Salem Human Rights Coalition

Salem No Place for Hate Committee Tuesday, December 5, 2017 120 Washington Street, 3rd floor Members: Fuzzy Abusharkh, Joe Amico (Religious Community Liaison); Laura Assade (Liaison to the Mayor’s Office); Jeff Cohen (Chair); Lucy Corchado (Treasurer); David Eppley (City Council Liaison); Conrad Prosniewski (Police Dept Liaison); Scott Weisberg; Fara Wolfson (Vice Chair, Clerk) Guests: Shimon Avish, Alan Hanscom (SATV), Stan Franzeen, Art McDonald, Councilor-Elect Christine Madore, Chris Ross, Debi Schneider, State Representative Paul Tucker (others to be added) Meeting was called to order at 5:30 PM followed by Introductions and Public Comments  Jerrie Kishpaugh Hildebrand spoke about brochures for Witch Kitsch and the content of the brochures. Brochures had been placed in racks of tourist information at Salem Trolley. Concerns were shared by others at meeting. Suggestion to speak to Destination Salem.  Rep Paul Tucker. Last meeting of the year and want to say that it has been an extraordinary 12 months. Thank you to committee and the extraordinary work that has been done. A group of people that is responsive. The work that you are doing is more important than ever. Thank you for all that you have done. Officer Reports Chair:  Honored to co-sponsor the film “For Ahkeem” with the Salem FilmFest, Beverly Human Rights Coalition and First Church at The Cabot on November 26th.  Fundraiser scheduled for February 6th. We will be returning to The Adriatic. Because we are a Mayor’s Committee, donations are not tax-deductible.  We will be co-sponsoring Salem State’s MLK Celebration and had voted earlier this year to donate $500 (candle light vigil, essay contest…)  Will be taking an inventory of Tshirts. Laura and Jeff will need help. Vice Chair:  Minutes have been distributed (and emailed to members not present). Motion made to email revisions to Fara by Friday, seconded and approved.  Social Justice Book Group. December will be a Book Exchange at Mercy Tavern Decemer th 19 at 6:00 PM. In January, we are reading Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give. In February, we are reading a book by Jessmyn Ward (to be determined by one of the participants). In 2018 we plan on rotating facilitators and participants will be more involved in choosing titles. Please look for events on Facebook and join us for one of our meetings. Fuzzy recommended we might be interested in taking a look at ABC Meteorologist Ginger Zee’s book about her struggles with depression (Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I am One).  Hoping to send out thank you notes to local businesses and organizations we partnered with in 2017. Please share names so that we don’t overlook anybody. Treasurer:  We have ~$1200 in the account after paying for MLK events at Salem State  We will have update at next meeting after T-shirt expenses are factored in. Committee Updates:  Jeff thanked Mike Millett, who stepped down from the committee. We have thanked him personally since last meeting but wanted to acknowledge his service and support at different events. In addition, he had proposed ideas including the celebration of Indigenous People’s Day in October.  We will be looking to fill his seat/expand membership and will be talking about protocol before our January meeting. We recognize and want to honor people who have been regular attendees of meetings and actively involved and will discuss further at our January meeting.  Fuzzy acknowledged an email received earlier in the day and commended the work done by the Co-Chairs of the Community Engagement Subcommittee.  City Councilor David Eppley shared update. Most important result of November’s election perhaps is that Sanctuary for Peace Ordinance passed. There have been changes and he will no longer be our liaison. Said he has enjoyed working with the committee but will be returning to life as a private citizen. Highlighted achievements of committee in recent years.  Police Captain Conrad Prosniewski shared update. In 2017, there have been seven reported incidents that qualified as hate crimes (increase from last year when 5 were reported). He shared dates and descriptions of the seven incidents, including the most recent incident at the Walmart on Highland Avenue on November 24th. Lucy asked questions regarding the Hate Crimes Diversion Program. Conrad shared that 3 or 4 people have gone through the program.  Lucy shared update for Salem Stands with Puerto Rico. Raised more than $2000 and collected items. The outpouring of generosity was phenomenal. Postal money orders were purchased to reach people in need directly. Great community support for event at FlatbreadsNovember 14th (Acknowledged support of the Rotary Club and 15 businesses and the hands-on work of committee members). Manolo… upcoming events. People are resilient but devastation continues and it is a long recovery and people are fleeing the island in droves. Mercy Tavern is supporting SSwPR with a specific event Thursday night (10% of proceeds) and throughout the month of December. Event also listed on salem.com website.  Laura shared update re: Youth Commission’s Holiday Drive. Each year this drive has helped 150-200 families by collecting toiletries. Information is on Facebook and on Salem Youth Commission’s page on salem.com. List of items needed (i.e. soap, toothbrush…) is online. Donations will be accepted at City Hall or Salem Academy through December 15 th. Items can also be dropped off at the winter market. Items will be dispersed before school lets out for the holidays. A second drive is coming up that will be focused on school supplies for youth in Puerto Rico. That information will be shared at an upcoming meeting.  Children’s Charity event to be held at Victoria Station for 24th straight year. $20 at the door, raffle, silent auction. Event was later changed to Hawthorne Hotel.   Nicole’s statement read per her request. (“Unable to attend meeting…extremely proud of the work of the Community Engagement Sub-Committee during the Sanctuary for Peace Initiative, especially with the rally. There is immense work to still do within the city. There were 50-75 committee members eager to participate. Propose that each event should have a chair and others should be part of the subcommittee. Size of the subcommittee would depend on nature and scope of the event… Regret not being able to make the meeting… but look forward to future participation on the general committee of No Place for Hate.”)  Next meeting: January 2nd Guest speaker Candace Waldron (Protective Services Manager at North Shore Elder Services – NSES) to discuss the protective services reporting process and NSAS CALL – NS grant that works towards helping elders 50 and above who are experiencing elder abuse, neglect, and/or financial exploitation.  Laura distributed ballots for the election of officers. Officers elected for 2018-2019 Co- Chairs Jeff Cohen and Fara Wolfson; Treasurer Lucy Corchado; Clerk Scott Weisberg  The screening of “The Vigil” was originally scheduled for October, switched to November 1st to accommodate schedules. Filmmaker Jenny Alexander and Professor Rob McAndrews answered questions after the film. 50-60 people attended. Film was scheduled for CDC. Just 48 hours before screening location had to be changed. Film screening was at SACS which means we incurred a $100 fee. Committee voted to pay the $100 expense.  City Council Liaison will be named.  Moving forward in 2018. Look at what different committee members bring to the table. Exciting to set goals for the year and see what different people can contribute.  Question from Art McDonald for Rep. Tucker regarding upcoming Criminal Justice Legislation. Rep. Tucker shared update including his work on solitary confinement reform. He also recognized Stan Franzeen and a film from the Salem Film Fest (After Solitary) that was filmed in the state prison in Maine. Rep. Tucker was able to share the film with 100+ people to mobilize advocacy with the group End Mass Incarceration Today. Also being addressed are issues around expunging records because the impact it has on securing housing and finding jobs. “Putting together a really good bill for the Governor... A lot of this is common sense… For people who believe in tough on crime, this is “smart on crime…” Also discussed were reducing the number of people in the system, attempts at diversion, and the impact of the addition of a clinician in the police force. Meeting was adjourned.