7:40 - 9:15 PM
Glenview Mansion Members Present: | Michelle Beadle | David L'Heureux | Agnes Saenz | Deborah Hopson | Paul Mutyambizi | Tim Stranges | Tom Lawrey | | Eric Wang | | 
| | | Members Absent: | | Mary Caroline Colletti, Ann Reiss | |
| | | Staff Present: | | Mary Lou Jacobs, Sarah Gicale |
Re: Call Meeting to Order /Introductions Tim Stranges called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m. Tim introduced Michelle Beadle, the new Caregiver representative.
Re: Approve October 11 Meeting Minutes On page 5, the third and fourth sentences of the fourth paragraph were changed to read “Currently the County is able to provide up to $1,500 per applicant although typically they provide $500. They are looking to increase this amount.” David L'Heureux then moved that the minutes be approved as amended. Tom Lawrey seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Re: Feedback on Recent Site Visits - CMMC Interfaith Clothing and Furniture Exchange: Eric Wang accompanied Mary Lou Jacobs on the August 11th visit to Interfaith Clothing, a program of Community Ministry of Montgomery County (CMMC), and reported to the Commission that the visit lasted for almost two hours. He said that the program has two locations, one in Rockville and one in Gaithersburg. One concern that he has is that the hours for shopping are not long enough. The program is not open evenings, except for Gaithersburg, which is open Wednesday evening until 9:30 p.m. Eric also thought that additional storage would be helpful. He said that the program pays $3,000 in rent and their funding is insufficient for this expense.
Eric then spoke briefly about CMMC's newest program, Furniture Exchange, which began operations April 8, 2005. This program is co-located with the Interfaith Clothing Program in Gaithersburg. Many people want to donate furniture to this new program but CMMC does not have sufficient staff to deliver.
Mary Lou Jacobs added that Julie Maltzman, the director of Interfaith Clothing and the Furniture Exchange, recently resigned to work for the Coalition for the Homeless. Another challenge for Interfaith Clothing is the number of volunteers who are aging out of the program.
- Sophia House: Mary Lou said that this was a follow-up site visit. Sophia House provides emergency housing for homeless women. It is co-located with two other programs operated by CMMC. It now has a new manager. Priscilla Fox-Morrill who has brought stability to the program. In addition all the staff now has social work degrees or are undergraduate/graduate students in social work. Sophia House also now has its own full time case manager. CMMC has been a leader in developing housing models for people ready to leave the shelter system. This has been helpful for women, especially older women. As a result this program has been successful in moving people out of the shelter system. Sophia House receives $10,000 in funding from the City.
Re: Follow-up Discussions on Recent Presentations Rockville Emergency Assistance Program (REAP): Tim said that he had written a letter to the Mayor and Council, as authorized by the Commission, and had received a letter in return from the City Manager. The letter said that staff is exploring ways to increase contributions to the REAP Fund. To assist in this effort, Commission members made the following suggestions: - Adding an insert or flyer to the water bill to explain the REAP program similar to that sent out by the Washington Area Fuel Fund in recent bills;
- A $5.00 check off on the automatic transfer (the exact amount doesn't matter);
- Moving the information about a REAP donation from the water bill stub to the main part of the bill;
- If the City would fund a flyer or insert, a box of them could be kept at the cashier's
window; - A story on the front page of Rockville Reports;
- Using Rockville Channel;
- Including a brief note, "Remember the Rockville Emergency Assistance Program" in every issue of Rockville Reports;
- Place boxes of inserts/flyers in Chinese and other grocery stores.
In response to a question, Mary Lou said that the REAP Fund now has $24,500. Tim said that if the reserve could be increased, possibly the limit of $750 could be raised. Tim asked if Commission members thought another letter should be written in response to the City Manager. David suggested that another letter be written with copies to the same people who were included in the City Manager's letter.
Tim then passed out copies of the Commission's letter of July 15th to the Mayor and Council which included a list of six human service issues: housing, health care needs, unmet needs, REAP recidivism, Rockville's residents with disabilities, and Rockville's linguistic minorities. Tim identified gang prevention, discussed at the last Commission meeting, as a seventh need. He suggested that the Commission choose two to three issues for research, development and recommendations.
Rockville's Residents with Disabilities: David offered to research this topic. He has learned that there is insufficient funding at the state level for housing this population. For example, Melwood has had to shut down one of its homes. Mary Lou said that she had recently learned from the City Manager that members of the archdiocese are interested in creating housing for persons with disabilities in conjunction with Twinbrook Commons. The City Manager had asked them to look into the cost and get back to him. Mary Lou said it would be helpful to identify how many parents and children need this kind of housing. David said he would first determine what surveys have already been done and report back at the next meeting. Paul Mutyambizi said he would assist.
Affordable Housing: David said that the definition of affordable housing used in the City does not accommodate the really needy; there should be another term. Mary Lou said there is a new term, “workforce housing,” which is used to identify housing for teachers, police, city and county employees. Tim suggested that the Commission's focus should be on “entry-level housing” or “low-income housing.” Tim and Tom Lawrey volunteered to research the topic. Gang Prevention: Tim asked Commission members if there is anything they could do with respect to teenage children who get into trouble as a result of parents working, lack of supervision, or nothing to do and become good recruits for gangs. He suggested that a subcommittee could potentially sit down with Chief Treschuk to discuss the Commission’s role. Agnes Saenz said that a subcommittee could also find out more about after school programs and whether they are being utilized. She, Eric Wang and Deborah Hopson volunteered to learn more about this issue. Health Care Needs: Michelle Beadle agreed to provide updates on the CMR Health Initiative at future meetings. Unmet Needs (as identified by Metis Associates in their needs assessment of the provision of Community services by the City): Mary Lou said that the City is waiting for this report. According to the RFP, Fran Lochte, the consultant working on the report, is required to make a presentation to the HSAC. Mary Lou would like the Commission to see the final report, not a draft. Hopefully, it will be in a form that can be mailed out before the December meeting.
Re: Updates from Chair Tim said that last Saturday evening the Rockville Chamber of Commerce recognized Manna Food Center as its company of the year. Everyone who spoke talked of Tom Lawrey and his contributions. The Chamber also recognized Eldon and Jean Dasher, a couple who have done thousands of hours of volunteer work. The Commission still has a vacancy for a community member at large. Tim encouraged members to consider whom they might know for the position.
Re: Plan Agenda for December Meeting Tim proposed that the December meeting be a discussion of the Metis Report if it is available. Otherwise, Michelle will give an update on the CMR Health Initiative. As a result of tonight's meeting, three subcommittees have been developed, each to report at the January meeting.
Re: Adjourn David moved to adjourn the meeting. Tom seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9: 15 p.m. The next meeting of the Human Services Advisory Commission will be held Tuesday, December 13, 2005, from 7:30 - 9:30 p.m., in the Dining Room of the Glenview Mansion.
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