Interagency Council Meeting Minutes 10/9/14

Interagency Council Meeting Minutes: 10/9/14

Our next meeting will be held at the Warren County Human Services Building. Rebecca Smith from Glens Falls Hospital Smoking Cessation Program will be presenting about this FREE program. Kim Cook from Code Blue will be attending to talk with us about what that program is currently in need of. And there will be a HEAP update at the upcoming meeting as well.

Ally opened the meeting by reading our mission statement.

Community Connections Day – We are looking at making changes, most notably in the time of year as well as venue. We discussed the Washington County Fair, a grocery store, Walmart parking lot, Warrensburg Garage Sale, and the Balloon Festival. It was also noted that Worlco will no longer be a sponsor of this event. In order to address these aspects more fully, the Community Connections Day Committee will begin meeting immediately after the November meeting. Anyone interested in participating should plan on staying.

The Have a Heart application is on our blog. If you are interested in applying for your non-profit agency, please get the completed application in by next month’s meeting.

Attendee introductions and Agency Announcements:

Council for Prevention: The next meeting of the Suicide Prevention Coalition is on 10/28 at 10am, at the CFP.

SAIL – has begun a new program called Community Health Advocates (CHA), to assist people with health insurance issues.  SAIL fundraiser – “Sail On” will be held on 10/24, $50/ticket. Other news – Another new program, the “Stay At Home” project, will employ volunteers to do small at-home projects for seniors in need in Warren and Washington Counties (though they are hoping to grow from here). An informational session will be held at SAIL on 10/15 at 930am for those who wish to hear more about this new program.

House of Grace –Volunteers needed. They are also having a fundraiser on 10/18 at the Civic Center – Hockey game between the Flames and Phantoms. $20/ticket.

Catholic Charities of Warren County – offering free assistance for SNAP application.  Call Genny O’Brien at 424-7525 if interested in learning more.

National Grid – HEAP begins on 11/17

Hospice – raffle tickets for all expenses-paid trip for 2 to St. Maartins. Tickets are $25. They will also be holding “Hope for the Holidays”, a workshop on coping with loss, at the Queensbury senior center on 11/13.

Nick mentioned an opportunity for Interagency Council to promote themselves as well as individual agencies through a possible radio show – he will get back to us with more information.

Another point was brought up – with so many events lined up by various organizations, we find that there are often programs being held on the same days. We will start to compare planning calendars in order to combat this.

Today’s Presenter – Amy Alphonso from Mediation Matters.

 Since 1979, Mediation Matters has grown to cover a 6 county area including Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties.

Mediation is a voluntary, private and confidential process facilitated by a trained and impartial mediator. The mediator hosts a conversation with two or more people in order to resolve a dispute and develop a mutually acceptable solution. Mediations Matters is funded by the NYS Unified Court System and has been around since 1979. Along with mediation, this center offers conflict resolution education, teambuilding and leadership development.

Situations best suited for mediation are those in which:

-          The issue involves strong emotions

-          The parties know each other

-          The parties want to maintain the relationship

-          One party is uncomfortable confronting the other side

-          The parties have reached an obstacle in trying to resolve the issue

-          The parties want to avoid costly legal litigation

-          The issue does not involve class action/punitive damage

However, mediation is NOT a place to seek legal advice or psychotherapy/counseling. It is not a court proceeding, and perhaps most importantly, it is not a place for situations with safety concerns, power imbalances or where there are allegations of ongoing child abuse/neglect and/or domestic violence concerns. The staff will refer a situation to another resource/avenue of intervention if it is deemed inappropriate for mediation.

All mediators are volunteers and go through a training certified by New York State (consists of 30 hours) and have observed and participated in mediations as part of their training.

Organizations/persons wishing to use mediation through this program may contact Mediation Matters directly. To contact the office in Saratoga, please call 518-584-6361.