College Park Seniors Committee

College Park Seniors Committee City Hall – Lower Level Conference Room September 6, 2017 7:00 PM FINAL MINUTES Seniors Committee Members: PRESENT ABSENT Carolyn Bernache X Helen Barnes X P.J. Brennan X Pedro Manuel Guevara-Cordova X Mary Anne Hakes X Jackie Kelly X Darlene Nowlin X Bonnie Beck O’Brien X Rosemary Perticari X Also present: Peggy Higgins, Youth, Family and Senior Services; James McFadden, Resident; Jeanne Cook , Greenbelt CARES ;Joi Woods, Contract Secretary The meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m. by Mr. Brennan. Mr. Brennan motioned that Approval of the August meeting minutes be deferred until after the Greenbelt GIVES presentation. All were in favor; none opposed. The motion passed. I. Greenbelt GIVES Program Presentation by founder Jean Cook A. Jeanne Cook provided forms and fact sheets as samples for the committee and administrative background information about Greenbelt GIVES: 1. Originally founded 1995 in GIVES acronym(Greenbelt Intergenerational Volunteer Exchange Service) 2. Greenbelt GIVES recently acquired 501C3; the organization received a grant from Greenbelt’s city council for Insurance coverage and related costs 3. Shift schedules are typically 2 hours in the morning & 2 hours in the afternoon; 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. 1:00-3:00 p.m. 4. Greenbelt GIVES uses a Time Bank System that is quid pro quo 5. Extremely busy from mid-January mid through mid-April when Greenbelt Cares schedules free tax services offered by AARP 6. Upcoming events safe driving course for seniors offered by AARP on October 24th 7. Feedback about Village Rides currently in Montgomery County funded by a grant from the Jewish Community Center; coming to PG County. The drawback is the computer based processes; phone options are availability, Village Rides offers a grant to pay for background checks 8. Largest consideration to refine service offerings depends upon the needs of the community B. Questions, Answers, & Open Discussion: The Committee had an opportunity to ask questions and dialogue about administrative processes 1. Training offered to volunteers- Preliminary training and shadowing- operations & office training 2. Service Requests are organized by single occurrences and ongoing requests (i.e. typing, home visits, etc.) 3. Membership Rosters & Managing Services provided- list of volunteers and the services offered to Senior residents are maintained in a binder -Membership has a base line structure- no fees are required; the requirements are to provide services in order to receive services; exceptions are made as everyone that gives does not get, everyone that gets does not give -Greenbelt GIVES offers respite care services to support caregivers, other service categories also include house cleaning, computer, paperwork, etc. does not provide child care services 4. Restrictions regarding finances and medication- Bi-laws have requirements and rules that prohibit financial services, medication handling or administration 5. Insurance cost for the Board- $1,000 /month; separate insurance for the board approximately $700; GIVES is insured by ANI a 5013c owned by CIMA. Annual insurance cost approximately $1700/year 6. Village Rides- Barriers and potential solutions related to using computers 7. Initiatives & Factors to consider- the ability to work different types of personalities, and interact with residents with cognitive conditions (ie. Dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc.) -Grant given by Greenbelt Homes (GHI)/ community foundation to help with hoarding -Related security safeguards (i.e. women don’t enter a man’s apartment without 2 women) and reporting protocol -Idea to create a list of contractors that offer free services or referral services i.e. trash removal- referred through the city of College Park 8. Informing potentially vulnerable members about reporting requirements - hoarding or DSS intervention, matter referred to Explorations in Aging; issue of intrusion for those potentially at risk to be reported to the city or Adult Protective Services  9. Scheduling & tracking services- use of a master schedule, follow up calls, and service resolution to document completion, follow up, pertinent details, concerns, or issues -Greenbelt GIVES protocol- the Giver is supposed to call in when performing services- calls serve as a check and balance for status updates 10. Trends & Challenges- connecting residents to services beyond the scope of organization (Greenbelt GIVES) -Average number of calls: 50% transportation services- Approximately 2500 hours /year- administration costs included; face to face can vary from 20 to 60 hours / month. On average transportation is typically for doctor’s appointments within a 10 mile radius. Drivers provide license and proof of insurance; the Driver’s insurance is operable in the event of incident. 11. Training for working with the Senior Community-Greenbelt CARES provides Informal conversation about recognizing mental illness and condition. Potential to offer formal information and fact sheets and provide overview information. Volunteer training to recognize hoarding behaviors, potential fire hazards, mental health emergencies related to dementia. Once the matter is reported follow up is provided through city code enforcement. 12. Creating Viability- provide a network of services in conjunction with Neighbors Helping Neighbors as a unifying body among Department of Social Services, Explorations in Aging, and CP Seniors -Goal: sustaining altruism among the organizations to keep long term, committed volunteers -Challenge: finding long term volunteers, on call volunteers; indicative of an evolving culture where residents lack time to commit (i.e. working households, rearing children) 13. Greenbelt GIVES trends, marketing and advertising- Identified trend of younger retirees helping older retirees information table at community events, Labor Day Parade, Harvest Festival, Health Fairs; quarterly meetings via newsletters Greenbelt News Review; challenge disseminating to Greenbelt East & West (beyond old Greenbelt) -Churches that help with food- St. Hughes gives monthly Greenbelt gets food from the food bank 14. Quarterly meetings- requirements, topics- discussed Greenbelt GIVES no attendance requirements for members -Topics: events, monthly re-cap, administrative issues; meetings run about an hour - Support and collaboration with Greenbelt GIVES-Get copy of bi-laws; opportunities to shadow Greenbelt GIVES volunteers C. Next Steps for CP Seniors Committee 1. Ongoing assigned tasks for CP Seniors Committee members to identify existing services in College Park  2. Connect & collaborate with existing organizations to identify trends related to community needs, organizational support needs to maintain each organization’s identity and efficient service delivery D. Potential practices to promote available services 1. College Park Policy-City has a policy not to promote organizations that are not sponsored by the city 2. Clearinghouse/ Information Referral- to facilitate streamlining and filtering requests to corresponding service providers 3. Potentially city liability & vulnerability - Needs to be separate, yet supported by the City; working closely with official city departments; using tools like Task Rabbit to identify resources for referral. Future tasks for CP Senior Committee: Establish a list serve by neighborhood and city and potentially work with neighborhoods to create referral suggestions. Develop a process that minimizes redundancies. 4. DC Department of Aging- maintains a practice of referring to seniors the Senior Service Network -only agencies funded by the DC Department of Aging. E. Committee Considerations &Volunteer Recruitment The purpose is to blend and unify existing organizations and city services and to create structure for sustainability for each organization. 1. Fraternity and Sororities as viable resources linked to service requirements 2. Creating relationships with individuals that belong to service providing organizations; II. Review and approval of August 2017 minutes Name spellings, attendance corrections offered Mrs. Bernache motioned to approve the minutes with corrections; Mrs. Hakes seconded All were in favor; none opposed. The motion passed. III. Presentation: City Seniors program history A. Established to support seniors at Attick Towers and Spellman House B. Aging-in-place Task Force focused on the need for services reaching seniors in the community C. Case Management services to seniors in homes - limited due to volume of seniors in Attick Towers & Spellman House D. Extensive social engagement activities and individualized emotional support include Theraplay Groups, subsidized day trips, activities E. Annual Health fair, diabetes classes offered IV. Next meeting, October 4, 2017  Take away assignments: Identify existing service organizations V. Adjournment Mrs. Bernache called for a motion to adjourn. Ms. Perticari made the motion to adjourn; Mrs. Hakes seconded the motion. All were in favor; none opposed. The motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 pm.