Minutes from Meeting on January 13, 2015

Aging and Disability Network Meeting Minutes 1/13/15

Present: Kim Swire (CHOICES St. Peter’s), Caitlin St. George (Eddy VNA), JoAnn Zales (National Grid), Mike Finnochi (Shelters of Saratoga), Jess Froehlich (Eddy Day Break), Karen Laing (Health Literacy For All, Inc.), Barb Talbot (Section 8 Family Self-Sufficiency), Amy Hughes (Veteran’s Peer to Peer), Emily Wood (Mechanicville Area Community Services Center), Jessi Corrigan (MACSC), Reed Lehan (Saratoga County Adult Services), Mary Rickard (Saratoga County OFA), Jennifer Baldwin (Saratoga Hospital ROC), Rebecca Zohn (Concepts of Independent Choices), Cindy Harrington (Shelters of Saratoga), Kathleen Bonville (Home Health Care Partners), Cheryl Ann Murphy-Parant (Code Blue Saratoga), Lois Celeste (Saratoga Senior Center), Lisa Higgins (Saratoga Senior Center), Maria Geizer (Home Instead Senior Care).

Introduction – Attendees introduced themselves.

February’s meeting will be held on 2/10/15 from 2-330pm at St. Edward’s Church in Clifton Park. The speaker will be Frank McClement, Veterans’ Service Officer, Saratoga County Veterans’ Service Agency.

Today’s Topic and Speakers: A Panel discussion of Shelter and Homelessness Prevention Services in Saratoga County. Panelists: Mike Finocchi of Shelters of Saratoga, Cheryl Ann Murphy-Parant of Code Blue, and Maggie Fronk of Wellspring (formerly DVRC Saratoga County).

Code Blue: Code Blue Saratoga Springs (CBSS) is an emergency shelter serving homeless people in the City of Saratoga Springs who might otherwise remain unsheltered during periods of extreme winter weather. CBSS protocols are in place between November 15 and March 15. Extreme winter weather is defined as 12 inches of snow or more and temperature of 20 degrees (to include wind chill factor) or less. It is a collaborative effort between the City of Saratoga, faith-based groups, and nonprofits serving the homeless population and committed residents of the City of Saratoga Springs. Code Blue was born out of the tragic death of Nancy Pitts, a local homeless woman who froze to death overnight in December of 2013. The community realized that there is nothing for folks who are on the street, unable to access traditional shelters due to mental health and/or substance abuse issues. The Code Blue Shelter is currently located at the Salvation Army in Saratoga, and it opens at 7pm.  A hot meal is served at that time, for anyone, regardless of whether they choose to stay the night, and are provided by various restaurants in the community. Showers are available as well, and clean clothes if needed. The average number of folks using the shelter on open nights is about 38. It’s important to note that this is a Low Demand Shelter, meaning they will take folks, no questions asked, who are under the influence/intoxicated, as long as there is no acting out or dangerous behavior.

Code Blue is always looking for donations and volunteers (in 3 hour shifts) and any questions about either can be answered on their website www.codebluesaratoga.org.

Shelters of Saratoga (SOS) – Located at 14 Walworth Street in Saratoga Springs, SOS provides male and female guests with a clean and safe place to stay, hot meals, and a structured environment. Its mission is to provide individuals with safe shelter, support services and sustainable strategies to end homelessness in the Greater Saratoga Region. Referrals may come from anyone, and people can self- refer. Once there, case management services begin immediately, to assist the house guest in getting back on his feet and acquiring and maintaining a home of his own. SOS currently has 33 shelter beds and owns and manages 7 single and double occupancy affordable housing units in downtown Saratoga.

SOS also operates a Youth Outreach Program, to reach out to runaway, street, homeless and at-risk youth ages 13-21, through a partnership with CAPTAIN. The program averages over 40 contacts with youth per week.

SOS works toward prevention as the solution, and has case managers and shelter volunteers reach out regularly to folks who may be temporarily lodged in motels to provide them with supplies and supportive services.

SOS is always looking for donations – food, personal care items, and clothes - as well as volunteers to assist with office duties, reaching out and deliveries and pick-ups. If you have any questions about what Shelters of Saratoga offers, please call 581-1097 or go to www.sheltersofsaratoga.org.

Wellspring – formerly the Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Services of Saratoga County: Located downtown at 480 Broadway, Wellspring offers many services that deal with homelessness, both preventive and crisis-oriented. The staff does a lot of work around self-sufficiency, to increase independence. For example, Project Hope and Power is an innovative financial literacy program aimed at teaching women the skills they need to become financially secure and independent.  Hope and Power is designed to help people acquire the following skills: safety planning, financial management, establishing credit, increasing personal financial assets, accessing affordable housing options, upgrading skills to advance professionally, setting and achieving goals for increased independence.  As Maggie stated, often when folks take part in this program, there seems to be a paradigm shift – when they start to take control of their finances, they see that they can take control of other aspects of their life.

Wellspring also offers crisis shelters for victims of domestic violence, and they do intakes 24/7. Safety is their main concern, and if there is no shelter available in Saratoga County, they will look to other counties for assistance, in order to get the person placed somewhere that is safe. Further, they also provide safety for pets as well. The Safe Pet Partnership provides care and shelter for pets needing temporary safe housing while a family is in transition. If you have any questions about these or any other programs of Wellspring, please call 583-0280 or go to www.wellspringcares.org.


Respectfully,
Maria Geizer
Home Instead Senior Care