Cultural Connections Committee

Minutes from Cultural Connections Committee March 17th 2015. March 17th 2015 City Hall Room 208 Regular monthly meeting. Time of Meeting 3-30PM to 5-01 PM. Members Present: Thomas Lopez ( Chair ), Jared Barbosa ( vice Chair), Janeth Orozco Sanchez, Rafael Calderon , Lavonne Colon, Sharon Dalton, Bernadette Melton- Plante, Karen Emis- Williams, Bruno Soares, Jenn Hosking, Mary Ann Melizzi – Golija, and Carlos Camache . Guests: Amy Tyree Absent: Paul Bergeron, Dendrea Smith, Marcos Diaz, Pat Howsen, Fouad Mahfuz, Amber Logue (was on vacation) and Andrew Smith. 1. Thomas Lopez opened the meeting at 3-30PM; The Mission statement was read by Jared Barbosa explaining the mission of the Cultural Connections Committee is to encourage understanding and appreciation of Ethnic Diversity in the City of Nashua and to facilitate communication between the ethnic community and city government (NRO 2-94). 2. February minutes were approved unanimously with Sharon making a motion and having it seconded by Karen that two changes needed to be added one was to have the record show that Jen was present at the meeting in February and she is the Nashua Public Library reprsentive and Pam Howsen was absent . 3. Tom stated that in accordance with the Cultural Connections Committee bylaws article 2 it is important to record members who attend the meeting and who are absent. 4. Thomas Lopez gave a chair report to the committee explaining that the group needed to have Elections today. The committee nominated Thomas Lopez as Chairman, Jared Barbosa as Vice Chairman and Bernadette Melton- Plante as secretary. Sharon Dalton accepted the ballot and presented to all committee members present the committee voted unanimously to accept these nominations of officers for the Cultural Connection Committee. 5. A brief report was provided on the Gate City Initiative reminding members the group meets on the 4th Monday of the month. One of the primary focuses of this group is to look at refugees challenges and to communicate with resettlement agencies. It is important to look at the needs of the refugees and to bring concerns to the Cultural Connections Committee. The group is currently in the process of developing a tool kit for refugees and looking at what would be contusive for non- speaking residents. A discussion was held on the importance of looking at what the need is for school systems and to work with Cultural Navigators (who are a  part of “One Greater Nashua “ ). The next meeting is March 26th from 9-00AM to 10-30AM and it will be held at Catholic Charites 26, Lake Street Nashua. Thomas Lopez reminded the group of the importance of not changing the locations of the meetings too much and that when determine a location paying attention to the fact it is within walking distance for those who do not have transport. 6. An update was provided to the committee on the Nashua Youth Ambassadors Program. Janeth, Lavonne and Bernadette were very involved in this 8 week program helping to arrange different community locations to visit every week for the Youth. Janeth, Lavonne and Bernadette reported the Youth Ambassadors had community visits to City Hall, Boys and Girls Club, The Youth Council, Nashua Soup Kitchen, Gateways Community Agency, Nashua Police Department and Vertical dreams the rock climbing venue in Nashua. Funding for the meals and trips was provided by the DMC. The local PAL program was very involved in supporting students and parents in this program and ensured all the students got to the different locations. On March 24th at 7-10PM we will have 12 students graduating from the program and the Mayor will be presenting all students with certificates along with Mary Ann Melizzi- Golja.This program was very successful and all of the students reported experiences as they learnt more about their local community. 7. Racial and Ethnic Disparity in the Justice System is the new name for the DMC Committee. Goals for 2015 are to meet monthly to monitor activities of the local DMC and to share communication from the SAG and OJJDP.Plans and actions will be conducted in alignment with the policies of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and as they are amended. Juvenile Justice Reform Strategies will prevail. This group also had discussions about race and ethnicity with several very good discussions about the shootings in Ferguson. The discussions were led by the local police force and Carlos Camache attended this meeting .A meeting will be held on March 27th at Rivier College at the Dion center’s board room to discuss community safety. It is hoped that authentic dialogue between legislators , the community and the local police force will take place. 8. No report was provided on the Mirror Program as Andrew Smith was unable to attend the meeting. 9. One Greater Nashua was discussed at the meeting. It was explained to the committee members that it is made up of local businesses who are focusing on certain area’s in the Nashua Region that need to be developed further. Some of which are health outcomes which can be done by working closely with the Cultural Navigators Program as we know Women of  Colour have poorer health outcomes, Youth Leadership and Family Engagement by working with and planning Cultural Events. The remaining area is Business and Civic Engagement. Tom Lopez reported that Liaisons from each group have been selected. 10. It was reported that Scott Jacquith can no longer be the representive from the Nashua School District due to Commitments for his job. Bruno Soares is currently attending the Cultural Connection Committee Meeting as an interested citizen .A brief discussion was held as to whether he would be interested in representing the school District if he was asked. Bruno is currently employed by the School department. Bruno stated he would be happy to if he was approached by the school district. Thomas Lopez stated he would write a letter to Mark Conrad regarding who the school district is considering to be their school representive. 11. A group discussion was held on the work the committee is doing on upcoming Cultural Festivals .Positive Street Art is again this year very interested in getting involved with the upcoming events in Nashua. It was determined that the upcoming Cultural Events need to be more visible and we all need to focus on better publicity on the events 12. Plans for the French Cultural event are coming along well. The City approved some funds to assist with the development of this program the group is meeting monthly.Thomas Lopez encouraged other committee members to get involved. 13. The Adult Learning Center will be holding a workshop for Emerging Leaders of Color. An event will be held at Greeley Park from 10-00AM to 1-00PM on June 6th 2015 “Nashua Goes Mad” stands for Multicultural Awareness Day. 14. A discussion was held on the workshop series that will be held by Lamprey Health Care that is hoping to have 4 different health care providers who will speak for 20 minutes a piece. The objective is to educate people in our community on health care options. 15. Sharon Dalton made a motion to close the meeting at 5-01PM and it was seconded by Karen Emis- Williams. Respectfully Submitted Bernadette Melton- Plante.