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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-03-16-HSC-min Town of Lexington Human Services Committee Tuesday 3/16/2021 @ 7 PM Conducted by Remote Participation* MINUTES Participants:Gail Fields, Leslie Zales, Doug Lucente(Select Board Liaison), Betty Borghesani(Council on Aging Liaison), Martha Kurland, Melissa Interess(staff),Anthony Serio (Staff), Kim Gruber(guest) Absent:Pamela Joshi, Kea Elkin 1. Welcome&introductions:Zoom Meeting Called to order 7:08pm 2. Review and approve minutes of February 24,2021 meeting; Identified committee member,Gail Fields,to take minutes 3. Discussion of Lexington Police Q&A from February meeting and next steps Leslie explained that the meeting would focus on what the committee hoped to accomplish at the meeting with the Select Board: Inform them of our committee's objective, receive comments, and determine where to go from there. Martha questioned if the committee planned to do research first. Leslie thought that the committee should get the feedback from the Select Board first. Doug gave feedback on the current status of the new building for the police department. Planning has paused while two Select Board Members, Doug Lucente and Joe Pato, look in to getting more insight from the community.They hope to have community sessions and wrap this process up in June. The question remains: How does social work fit in with the town of Lexington policing? Melissa mentioned that the Human Rights Committee would like to do a survey of the police practices and there was some discussion about what the best methods would be for obtaining the desired information and the possibility of our working with them. Martha mentioned that the Minute Man Newspaper(March 4 edition}had an article about police in surrounding towns having a greater increase in crisis calls but that Lexington was not included in the article. Tony reported that the Community Crisis team reported 2x's more crisis calls regarding youth and seniors during this time period. Leslie returned to the issue of the HSC having a duty to explore these issues with the Select Board. The question remains: Is there a need for a greater connection between Human Services and the police? • Gail asked Melissa about the reports that they receive from the police relative to HS needs. Melissa explained that they do get reports from Brian Savage but the follow up can be difficult. She explained that the Fire Dept has actually used their services more frequently. Members explored the role of Advocates for the emergency services with the police: • Kim questioned how they were paid and Melissa explained that they were under a regional state contract with the DMH. Further discussion about the model used in Watertown with more collaboration with Advocates for a Jail Diversion program. Melissa explained that we share a jail diversion program with other towns. There was further discussion about the added stress during this period and the difficulty in finding available hospital beds. Lexington does have a relationship with the Elliot Center for crisis work although the position is currently not filled. Committee returned to the best way to proceed. • Doug mentioned the pilot program with the police that Melissa had suggested as a possible option. • There was further discussion about their being more areas of concern that had not been mentioned in our last meeting. • It was decided that a working meeting would take place on April 27 with Doug's placing the HS time on the May 10 Board Agenda. Leslie also reported on the possibility of adding a new member to the committee when Lea Elkin resigns. Doug reported that new procedures are in place for committee assignments and the need for more applicants. • Publicize to diversify the reach and involvement • Application on town web site • Select Board will review Applicants and Appoint 4. Next meeting date—Tuesday,April 27,2021, 7pm 5. Adjournment-The meeting was adjourned at 8:43.