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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/06/2007 CRC minutes MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION Village Board Room, 3rd Floor Village Hall Thursday, September 6, 2007 7:00 p.m. The Community Relations Commission (CRC) of the Village of Mount Prospect met Thursday, September 6, 2007 in the Village Board room on the 3rd floor of Village Hall located at 50 S. Emerson, Mount Prospect, Illinois. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Tolbert called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Chairperson Tolbert Commissioner Fuller Commissioner Parikh Commissioner Ortiz Commissioner Muench Also in attendance: Ellen Divita, Deputy Director of Community Development INTRODUCTIONS / ROLL CALL Chairperson Tolbert introduced the Commission and thanked the different agencies for attending the meeting. He stated that distributing Community Development Block Grant funds is one of the most important duties the Commission performs. He asked each Commissioner to introduce themselves. Chairman Tolbert introduced Ellen Divita, who was representing Village Staff. Mrs. Divita stated she would consider the introductions from each Commissioner to be the roll call for the evening; the entire Commission is present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Commissioner Parikh and seconded by Commissioner Muench to approve the August 9, 2007 minutes of the Community Relations Commission. All voted aye for approval. NEW BUSINESS Presentations from 2007 Funding Applicants Children's Advocacy Center Mark Parr from Children's Advocacy Center presented the agency's request for 2008 funding. The Children's Advocacy Center provides direct services to those who have suffered sexual, severe physical, domestic violence, or other crimes. Services are offered at no charge to children and their families. The agency has existed for 19 years. Commissioner Muench clarified that the 29 noted in the application as assisted in 2006 were all Mount Prospect residents and Mr. Parr indicated that is correct, 29 is the number of Mount Prospect residents assisted. Chairperson Tolbert addressed those present in the audience to let them know that the Commission will meet after the meeting to complete their recommendations to the Village Board. The Village Board has final approval. Also the amount of funding available this year is up slightly from last, not because HUD has awarded the Village more funding, but because the CDBG program saw more repayments, a portion of which can be used to fund these social service programs. Hire Up Job Training Rod McKenzie spoke on behalf of Hire Up Job Training. This program was originally designed to assist Boxwood youths and they are now also helping some of the parents. The curriculum has been re-written to a two day (Saturdays) program, instead of the eight-week program. Also a local business works with the program to interview and has hired participants, scheduling their work schedule through Hire Up staff so that work schedules can be monitored and do not interfere with school schedules and other commitments. Staff has also been able to follow up on past attendees; for example, a staff member attended a job interview with one participant in order to provide feedback on why they were having trouble getting hired. The funds will be used for job training supplies. Businesses are recruited to do mock interviews. Mount Prospect National Bank also gives a presentation to attendees on savings and financial matters. Hire Up will be recruiting interns and training them to work in the Middle Schools, helping 8th graders. The non-profit HUMble Expressions business was discussed; silk screen and embroidered items are made and revenues used to fund the Hire Up programs. Chairperson Tolbert asked how many adults are now being helped. Mr. McKenzie said a small portion; to assist them additional curriculum has been added, including a session on how to handle difficult people at work. Special Leisure Services Jim Wiseman presented the request from Special Leisure Services, a fundraising arm of Northwest Special Recreation Association (NWSRA), a cooperative group comprised of sixteen park districts in the northwest suburbs. NWSRA provides inclusionary services to individuals with disabilities. Their program has been growing 10% per year with a total of 973 participants last year, 67 of whom were from Mount Prospect. They expect to help of 1000 individuals next year. Chairperson Tolbert asked which Park Districts participate. Mr. Wiseman said the boundaries are the districts from Palatine in the northwest to Wheeling to Bartlett and Elk Grove. These Park Districts can assess $.04 but are only at $.016. The NWSRA office is in Rolling Meadows but all services are offered at the individual Park Districts. The before and after work child care market is growing and they strive to help families. Commissioner Parikh asked if anyone was turned down. Mr. Wiseman said no, they do what it takes to help. Northwest Center Against Sexual Assault (CAS A) Elsie Mills of Northwest Center Against Sexual Assault (CASA) stated their mission is to end sexual assault. They have existed since 1978 and have seven (7) staff, five (5) of whom work directly with clients providing counseling services. One third of their clients are children. Twelve percent are men -- some recently assaulted, some assaulted as children, but just now ready to deal with this. CASA staffs a 24/7 hotline; they also train professional staff, for example, the Village of Mount Prospect Human Services social workers. CASA offers sexual assault counseling and crisis intervention services. Chairperson Tolbert asked if their state funding has been affected. Ms. Mills stated that they are one of the services advocated for by legislators and many interested advocates so for now funding is stable. State and Federal funding is 85% of their budget and they must match at least 10% locally. Pieces of their clothesline project were displayed as their fundraising project. Access to Care Victoria Bigelow with Access to Care stated that they are a 19 year old organization serving the uninsured working poor. They provide affordable primary health care, linking clients with a local doctor. Clients have a $5 co-pay per visit, $5 fee per specimen, Last year, 22 residents received care that would not have been insured for health care. The organization provides a link to primary physicians and charges $5 per visit, $5 per x-ray, $5 per specimen and all prescriptions are $5, $10, or $30. Because of difference in timing cycles they have not bee impacted by the state funding situation, funding from Cook County