HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-01-29~„~4.~ :. ~ Meeting of January 29, 2007
r 2 Fairgrounds Meeting Room
Time: 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm
~..
~ ~ '~~ '` ouncil or human ervices
C f S
AGENDA
^ Call the meeting to order.
^ Review the agenda: changes /additions
Approve minutes
ITEMS
ACTION(S) ~ DECISION(S)
h Up-dates ~ Infarmafion Staring
II. Nantucket Needs Assessment
Discussion
III. Next Steps
^ Set time ~ date ~ place of next meeting:
• Agenda items:
~:tt~5 ~)c~u~~es)
(30 minutes)
{~ 5 minutes)
Motion to adjourn
Council for Human Services
January 29, 2007
2 Fairgrounds Road
Attending: John Belash, Nancy Severns, Mary Kendall, Nancy Funderburg, Rachel
Rosen, Michael Rosen, Maryanne Worth, Ann Medina
Absent: Patty Roggeveen, Michelle Meckler, Alice McWade, Cheryl Bartlett.
The minutes of December 5, 2006 were approved with one correction; Mary
Kendall's name had been omitted. The corrected minutes would reflect that Mary
was absent that day.
Rachel's husband Michael is on the FinCom and he suggested that maybe Steve
Brown and Alice Smith could come over and speak to the FinCom. He believes
the council should not be solely responsible for getting this information out.
On January 19th the last Needs Assessment community forum was held. What
are the issues? What can be solved? How does Nantucket compare to other
communities? What are the National issues? We need to find the data to
compare with and hopefully that will help us decide what can be done.
Health care access, specifically dental care, seems to be a major concern for
many households. Another problem was having enough money to pay for food
and housing. Even though wages are higher here some people have great
difficulty making ends meet. Maryanne handed out paper and asked the council
members to list three issues they thought the council should work on.
Because Nantucket is seen as a desirable summer resort, is it possible that once
the wealthy people see Nantucket as "high risk" will these people stop coming?
We need a ~~vehicle" for the wealthy people to contribute to the human
infrastructure of the island. Right now there is no way for people who want to
help do so. A community foundation has been formed just for this reason. The
purpose of the foundation is to help small, non-profits that do not have the
capabilities to fundraise on their own. The foundation is looking for $100,000
before starting; they have approximately $90,000 right now. Unfortunately a lot
of these agencies are ~~low glam" and do not receive the recognition or funding
other agencies receive. People do not realize that there is homelessness here
and that there are people who cannot afford food or medical care. Another
problem islander's face is, because of the higher wages, they do not qualify for
programs, such as fuel assistance, food stamps etc., because these programs are
based on federal poverty guidelines and size of family and they do not take into
consideration the high cost of living the residents of Nantucket have.
The community school is working on a program to bring a dental clinic to the
island for our school children. Rachel and her husband Michael, who works at
Boston University, are planning to speak to the Dean of Dentistry about the
possibility of setting up a dental clinic here on the island. That could be one of
the focus groups because many people here do not have dental care/insurance.
Senior citizens living on a fixed income have a very difficult time making ends
meet. There is not a lot of elderly housing here and there is a waiting list for the
housing that does exist.
Martha's Vineyard must have the same problems so maybe we can get together
as a region and possibly change the guidelines.
Substance abuse is certainly a problem however there are some positive
developments coming in the future. There are two full time substance abuse
specialists coming to NBHS. There is more enforcement here too. Also there is no
major Meth problem here yet.
One of the issues that came from the survey was the fact that people were
unable to take time off from work to go to doctor's appointments, for fear of
losing their job. One council member finds it hard to believe that a person would
be fired for going to a doctor's appointment.
Maryanne likes Rachel's idea of a community billboard to get the word out of the
different opportunities for people to get involved in the community.
Three possible focus groups are: dental care, cost of living, and mental health
issues. Some of these groups will be on-going for months. We have a year to
work on this. We will take comments and attempt to make sense of this and try
to come up with solutions. The meeting adjourned at 2:OO.The next council
meeting will be on Monday March 12th at 12:30.
Respectfully submitted by
Ann Medina