Disability Advisory Commission

City of Fresno City Hall 2600 Fresno Street 2nd Floor, Meeting Meeting Minutes - Final Room A (2165) Disability Advisory Commission Chairperson Dr. Jenelle Pitt Vice Chair Kyra Schleef Board Member Frances Reyes Acosta Board Member (ex officio) Carlos Duarte Board Member Ken Elvington Board Member Heather Flores Board Member Tiffany Potter Board Member Mary Beth Randall DAC Secretary Shannon M. Mulhall Tuesday, March 8, 2016 10:00 AM City Hall 2600 Fresno Street Regular Session 1. Call To Order Chair Pitt called the meeting to order at 10:05 am. Present 8 - Chairperson Dr. Jenelle Pitt, Vice Chair Kyra Schleef, Board Member Frances Reyes Acosta, Board Member (ex officio) Carlos Duarte, Board Member Ken Elvington, Board Member Heather Flores, Board Member Tiffany Potter, and Board Member Mary Beth Randall 2. Approval of Minutes ID16-279 Approval of the Disability Advisory Commission Minutes from February 9, 2016 On motion of Board Member Randall, seconded by Board Member Potter, that the above Action Item be approved. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Chairperson Pitt, Vice Chair Schleef, Board Member Reyes Acosta, Board Member Elvington, Board Member Flores, Board Member Potter and Board Member Randall 3. Member Reports and Comments City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 1 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 8, 2016 Commission No member reports or comments. 4. Secretary's Report Secretary Mulhall shared that the City ADA Notice and Grievance procedures have been translated into Spanish and Hmong. These are available as brochures and on the website as accessible PDF. Mulhall followed up that the Housing Element has been updated to reflect the input and/or respond to suggestions from the DAC. Announcements from the community include that March 8 is International Women's Day and that Bob Hand, former DAC member, will retire from Resources for Independence Central Valley and Sam Morgan will take over as the Executive Director. 5. Unscheduled Communication / Public Comments Tommy Tahami spoke about the need for infrastructure and revitalization in the area of Fresno in which he lives, as there are potholes and alley concerns. Tahami has concerns with the houses and residences in the area needing assistance. This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons desiring to address the DAC on any matter not on this agenda (presentation are limited to 3 minutes per person). The DAC is generally legally prohibited from taking any action on informationpresented in unscheduled communication until subsequent meetings. 6. Presentations 6-A. ID16-277 Presentation by National Alliance on Mental Illness, Fresno Chris Roup, Executive Director for National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Fresno presented on their services. The services include education, support, and advocacy related to mental illness for family members and people living with mental illness. Roup shared that NAMI, Fresno has engaged with Police Chief Dyer in regards to the possibility of providing free training for law enforcement staff; the concern has been the costs for staff time to attend training. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 2 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 8, 2016 Commission Member Flores expressed concerns with the overlap of behavioral/developmental disabilities and mental illness, expressing a desire for Central Valley Regional Center to better link with NAMI, Fresno. Roup acknowledged that co-occurring disabilities are a reality within their scope of work and that their organization would be open to working with CVRC. Member Elvington commended those who tell their stories and make connections to reduce the stigma of mental illness. Chair Pitt asked if people are taking an interest in developing (wellness Recovery Action Plans) WRAPs. Roup responded that this is a tool that is being used, as well as suicide prevention planning tools. Chair Pitt asked if the NAMI training also takes into account the need for cultural competency and the related implications. Roup responded that yes, they attempt to have a person who has a lived experience with mental illness as well as a shared culture. For example, they have facilitated training/groups for faith-based as well as Spanish language/Latino culture. Roup acknowledged that there are some situations in which they have encountered barriers to providing culturally competent trainers, for example in some elder-based cultures the elders still see mental illness as something that should not be talked about and do not allow younger generations to participate or present on their experiences. The floor was opened for public comment on this agenda item. Glina Gammel shared about the challenges of having family members who live with mental illnesses who do not want to seek help. Roup responded that it is common to see people who don't want to seek treatment; in these instances it is important for the family members to ensure they they are taking care of themselves as well. Tommy Tahami asked if NAMI has any activities. Roup responded that there is an annual NAMI walk fundraiser that will occur on May 21, 2016 and that there is a list of the available classes in their brochure. Rhonda Lacy shared that within Human Resources they have to be careful with proceeding when they notice that people may need help at work due to mental illness. She asked how best to approach and accommodate these City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 3 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 8, 2016 Commission situations. Roup responded regarding the importance of documentation as well as creating an environment where staff feel safe asking for accommodations for mental illness, as it is highly stigmatized. She recommended the NAMI provider education for management/supervisor positions as well as offering a Mental Health First Aid course for all staff. On motion of Board Member Elvington, seconded by Board Member Flores, the DAC will write a letter to the Fresno Police Department supporting NAMI, Fresno and encouraging the department to find a way to support employee costs to attend NAMI training. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Chairperson Pitt, Vice Chair Schleef, Board Member Reyes Acosta, Board Member Elvington, Board Member Flores, Board Member Potter and Board Member Randall 7. Subcommittee Reports 7-A. Outreach Subcommittee Appointed to this subcommitte are Chair Pitt, Member Reyes Acosta, Member Flores (alternate) and community member Gabriel Diaz. Piit, Reyes Acosta and Diaz are continuing to work on the media guide. Secretary Mulhall was approached by the Central Library to see if the DAC would be interested in decorating their display case this year. The commission agreed that October would be a good month to do this in conjunction with Disability Awareness Month. 7-B. Transportation Subcommittee Appointed to this subcommittee are Member Duarte, Member Reyes Acosta, FAX Assistant Director Schaad, FAX Operations Manager Elizabeth Watlngton, Handy Ride Operations Manager Noella Rios, Community Member Bill Hyatt, and Community Member Edward LaComb. ID16-278 Unmet Transportation Needs Letter The Council on Governments (COG) SSTAC committee is in the process of collecting comments regarding the region's unmet transportation needs, which may be submitted prior to June to BHyatt@cvrc.org. The commission discussed the following items as things that they might want to consider highlighting in a letter to COG: City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 4 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final March 8, 2016 Commission 1. Bus transportation to Inspiration Park and the surrounding neighborhoods as well as other outlying areas. 2. The need for greater availability of public transportation on holidays (both fixed route and paratransit) extended service hours 3. More frequent busses on the main corridors, such as along Shaw or Blackstone 4. Longer direct routes along other corridors where routes turn (e.g.: Herndon, Bullard, Cedar) 5. Routes to the northeast area of the city (e.g. Champlain/Perrin) Jeff Long from COG indicated that part of what the SSTAC asks for in the unmet needs process is background and supporting data for requests that can be reasonably met. Member Potter indicated that it may be useful to include some of the organizations that are served in the areas mentioned within the list. The floor was opened to the public for comment. Glinna Gammel stated that Ashlan and Dakota need west bound routes. This item has been continued to the next meeting for further discussion. Adjournment On motion of Board Member Randall, seconded by Board Member Reyes Acosta, the above item was approved. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Chairperson Pitt, Vice Chair Schleef, Board Member Reyes Acosta, Board Member (ex officio) Duarte, Board Member Elvington, Board Member Flores, Board Member Potter and Board Member Randall The meeting room is physically accessible. Services of an interpreter and additional accommodations such as assitive listening devices can be made available. Requests for accommodations should be made one week prior to the scheduled meeting. Please contact Shannon M. Mulhall at 559-621-8716 (voice) 559-621-8721 (TTY) or shannon.mulhall@fresno.gov City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 5