HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-01-22-HSC-min Town of Lexington Human Services Committee Meeting Minutes
Wednesday 1/22/20 @ 7 PM
Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Rd.
Attendees: Gail Fields (Co-Chair), Lea Garden Elkin (Co-Chair), Pam Joshi, Leslie Zales,
Martha Kurland, Doug Lucente (Chair of Select Board), Melissa Interess (Director of Human
Services), and Anthony Serio (Assistant Director of Youth & Family Services).
AGENDA
1. Welcome & introductions - Gail called the meeting to order at 7:08PM.
2. Reviewed and accepted minutes for the October 16, 2019 meeting. No edits were required.
3. Committee charge and structure - Doug Lucente mentioned that there were three vacancies
in the Human Services Committee and a discussion was held with regards to changing the
committee charge to account for the size of the committee. A vote was held with regards to
changing the Human Services Committee structure to five members. Additionally, the committee
voted to change the frequency of future meetings to quarterly, and agreed to continue
identifying unmet needs and support the Human Services Department outreach efforts as the
central role in the committee charge.
A plan was made for Melissa Interess and/or Lea to attend the Select Board meeting on
Monday (01/27/20) to propose a revised charge for the Human Services Committee and request
Select Board approval for the changes.
a. Liaison roles with other community groups: Leslie will meet with PPC, LICA, Youth
Commission, and LexFUN in May; Pam will meet with JPLEX and IAL in the beginning of
February; Martha will connect with CALEX, LexPRIDE and KoLEX in the near future;
Gail met with CAAL and has plans to reconvene with them in May/April.
i. Reports from committee members - A discussion held around what types of
questions and information should be shared during these liaison meetings.
Topics discussed include the following: recommendations based on what
individuals from their population would need or would benefit from, offering the
opportunity for partnerships or co-sponsorships of events, and relaying
information about INTERFACE/Human Services department.
4. Staff/Committee Member/Liaison reports: Review of William James INTERFACE Activity
Report for June 1st - November 30th. Committee members discussed usage and data of report
and discussed trends amongst the Lexington population. The committee reviewed department
interaction statistics and types of assistance provided to Lexington residents over the last
quarter. A discussion was held regarding upcoming events, including: Parent Academy, play &
stay group, caregiver support programming, Silent Disco, and the Caregiver Resource Guide
(available Feb.).
5. New Business - Lea mentioned that she has plans to step down as co-chair of committee
prior to September, 2020. The committee will consider adding new membership and will decide
a co-chair during future meetings. Tony will provide a list of events and partnership opportunities
offered by the Human Service Department.
6. Next meeting date is scheduled for 03/18/20 at 7:00pm and 04/29/20 at 7:00pm.