was reduced last year. Last year they helped 13,309 people, 367 of them are Village of Mount Prospect residents, and the funding for 15 came from this grant. Access to Care paid for the remaining 352 from other funding sources. In response to Commissioner Fuller's question on how clients learn about them, Ms. Bigelow stated the agency is often found by word of mouth; they also reach out to other social service agencies. Residents can apply at CEDA or at Village Hall. They remain in the program for at least a year. Ms. Bigelow stated that the numbers are increasing, but the organization may assist more adults now that kids are covered by the state under the "All Kids" program and the medical costs for adults are greater. Mount Prospect Mentor Program Judy Rosen of the Mount Prospect Mentor Program shared pictures and testimonial letters with the Commissioners. The 15 year old program helps at-risk children in grades 3 - 6 at 5 schools (3 elementary schools and 2 Junior Highs). The program provides mentoring for individuals and in a group setting; 45 Five volunteers were partnered with 46 children last year (some of the children come and go). Search Developmental Center Donna Catalano, Search Developmental Center, presented the organization's request to make a group home bathroom accessible. Search Development serves 410 clients daily with a continuum of services from group homes to vocational training. They own 26 group homes, 3 of them are in Mount Prospect. Their Northbrook Vocational Training Center is moving to Slawin Court in Mount Prospect. The request this year is to make a bathroom at a group homes in Mount Prospect wheelchair accessible. The Chairman qualified for the audience that the Village spends 15% of the HUD CDBG allotment on social service programming through the sub-recipient program. This request was from CDBG funds, a different element of the Village programming. Resources for Community Living Dr. Robert Walsh, Resources for Community Living, stated their organization is accredited and considered to be a best practice model by the state. The organization offers a chance for independent living for adults with disabilities. They work to keep people in their own housing which ultimately costs less than group care. The State of Illinois is ranked 47 out of 50 in support for people with disabilities so group home sizes have increased; living in your home is a preferred lifestyle. RCL was started by a group of parents wishing that independence for their children. The Chair asked how need is assessed. Dr. Walsh replied that they have a waiting list of 800 for the program. Their goal is to help 30 residents next year. Services vary including help with budgeting, interpreting mail, finding doctors, shopping for food, and transportation. CED A Northwest Jere Teed, CEDA Northwest, presented requests for their Child Care Subsidy program and Emergency Housing program. CEDA has 9 offices, works in 7 townships, and offers 30 programs. Support is being requested for two of those programs: support for the homeless or potentially homeless (they have been inundated with requests for a rental payment and mortgage assistance program), and transitional living for families (they have funded two apartments in Mount Prospect for 8 6years). The second program is their child care program. Recipients find their own provider, screened and licensed home day cares are eligible. Journeys From PADS to HOPE Lisa Witek, of Journeys from PADS to HOPE, presented their request for 2008 funding. They have operated since 1989 in 18 churches. Centers are open from 7 PM to 7 AM from October 1st through April 30th. Last year through the Hope Center 43 people were moved out of homelessness. They also operate a clothing closet of free clothes for their clients. Chairman Tolbert noted numbers are down from last year and Ms. Witek agreed. WINGS Kim Lutz, WINGS, presented a proposal to the commission. They have significantly increased the capacity of their building from 22 to 45 beds. They help those homeless due to domestic violence and maintain a continuum of help from emergency shelter to 4 shared living homes. The Village of Mount Prospect is 5% of their population. When asked how the agency has grown Ms. Lutz said she has been with them 4.5 years. The WINGS budget has grown from $1.5 mil to $4 mil. They have maintained their ability to serve the people that are hard to serve because they have grown. Other agencies pre-select who they help - does the individual have a job, do they have childcare and a car already. WINGS helps those with no jobs and those families with older boys (who are hard to place in apartments). Their continuum of housing services helps them help those that others can't. Greater Wheeling Area Youth Outreach (GWAYO) Philip Herman, Greater Wheeling Area Youth Outreach (GWAYO) was not present to discuss the three applications: 1. Dream Makers 2. Summer Adventure North 3. Summer Adventure South Mrs. Divita said they had no indication he would not be present; she did not know if anything had happened. But, to her knowledge, this should not be construed as a withdrawal of the applications. She asked the Commission to accept the written proposal as presented previously by Mr. Herman. Alexian Center for Mental Health Mrs. Divita informed the Commission that Alexian Brothers had some difficulty meeting reporting requirements this year. They have withdrawn their application, asking that they be allowed to submit for the 2009 program year. The Commission had a general discussion about funding and stated that funding was approximately the same as last year. Commissioner Fuller made the motion, which was seconded by Commissioner Muench, to recommend to the Village Board this level of funding: Projects FY 2008 Staff Recommendations Public Service Programs 1. Access to Care 12,000 2. Alexian Center for Mental Health 0 3. CEDA - Child Care 7,500 4. CEDA - Emergency Housing 10,000 5. Children's Advocacy Center 5,000 6. GW A YO - Dream Makers 6,000 7. GW A YO - Summer Adventure North 5,500 8. GW A YO - Summer Adventure South 5,500 9. Higher Up Ministries 5,500 10. Journeys from PADS to HOPE 6,000 13. Mentor Program 3,000 14. Northwest CASA 3,000 15. Resources for Community Living 5,000 16. Special Leisure Services 0 16. WINGS 4,500 18. Search Group Home Rehab 15,000 The motion carried. Chairperson Tolbert stated that the recommendations are to be forwarded to the Village Board for consideration at the September 18, 2007 meeting. ADJOURNMENT The next meeting is scheduled for the first Thursday in November. Commissioner Parikh moved and Commissioner Fuller seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ellen Divita Deputy Director