Aurora House Citizens' Advisory Committee

AURORA HOUSE GIRLS’ GROUP HOME CITIZEN’S ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 05/03/2022 PURPOSE OF MEETING: The Aurora House Citizens’ Advisory Committee provides consultation to the Aurora House Manager regarding community resources and public awareness; advises the City Council and Arlington County Board of Aurora House's needs, budget, and services; and serves as community liaison through area organizations, civic groups, and other boards and commissions. DATE OF MEETING: March 08, 2022 PLACE OF MEETING: Virtual, Microsoft Teams (Not all of the meeting was captured. It was stated during the recording that the recording was turned on half-way through the meeting). MEETING CALLED TO ORDER BY: Chair, Christina Goodwin THOSE PRESENT: Committee Members Staff Laura Economos Rachel Kindell Christina Goodwin, Chair Dana Lewis Mariam Garriga Christine Katcher City Council Liaison Caroline Lian Others Present: Rick Strobach Approval of Minutes: None Old Business: None Group Home Manager’s Report: New Business: Summer Internship Program – There is a possibility we could work with Arlington Parks & Recreation for the summer internship program. Dessy Berry is Rick’s contact at Arlington Parks & Recreation. The TEAMS Program could teach kids about running a business, business skills. The City of Falls Church complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This document will be made available in an alternative format upon request. Call 703-248-5005 (TTY 711). The Aurora House • 420 South Maple Avenue • Falls Church, Virginia 22046 TEL 703-237-6622 • FAX 703-237-6624 • www.fallschurchva.gov Some parts of the job could be preparing moon bounces, DJ setup, balloon stations for people’s parties. It would be good to have a mentor to help guide the intern. There may be 2 applicants from Aurora House and 1 from Argus House. It is good to consider that the intern could be a future employee for Arlington. Rick offered himself as a possible mentor. Ms. Katcher asked if rising 9th graders could be considered – Rick replied, “yes”. Scholarship Application – Any discussion about this was not captured on the recording. Trauma Informed Spaces – A wish list could be started for items and to share with those wanting to contribute. The suggestion of using Signup Genius was mentioned as it would be faster than the procurement process. A budget of $20,000 was discussed as a suggestion for the amount toward improvements for Aurora House. Inquiry was made about the status of the getting new carpet – Ms. Katcher mentioned that she would follow-up. There was agreement that carpet should be included in a general support fund and that lamps should be purchased as well. Rick suggested stressing the improvements would be going toward trauma informed spaces and not just a décor preference. Ms. Lewis asked if the improvements would be AARPa eligible? Ms. Economos contributed that the budget for the project would be about 90% Arlington and 10% Falls Church. Meeting adjourned: Not captured Next scheduled meeting will be on July 19, 2022 SIGNATURE OF RECORDER: Amy Howell The City of Falls Church complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This document will be made available in an alternative format upon request. Call 703-248-5005 (TTY 711). The Aurora House • 420 South Maple Avenue • Falls Church, Virginia 22046 TEL 703-237-6622 • FAX 703-237-6624 • www.fallschurchva.gov