NEW TRIER TOWNSHIP MENTAL HEALTH FUNDING AND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6TH, 2023
AGENDA
ADMINISTRATOR NOTES
Thanks again for your participation in the funding process. It’s been a pleasure working with all of you. As I move on, I would just ask all of you to work with Steve, my replacement. As you look at agencies and programs in the future, remember that most of our agencies do a good job, but often are too busy and let evaluation go by the wayside. But activity is not the same as results.
The funding letters are written, and we will review them at the meeting. No significant issues, but I think we should meet with HAVEN before they submit their proposal next Fall. There are no members who have served the full six years, but this is Rick Drake’s last year on the committee. He will summarize his presentation to the Board as part of the Chair Report. Rick added some extra comments regarding the Mental Health Committee role and oversight. I think the process went well thanks to all of you, but we will have a brief discussion of the process. The board makes final decisions in February.
Minutes from September 2022 Meeting
Members Present – Richard Drake, Lyn King, Joe McGowan, Lisa McGowan, Joel Kurzman, Sally Anderson, Renee Cox, Tracy Sommer, Patti Guerra.
MOTION: McGowan/Drake – motion carried to approve the minutes as presented.
Rick Drake was elected committee chair. Brian noted that we need to set our Fall Schedule and we did so with two meetings in October and three hearing dates in November. Proposals were distributed to all members and Brian will e-mail the schedule to everyone tomorrow. We have one new agency applying, PICKLES.
Liaison Reports
Joe McGowan/Family Service Center – Joe met at their new office in Northfield. Agency is now fully staffed and has no waiting list. Casino night was a big success in May, and they are now looking to have more events annually. The agency devoted significant resources to the aftermath of the July 4th shootings. Brian noted that the board allocated $35,000 to Glencoe and there was significant discussion on the rationale for this decision. Many members felt it should have gone thru the committee.
Lisa McGowan/Counseling Center of the North Shore – The Counseling Center focused on helping those impacted by the shooting by working thru two organizations, The Red Cross and the Crisis Response Network of the North Shore., and some of their therapists have been counseling people effected at Highland Park High School. They also hosted a session at the Women’s Exchange and posted on social media advice for parents from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. IN fiscal year 2021/2022 their therapists saw 202 clients, a 12% increase over the prior year. They held 3,243 sessions and subsidized $250,000 in care. They have eliminated waiting list from earlier in the year, now offer Spanish speaking therapy, and have launched an internship program. They need to grow their board and are making progress with two new potential candidates.
Joel Kurzman/Z-Center – Long-time agency director Torrie Flink has retired. The agency had a 5k run and has a 24-hour support line now.
Lyn King/Erika’s Lighthouse – Agency has added teen training that tall the students in their Teen Empowerment Clubs will go through. They have also added additional educator training and are launching their expanded family Engagement Program in the fall. It’s a series of workshops that mirror the classroom programs and an updated and expanded family handbook. They can be online or led by educators at the school. The golf classic was held on August 22 at Sunset Ridge, with about 90 golfers participating and another 60 came for the BBQ dinner. They raised about $230,000 from this event. Some students from New Trier spoke about how Erika’s Lighthouse has impacted them.
There was some discussion of the funding process for new members. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45.
Respectfully submitted,
Brian Leverenz