Human Services Advisory Council

Page 1 of 3 MINUTES Human Services Advisory Council City of Falls Church PURPOSE OF MEETING: To advise City Council on human services delivery to Falls Church citizens. DATE OF MEETING: January 26, 2017 PLACE OF MEETING: Dogwood Room, City Hall MEETING CALLED TO ORDER BY: Craig Cheney at 6:30 p.m. THOSE PRESENT: HSAC Members: Staff: Craig Cheney Sue Richter Alisa Macht Nicole Newnam Student Representative Anne Norloff Esther Kim Debra Roth APPROVAL OF MINUTES: No minutes were approved. OLD BUSINESS: There was no old business. NEW BUSINESS: Community Services Fund - Presentations were made by eleven applicants: • Falls Church Community Services Council - A brief summary of who they are and how the funds will be used was presented. Funding will be used for emergency financial assistance, food, and furniture. Referrals for assistance are made by the City Human Services Specialist and Social Workers with the prescreening done by them. Clients do not make direct requests for assistance. Financial assistance is only given to each person once a year; food can be given once a week. • PRS, Inc. - New project FY2018. Funding will be used to provide suicide intervention training for City of Falls Church residents. The workshop will be for 45 participants to become Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Trained with the certification good for five years. • Best Buddies – They gave an overview of past activities. The program enhances education, recreation, and social opportunities for students with IDD. They currently have forty registered for the program and all are matched. Students at George Mason High School with IDD are paired in one-to-one mutual mentoring friendships with their typical peers and are maintained for at least one academic year. At the end of the year the student participant, school advisors, and parents are surveyed regarding the overall satisfaction of the program. Funding will be used to continue the program. • Shelter House, Inc. – Shelter House is a chartered homeless shelter service provider in Fairfax County and manages Patrick Henry Family Shelter and Katherine Hanley Family Shelter. The funding will be used for direct rental assistance with utilities, rent,  Page 2 of 3 transportation assistance etc. to prevent homelessness in the City of Falls Church. They will work with Coordinated Services in Fairfax County to identify households eligible for homelessness prevention services in the City. They hope to stabilize families in their current housing to avoid homelessness. • Images for Good – They provide professional grade photographic services and images to organizations to engage and benefit students and veterans and tell important stories in the community. They will mentor students and provide opportunities for them to learn. Funding will be used to purchase equipment such as laptops and cameras. • American Legion Post 130 - They provide a variety of activities for veterans, their families, and the youth of the community. They also support activities of the City. Funding was requested for sending high school youth to Boys and Girls State government education programs which are six days in length during the first week of summer. Each participant becomes a part of the operation of their local, county, or state government. • Legal Services of Northern Virginia – They are a nonprofit law firm serving the Northern Virginia region. Their legal services are mostly for civil cases and are provided free to low-income families and individuals. They provide a variety of services some of which include domestic violence (40%), housing, landlord/tenant, subsidized housing issues, consumer protection, bankruptcy, garnishments public benefits, elder law, employment, and children. Free service is available to clients up to125% of Federal Poverty income limits with certain exceptions at 200%. All civil cases are free. Funding will be used for salaries for attorneys working with City residents. • Arc of Northern Virginia- Arc gave an overview of Transition Points program which addresses issues across the life span. Meeting the needs of a person with ID/DD is a life- long process and requires strategic long term planning. The funding will be used for the Securing a Future aspect of the program by providing workshops and a comprehensive guide. This will connect families to resources and supports on financial literacy, financial/estate planning, and guardianship • Friends of Falls Church Homeless Shelter - The Friends operate a winter hypothermia shelter at 217 Gordon Road. The Shelter is open from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 a.m. each night between November 15 and March 31. They contract with New Hope Housing for staffing and use over 200 volunteers. The Shelter is a 12 bed facility and 18 clients have been served so far (based on 47 operating nights). The clients receive support services and case management through New Hope Housing and they continue to receive the support when the shelter closes down. The funding request is to help pay the salaries of the Intake Manager and Resident Managers. • Northern Virginia Urban League- They gave a brief overview of the organization. Funding would help host fall and spring family carnivals in the Community Center’s gym to expose families with children who are underrepresented in the fields of Aviation Science Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (A STEAM). The program focuses on the importance of introducing STEM disciplines and opportunities to young people, specifically those who are underrepresented in order to create a pipeline to corporate American. • Homestretch- Funding is requested to provide housing rental assistance and services to families so that self -sufficiency, financial stability and permanent affordable housing will be achieved for all families. The objective is to move families from crisis to self- sufficiency and permanent affordable housing.  Page 3 of 3 At the February 16 HSAC meeting, recommendations will be made for the Community Services Fund for FY2018 and will be forwarded to the City Manager and City Council for budget approval. MEETING ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. SIGNATURE OF RECORDER: Sue Richter The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This document will be made available in an alternate format upon request. Call 703-248-5005 (TTY 711).