that
the Support Committee had been established in 1981 with a mission of ending
domestic violence Its philosophy is to empower women and offer them different
choices.
The Support Committee's agency and shelter are both in Waltham; the
Committee, however, does not accept any women in need of a shelter who are
from Waltham. The Support Committee does accepts women from Metro West
and Boston's inner city to their shelter which has 9 beds and generally permits a
three-month stay No one is put out, however who can't make arrangements
before the end of the stay A housing advocate offers help with transitional or
permanent housing. The Committee also offers parenting assistance and child
advocacy
The shelter is one of 33 shelters that network with each other by e-mail so as to
know where beds are free. They have a 24-hour hot line offering confidential
advice with a focus on safety of family members. Both family members and
battered women utilize the hot line. Since court can be intimidating, legal
advocacy is available. There is an outreach program as well as community
education. 50 volunteers staff the hotline, shelter and office.
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The Support Committee is a grass roots organization, and community support is
( important. The agency handles 3,200 phone calls per year, provides advocacy to
115 clients per year and involves 110 clients per year in support groups. It takes
boys up to the age of 12. Funding is from DSS ($230 000annually) and from a
variety of other sources with a total budget of $400,000. In Lexington, the
Committee is doing a video in collaboration with the Police Department.
The Committee's number for clients is 800-899-4000 The business number is
899-8676.
Preschool Questionnaire Draft
There was further discussion of the preschool questionnaire following a
pretesting that was conducted by Linda Pucci. Eva Glick suggested a focus
group made up of preschool parents as an additional option. Kathy Callahan
suggested that it might be useful to interview parents of kindergarten age
children whose parents had only recently dealt with preschool issues. Nancy
Freed agreed to investigate costs for sending out the questionnaire and getting a
response.
Party
Roz Gittleman announced that there would be a party for the members of the
Human Services Committee and committee members who have resigned (Julie
Fenn, Jolley Anne Weinstock and Donna Hooper) on March 9 (tentative) at the
home of BarbaraCiampa.
Meeting with Selectmen
The Committee will present its annual report to the Board of Selectmen on
February 23 On February 16, the Co-Chairs will meet with Leo McSweeney
Chair of the Board of Selectmen, who has agreed to serve as a liaison between
the Selectmen and the Committee. Steve Baran will prepare a packet for the
Selectmen.
Next Committee Meeting
The next meeting of the Human Services Committee will take place on
Wednesday, March 4