Commission on Family Services

Commission on Family Services Meeting Agenda – Skokie Village Hall Mar. 6, 2024 7:00 pm Present: Commissioners Harold Primack (Chair), Marjorie Goran, Hilary Hunter, Shajan Jose (Vice Chair), Linda Lara, Peggy Molina, Arnie Oskin, Melissa Ponce, Erin Ryan (NC), Naadirah Shapley-Wells, Annie Shear, Phillip Shefren, London Summerville, Melissa Versch (Staff Liaison) Absent: Commissioners Michelle Friedman, Jo Hammerman, Laila Iqbal, Daniel Mann, Valerie Riley, Nancy Schwartz, Daniel Stalilonis, Trustee Edie Sue Sutker I. Call to Order: Approval of Agenda Meeting called to order at 7:03pm. Agenda approved by consent. II. Guest Speaker: Alyssa Robbins, Manager, Outreach & Community Education, JCFS Alyssa shared information about clinical services offered through JCFS, including individual, family and group therapy. As an example of her work, Alyssa presented on “Sexuality Pizza,” a model for comprehensive sexuality education. She also shared information about upcoming JCFS events, including “Tuned In” on March 17 and the Clothesline Project in partnership with YWCA. III. Approval of Feb. 7, 2023 Minutes Approved by consent. IV. Chair’s Report: Harold Primack A. New Commissioner: Erin Ryan B. Turning Point held their annual town hall meeting on March 1. It included local politicians and focused on mental health issues. They discussed topics related to mental health. Medicaid and Medicare don’t sufficiently cover many mental health services. There is a shortage of mental health care providers. Ways to promote people into the field include increasing wage, preventing burnout, funding programs at colleges, forgiving student loans. They talked about BEACON, a portal for Illinois youth and families in crisis. Questions were asked about a portal for adults and seniors, as well as services for immigrants. There was discussion about the 988 hotline, which is an alternative to 911 for mental health issues. The Co-Responder Team and Niles Township Respite Center were praised. All commissioners should have gotten an invitation for the Village reception. Be sure to respond to Vicky Varga. An email was sent out to the commission with a request for picking up donated food from Trader Joe’s in Evanston to take to the Niles Township Food Pantry. V. Health and Human Service Report: Staff Liaison, Melissa Versch Melissa V passed around a printout of contact information for Commissioners to update. The Village has recently partnered with Northwest Housing to help administer the Skokie Home Improvement Program. The Program is for low-income homeowners who want to make home improvements but need a little financial help. A loan up to $12,000 is provided at zero interest. The longer you live in your home, the less you have to pay back. VI. Old Business: A. Seniors Subcommittee update Nothing to report at this time. Harold recommended looking at the AARP Livable Communities resources for information. B. At-Risk Youth and Families Subcommittee update London reported that the subcommittee is planning another diaper drive around mothers day. The goal is to expand publicity and collection sites. Faith communities may be a good resource. Harold suggested reaching out to Early Childhood Alliance in the future. C. Disabilities Subcommittee - Town Hall Meeting update Phil reported that the subcommittee is preparing for the Town Hall Meeting taking place on April 14. There is a need for volunteers to be computer notetakers. If anyone is interested in volunteering, they can reach out to Melissa V. There will be a training for volunteers on April 1. Flyers are printed and people are encouraged to share the information. The goal of the meeting is to get feedback from individuals with disabilities about what makes them feel welcome in a community, what is working well and what can be improved. From this basic information, there may be follow up methods to gather information in other ways. D. Update Commission pamphlet Last year, the commission printed 1000 brochures to share information about the commission initiatives. Arnie volunteered to work with Melissa to update the brochure for 2024. It may be helpful for subcommittees to provide a few short sentences about initiatives, especially regarding the diaper drive and town hall meeting. The commission needs to decide whether and how to participate in upcoming events. The Skokie Festival of Cultures is May 18 and 19. Arnie reached out to Meredith Gioia with the Communications Department regarding interest in volunteering for the event so that the commission can hand out material. Melissa P shared that last year’s event was very busy, it’s a good way to talk with people. Melissa V suggested waiting to hear back from the Communications Department before sending out a signup sheet for volunteers. Arnie reported that planning for the Fourth of July is underway. Harold reported that in the past, the commission had a car that was driven in the parade. Last year, Family Services joined with the Beautification Commission on their float. More people are needed from the commission. A consideration is to join the Human Relations Commission. There should also be consideration about if there is a good “return on investment” by participating. Next month there will be a request for volunteers for the two activities to see if there is enough interest. VII. New Business: A. Date for dinner meeting The suggested date is June 5 due to scheduling conflicts. Shajan volunteered to help with the dinner order.  B. Dates for food and clothes drives Melissa V reported that she spoke with the coordinator for the farmers market to schedule the donation drive dates for the last Sunday of the month, with an exception in August. The drive collects gently used clothing for the Niles Township clothing closet and nonperishable food and toiletries for the Niles Township Food Pantry. This is in addition to weekly produce collection from the farmers. A recently published update on the Environmental Sustainability Plan mentioned the produce collected at the farmers market for the food pantry. By collecting produce, the commission is helping to keep food local and accessible. London volunteered to help setup the Signup Genius for volunteers needed for the farmers market collections. It was recommended that it be sent out in May. Diapers will be added to the list of needed items. Melissa V will be ordering bags for produce collection. The banner is in “okay” condition. A new banner may be needed. Dates should not be printed on the banner so that it can be used in future years. A suggestion was made to include a QR code on the banner, though not everyone knows how to use a QR code. Dates will be included on the brochure. C. New subcommittee There may be a need for a new subcommittee. One possibility is to divide an existing subcommittee, or to create a new one with a new focus. The Open Meetings Act restricts the number of commissioners who can meet outside of public meetings. This is something that can be a later discussion. VIII. Public Comments: None. IX. Adjournment. Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:15pm. Next Meeting: April 3, 2024, 7:00 p.m. at Skokie Village Hall