S A F E HA R B O R C O HA S S ET C O A L I T I O NF a c i n g F a c t s , C h a n g i n g L i v e s

Safe Harbor Cohasset Coalition Meeting

Wednesday, October 2, 2019 9:30AM-11:00AM

Cohasset Public Schools - Community Meeting Room - 143 Pond Street

MINUTES Members in Attendance (listed in alphabetical order by last name): Karen Bailey-Francois (KBF), Nicole Balaschi (NB), Alison Bryan (AB), Dave Carpenter (DC), Patricia Cifrino (PC), Christopher Colleran (CC), Jen Dial (JD), Pam Fahey(PF), Karyn Ellinger (KE), Ron Ford (RF), Aleisa Gittens-Carle (AGC), Alison Gillis (AG), Sarah Livermore (SL), Kevin McCarthy (KM), Ron Menard (RM), John Mills (JM), Christine Murphy (CM), Peter Pescatore (PP), Karen Peterson (KP), Nicole Richardi (NR), Leslie Scollins (LS), Brian Scott (BS), Patrick Sullivan (PS), Torin Sweeney (TS) & William Quigley (WQ) A. Welcome Back

• NB briefly welcomed everyone back, re-introduced herself to returning members, and gave a quick introduction for new members.

o NB asked new members to pick-up a ‘Member Packet’ on the way out, which includes information about Coalition Work and what kind of programs/events we have coming up, as well as other valuable info.

• NB gave an update on year 2 of the Youth Ambassador program, noting that the group now has close to 30 members.

o NB mentioned that the group is now, officially, Youth led, and that NB/CC no longer facilitate the meetings.

§ NB noted that 2 of the Youth Ambassadors worked as interns for Safe Harbor over the past summer, and were added to the Youth Leadership Team, which now includes 4 Youth Leaders.

o NB described a few of the projects that the group will be working on during the first few months of the school-year, including Mental Health Week, and RainWorks motivational message.

• NB also introduced Gina and Kelly from Health Resources in Action (HRiA) who will be presenting about increasing Coalition Capacity.

• Meeting continued with a Coalition member roll call, including any important updates from each person/group.

B. Health Resources in Action (HRiA) Presentation/Training

• Training began with a short break-out session. o Members broke into groups of 2 to discuss what brought them to the table, and keeps

them involved. § The most common reasons were:

1. Having a personal connection with substance-use/addiction, often by way of different family members suffering from addiction, and

2. Having a commitment to children and their wellness

o In particular, the idea of seeing children more holistically, and wanting to support children both inside and outside of the classroom was paramount to this.

§ Several members noted that along with education, they also concerned about the mental/physical health of students, and finding opportunities to get them engaged in the community.

• Gina & Kelly, from HRiA, began presenting about the different ‘circles of involvement’ surrounding coalition work, and how this can be used to recruit, engage, and potentially leverage certain stakeholders.

o Circles of Involvement include five (5) categories of people, which represents the Coalitions full-sphere of influence and engagement in the community:

§ Core Circle – These are the people who do most of the day-to-day work and also plan, facilitate, and orchestrate the authentic participation of people in all of the circles. They think about next steps in regard to implementing the group’s plan. Examples include: Program Director, Project Coordinator, Steering Committee, various sub-committees, Youth Ambassadors.

§ Circle of Engagement – People committed to the plan who can be called on to help with specific tasks at certain times. This circle includes people who may become increasingly engaged in its implementation and leadership, and gradually move to the Core Circle. Examples include: Volunteers who can be called upon to help with just about any given activity.

§ Circle of Champions: People who typically hold positions of leadership in the organization. They are the authorizers and advocates who can clear roadblocks and barriers. They are also the cheerleaders who can appear when it is strategically helpful, to affirm the work being done, recognize the people who have made it happen, and ensure top-level support. They open doors and make strategic connections. Examples include: Chief of Police/CPD providing situational information and support. Superintendent of Schools/Principals/School System providing access to students.

§ Circle of Information & Awareness – People who aren’t very close to the plan, but need to be kept in the loop as things unfold. They are important due to their positions and can lend support to the effort. They may be managers or people who weren’t involved in the development of the plan, but are impacted in some way by it. They need to be honored by occasional visits and reports that allow them to see the value in what is happening. Examples include: Town Managers, Board of Selectmen, and local politicians.

§ Circle of Possibility – People one wouldn’t immediately think of as being related to the plan, or its implementation, but who might find areas of commonality. They may be interested in partnering with you, provide helpful resources, or boost the plan in some way. Examples include: Small businesses, Parent School Organization, Cohasset Education Fund, and Special Education Parent Advisory Council.

C. Lack of Options for Adolescents who are suffering from addiction

• During the presentation, one member expressed concerns about the lack of real progress being made, suggesting that the goal of the organization is good, but it is just a lot of talk and nothing is really being done to resolve these issues.

o Noted that her son had overdosed, due to something he bought at school, and she didn’t find much support, specifically in terms of the fact that there was no inpatient treatment for people <18.

• This led to a general conversation about some of the options that are available to young people in Cohasset, and what can be done to fix the lack of inpatient facilities.

o Members brought up a variety of resources, and progress that has been made in the past few years, including: Aspire Health Alliance (formerly SS Mental Health), Gosnold Therapists in the School, & InterFACE

§ KP noted that South Shore Health Systems has taken over Aspire and will be seeing new MH facility in near future.

§ Group discussed the idea of “supporting the process” by way of making sure resources are more accessible.

§ BS noted that schools, with help of SHCC, have been discussing the development of a cessation plan for students who are addicted to nicotine.

§ CM mentioned reaching out to State Officials to see what options are available in this part of the state.

§ NB brought up Project HERE, which is supported by the Attorneys General’s Offices

o Training ended with a second break-out activity, centered around the types of things that current coalition members can do, to recruit new members, increase engagement of current members, and keep people coming back.

§ Group broke out into three (3) teams of ~8 people each and went to one of the three (3) stations that had been set-up by the facilitators.

§ Each station included a different “leading question” designed to address one of the three issues mentioned above.

• After ~2 minutes each group rotated clockwise, until all each group had visited all three “station.”

F. Adjourn Meeting

NEXT MEETING: December 10, 2019

3 5 R I P L E Y R O A D , C O H A S S E T, M A 0 2 0 2 5 ▪ W W W. S A F E H A R B O R C O H A S S E T. O R G