Title
The minutes of the special meeting of July 27, 2016
Body
DRAFT UNTIL APPROVED
Social Service Human Relations Board
Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Social Service Human Relations Board, July 27, 2016
1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
Vice-President Williams called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Present were members Hyman, Blake, Sorensen, Davenport, Chilcott, and Hastings.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the regular meeting of May 26, 2016, were approved as presented.
M/S Sorensen/Blake Unanimous
3. AGENDA ITEMS
3.-A. WELCOME OF NEW BOARD MEMBERS CHRISTINE CHILCOTT AND JENNIFER HASTINGS
Vice-President Williams welcomed new members Christine Chilcott and Jennifer
Hastings, and invited them to introduce themselves.
Christine Chilcott shared that she has been the Executive Director of Girls Inc. of the
Island City for the past year and a half, and before that, served as its Director of
Programs for three and a half years. She has two daughters in Alameda schools and
has lived here for four and a half years.
Jennifer Hastings shared that she works for Kaiser Permanente as Lead Digital
Experience Designer and Developer. She also volunteers in the community, served as
PTA President of Edison Elementary, and currently has a leadership role on the PTA
Council. Her son graduated from Edison, and now attends Lincoln Middle School.
Members Davenport, Blake, Hyman, Sorensen, and Vice-President Williams introduced
Themselves and welcomed the new members.
3-B. NOMINATION OF OFFICERS
Member Hyman nominated Vice-President Williams as President, and the nomination
Was seconded by Member Davenport.
Member Hyman nominated Member Blake as Vice-President, and the nomination was
seconded by Member Sorensen. Both nominees accepted the nominations.
4. BOARD/STAFF COMMUNICATIONS, NON-AGENDA (taken out of order)
Staff provided an overview of the workgroup process that the Board uses to delegate
projects to teams of three members or less. The two current Workgroups are the
Assessment and Awareness Workgroup, and the Human Relations Workgroup.
The Assessment and Awareness Workgroup coordinates the development of periodic
Community Needs Assessments, and the oversight of the Board’s role in the
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) process. It also helps coordinate
information-gathering efforts, such as conducting periodic Homeless Counts.
The Human Relations Workgroup coordinates the Board’s participation in activities such
as Alameda’s annual Season for Nonviolence Campaign, and the AUSD’s LGBTQ
Roundtable. This Workgroup also leads the Board’s response in the event it is made
aware of incidents of discrimination, or reports of a Hate Crime in our community.
Staff shared that, after a discussion with Vice-President Williams, he consulted with new
members Chilcott and Hastings regarding which Workgroup they would serve on.
Member Chilcott has agreed to serve on the Human Relations Workgroup and Member
Hastings has agreed to serve on the Assessment and Awareness Workgroup.
3-C. WORK GROUP PROGRESS REPORTS
No Workgroup meetings have been held since the previous meeting.
3-D. REQUEST BY VICE-PRESIDENT WILLIAMS FOR THE BOARD TO DISCUSS THE IMPACT OF RECENT NATIONAL RACIALLY AND BIAS-MOTIVATED EVENTS ON THE ALAMEDA COMMUNITY AND THE ROLE THE BOARD MIGHT PLAY IN CREATING A COMMUNITY FORUM FOR OPEN DIALOGUE ON THESE ISSUES
Vice-President Williams shared that she had received communications from community
members who voiced concern regarding the impact recent and ongoing racially and
bias-motivated events across our nation might have on our community. These
community members asked that the Board consider facilitating a city-wide forum, where
all Alamedans can come together for open community dialogue regarding these issues.
Given that one of the functions of the Board is to foster mutual understanding, respect,
equality, and goodwill among community groups, Vice-President Williams asked that the
Board consider how it might play a role in facilitating this community-wide dialogue.
Discussion included identifying and expanding on community-building organizations and
Projects already in place, and helping create or expand positive relationships between
Stakeholders (CBO’s, City Departments, other). The Juneteenth Celebration hosted by
the Black Achievers Alliance and co-sponsored by the AUSD and the Alameda
Collaborative for Children, Youth, and their Families (ACCYF), and the community
forum “Muslim Students in America” co-sponsored by AUSD and SSHRB, were named
as examples of community-building events that have taken place in Alameda this year.
Staff also shared the response below from Alameda Police Department (APD) Chief
Rolleri. Chief Rolleri stated that APD would be happy to be at the table to discuss the
issues brought to Vice-President Williams’ attention:
• The Alameda Police Department has a working policy and ongoing training to guide our officers on how to respond to incidents and focus on de-escalating situations.
• The Alameda Police Department has a zero tolerance policy for racism and racial profiling. To ensure the safety of our officers and our community, Alameda Police Officers are equipped with body cameras, and video is reviewed following all incidents where force is used.
• Our community is fortunate to have a low level of incidents that require the use of force. An article published last year in The “Alamedan” documented that over the last five years, use of force occurred in 1.1 percent of all arrests. Looking at all calls for service, force was used in 0.04 percent of calls.
• Over the last five years Alameda Police Officers have participated in the County’s Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), an innovative first responder model of policy-based crisis intervention with community, health care, and advocacy partnerships. I have made it a priority to train all Police Officers, and to date approximately 2/3 of our officers have received this training. CIT focuses on de-escalation techniques, and has become a leading practice in law enforcement for training police how to respond to individuals in crisis.
Additionally, APD leads or supports several other efforts to proactively support our diverse community. These include:
• The Police Chief’s Advisory Board that was established over 20 years ago and continues to meet regularly with a broad representation of Alameda community leaders and residents;
• The Alameda Police Foundation, whose goal is to improve the lives of underprivileged youth here in Alameda;
• The Hate and Intolerance Response Team, which presents a united view of Alameda as a Hate Free City;
• The Alameda Police Officers Association and Alameda Police Managers Association have participated annually in the Alameda Boys and Girls Club “Kids Nite Out” event, pairing a police officer with a youth member for an evening of activities and dinner, and
• APD Chief Rolleri is on the Board of Directors for the Alameda Boys and Girls Club and ex-officio board member of Alameda Family Services.
While the Board is already working on a number of projects, and is also in a state of rebuilding, all members agreed that it was important that it be available to respond to the community’s desire for an open dialogue on the issues and concerns raised.
A motion was made that the Board craft a letter that shared the concerns it had received from members of the community and offering the Board’s assistance in organizing and facilitating a community-wide dialogue. M/S Williams / Davenport.
Discussion included suggestions that the letter be sent to the Black Achievers Alliance, AUSD LGBTQ Roundtable, Alameda Police Department, Alameda Police Officer’s Association, AUSD Encinal High School Black Student Union, AUSD ALCANCE (Latino Roundtable), and possibly other community organizations.
Member Sorensen asked that an amendment be made to the motion to include the letter being sent to the newspapers, as a letter to the editor, in an effort to elicit a broader community response. Vice-President Williams and Member Davenport accepted the amendment.
Motion passed Unanimous
Vice-President Williams agreed to work with staff to craft and distribute the letter.
5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS NONE
6. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:28 PM
M/S Williams/Sorensen Unanimous
Respectfully submitted by:
Jim Franz, Secretary