Recast Advisory Board

RECAST ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES Wednesday, May 31, 2023 Third Floor GwMA Conference Room 6:00 PM 70 S. Clayton St, GA 30046 Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:05 PM, recognizing a quorum. Approval of Agenda Motion made by Martin, Seconded by Hudson. Voting Yea: Jordan, Brown, Floyd-Bryant, Sanchez, Martin, Warnsley, Hudson Voting Abstaining: Drane (arrived at 6:08 PM) Citizen Comments To participate in the Public Comment part of this agenda, you must register with the Advisory Board Secretary prior to the beginning of the meeting. Presentations will be limited to two (2) minutes per person and the Board will not respond to comment. No citizen comments were offered. Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes Approve Prior Meeting Minutes Motion to approve the prior meeting minutes was made by Brown, Seconded by Martin. Voting Yea: Jordan, Brown, Floyd-Bryant, Sanchez, Drane, Martin, Warnsley, Hudson General Discussion Board Member Check-In During the check-in, Keira Drane shared that the Lawrenceville Housing Authority is hosting a ribbon cutting, opening a Housing Resource Center in Norcross. She is also collecting clothing to donate to families. Coni Brown shared a story of a young lady who has overcome challenges, graduated from high school and who received an internship opportunity through Liliana Pino. Other members shared additional personal updates. ReCAST Data Presentation Betsy Crane, ReCAST Program Data Evaluator shared a strong data report. She reported that the vast majority of our program deliverables are either on track to be met – or in some cases have already been exceeded. Two challenges were raised: 1. Due to the resignation of Lawrenceville PD’s Community Engagement Officer earlier this year, we are behind on our law enforcement training. A plan is in place to have someone from Families First provide Mindset (de-escalation training) soon. 2. We have not begun the community-facing, implicit-bias training. A plan is in place to hire a consultant through a public process and establish six (6) training dates between July-August. The board asked clarifying questions/comments: ● Are ReCAST awareness (AW1) numbers unduplicated? Response: Betsy responded with Josiah Vega (from Impact46) offering additional clarification. Instagram does not provide the level of specificity to ensure that the count is unduplicated overall (between posts), however, we can be certain that the count is unduplicated within each post. ● Can we invite educators to our implicit-bias training? Response: Yes. ● Can we reach our SAMHSA numbers and still not have the desired impact? Response: Marcus Thorne (ReCAST Program Manager) responded that this remains a risk, however, he is increasingly confident that we are moving in the right direction. The evidence of impact is multiplying. Though SAMSHA holds ReCAST accountable for “output data” rather than “outcome data,” we also plan to incorporate reporting in Year 3 that will capture more of our ReCAST outcomes/impact. ● Let's continue to encourage all partners to join in presenting and conducting outreach. Response: Marcus agreed. Impact46 Presentation & Update Impact46 Presentation & Update The advisory board heard updates regarding the work of the Lawrenceville Response Center (a program providing utilities, housing, and transportation support), Summer of Impact (a youth, summer internship program), Lawrenceville Legacy Leaders (a youth leadership development program), and ReCAST Social Media Engagement. ● Beth Thomas, Director of the Lawrenceville Response Center shared service metrics for the month of May. 120 total applicants; many served. 63 were disqualified, mostly due to non- response. The resource being used to support applicants does not mandate COVID impact. Referral to Georgia Center for Opportunity, one of our ReCAST partners specializing in employment, is now strongly recommended.  ● Kim Parson, Program Coordinator, shared updates about Summer of Impact and Lawrenceville Legacy Leaders (L3). 93 applicants to L3, a significant increase from the last cycle. Accepted students are from five schools: Gwinnett School of Math Science and Technology, Central Gwinnett, Discovery, Phoenix, and Maxwell. ● Josiah Vega, Community Engagement & Outreach Specialist, shared regarding outreach. Summer workshops will be done in collaboration with Lawrenceville PD. Several students have already registered. An encouragement summit is planned for October. Love Lawrenceville Day (intended to be a “preview day” for the summer internship program) is expected in February of 2024. Approve Amended ReCAST Meeting Calendar Motion to approve the amended ReCAST Advisory Board meeting calendar was made by Sanchez, Seconded by Brown. Voting Yea: Jordan, Brown, Floyd-Bryant, Sanchez, Drane, Martin, Warnsley, Hudson Project Manager Update Program Manager, Marcus Thorne, updated the board on several items including ● The ReCAST remaining budget. Marcus asked for guidance about how to spend down remaining funds in an efficacious manner that helps us achieve grant goals. Hector asked about ultimate sustainability, essentially, “What will remain when the grant funds end?” Also, paraphrasing, “How can we embed these skills in our young people and community members so they can continue the work when the funding is complete?” We will need to keep our focus on these questions as the work continues to ensure sustainability. Keira desired to see specifics regarding prior spending and grant commitment. Marcus committed to emailing the Year 2 budget narrative and contract specifics. Chanda expressed concern about ReCAST’s ability to “get the word out,” and encouraged the prioritization of spending additional marketing dollars. Marcus shared that this was and continues to be a balancing act: we want more of our community to be aware of ReCAST without overwhelming our service providers. ● Outreach. Marcus updated regarding the work of Families First Behavioral Health Specialist, Jorge Carranza. Jorge has been doing significant community outreach, and finding additional creative ways to engage neighborhoods. The May 27 outreach event (through the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department) went well; Marcus was joined by three representatives of Families First. Coni encouraged Marcus to consider providing ReCAST materials for the Juneteenth event hosted by the United Ebony Society @ Rhodes Jordan Park. Marcus also presented a brief update regarding the progress in our “time-to-response.” The wait time for service provision has decreased and multiple paths to access service have been opened. Lastly, ReCAST recently received an award from Georgia Cities Solutions for its DEI and youth leadership development work.  ● National Night Out. Marcus presented a plan for the upcoming outreach event and received positive feedback from the board. Several board members expressed interest in joining a planning sub-committee for this event. The board offered feedback, discussing the difficulties involved in helping individuals and families in crisis. In particular, members offered specific experiences of community members seeking support, but not showing a willingness to help themselves through available employment. Other Business No additional business was discussed. Final Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made by Sanchez, Seconded by Brown. Voting Yea: Jordan, Brown, Floyd-Bryant, Sanchez, Drane, Martin, Warnsley, Hudson The meeting adjourned at 7:50 PM. Minutes Signature ___________________ Chanda Floyd-Bryant ___________________ Marcus Thorne, Secretary