Eastham Human Service Advisory Committee
Minutes of November 9, 2010
The meeting was called to order at 7:04 PM by Elaine Lipton, serving for the absent Mary Sedlock, Chair. Those members present Susan Canavari, Carl Lipton, Gordon Major and~ Margaret Phillips.~ Also absent was secretary, Judith Izikewicz.~ In her absence, Gordon Major was appointed secretary pro tem.
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Approval of Minutes: because some members did not receive the document by e-mail, the minutes of the November 3, 2010 meeting will be~examined for approval at the next meeting.
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Planning for the budget recommendation meeting: As we project recommendations for Town funding for 2012, Elaine Lipton offered~ to provide for the next meeting a chart of previous years of support by the Town.
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Interview – Independence House, Inc.~ Lysetta Burge-Putnam, Executive Director was welcomed and~ introduced to the meeting.
History mission and services: Ms. Hurge-Putnam described the~history, mission and services of the agency, now operating since 1979 for prevention of spousal, sexual abuse and stalking.~ She described the courant services: There is~a 24-7-365 hotline staffed by professional volunteers. There is~ on site counseling from Monday through Friday,~ a safe –home service, child witness counseling and protection, special service for teens and a court advocacy program.~ The agency works closely with the state Department of the Children’s Services. There are three units of emergency housing. There is a collaborative approach with social service, medical and legal agencies.~
Challenges: Finances have been tightened. There have been four cuts in state support, resulting in furloughing two staff members and shortened hours of service. Meanwhile the growth in service needs has grown significantly over the past three years, perhaps economy related. Layoffs, a spouse out of work at home and other factors~ spawn aggression. Ms. Hurge-Putnam was thanked and left.
The committee decided that its interview work was over.~ Our next step is to analyze comparative needs of agencies and citizens with possible funds available for presentation to the Board of Selectmen.
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Next Meeting and Adjournment~ The next meeting of the committee will be Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 7 PM in the small committee room.~ A motion to adjourn was made and sustained at 8:25 PM.~
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Respectfully submitted,
R. Gordon Major,
Secretary pro tem
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