City of Santa Fe Mayor's Committee on Disability met June 17.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
1. CALL TO ORDER 10:04 am
2. ROLL CALL
Members Present:
Member Aurore Bleck
Member Kendra Garcia
Member Victor Hughes
Member Kathlyne Gish
Member Pam Parfitt
Member Angelique Montoya-Chavez
Member Meriam Jawhar
Member Jose "Eli" Fresquez
Members Excused:
Member Hope Reed
Others Attending:
Tom Graham, ADA Coordinator
Brian Moya, Attendee
Paul Joye, Attendee
3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION: Member Fresquez moved, seconded by Member Jawhar, to approve the agenda as presented.
VOTE: The motion was approved on the following Roll Call vote:
For: Member Bleck, Member Garcia, Member Hughes, Member Gish, Member Parfitt, Member Jawhar, Member Fresquez
Against: None
Abstain: None
MOTION: Member Parfitt moved, seconded by Member Jawhar, to approve the minutes as presented.
VOTE: The motion was approved on the following Roll Call vote:
For: Member Bleck, Member Garcia, Member Hughes, Member Gish, Member Parfitt, Member Montoya-Chavez, Member Jawhar, Member Fresquez
Against: None
Abstain: None
5. ACTION ITEMS: DISCUSSION
a. Nominations and Elections of MCD Officers. Two year term for Chair and Vice Chair of MCD to be discussed and voted on - (Aurore Bleck)
MOTION: Member Bleck moved, seconded by Member Gish, to confirm the MCD Officer Elections results below for the next two years beginning after the June 2021 meeting .
VOTE: The motion was on the following Roll Call vote:
For: Member Bleck, Member Garcia, Member Hughes, Member Gish, Member Parfitt, Member Montoya-Chavez, Member Jawhar, Member Fresquez
Against: None
Abstain: None
2021 Chairperson nomination:
Aurore Bleck nominated by Pam Parfitt – Consent provided
Kathlyne Gish nominated by Meriam Jawhar – Consent provided
Votes for Ms. Bleck: Eli Fresquez, Pam Parfitt, and Victor Hughes. Votes for Ms. Gish: Meriam Jawhar, Angela. Montoya-Chavez, Kendra Garcia and Aurore Bleck
Abstention: Kathlyne Gish
By a vote of 4 to 3, Congratulations to Kathlyne Gish who will serve as the MCD Chair until elections are held at the June 2023 meeting.
2021 Vice-Chairperson Election:
Aurore Bleck nominated by Meriam Jawhar – Consent provided Kendra Garcia nominated by Eli Fresquez – Consent provided Eli Fresquez nominated by Kendra Garcia – Consent declined Votes for Ms. Bleck: Meriam Jawhar, Pam Parfitt, and Victor Hughes. Votes for Ms. Garcia: Eli Fresquez, Angela. Montoya-Chavez, Kendra Garcia, Kathlyne Gish and Aurore Bleck
By a vote of 5 to 3, Congratulations to Kendra Garcia who will serve as the MCD Vice-Chair until elections are held at the June 2023 meeting.
b. Approval of Captions Always On Letter to Mayor Webber - (Pam Parfitt)
MOTION: Member Garcia moved, seconded by Member Jawhar, to approve the letter of support as presented.
VOTE: The motion was approved on the following Roll Call vote:
For: Member Bleck, Member Garcia, Member Hughes, Member Gish, Member Parfitt, Member Montoya-Chavez, Member Jawhar, Member Fresquez
Against: None
Abstain: None
c. Continuing free public transportation in the City of Santa Fe (Buses and SF Ride) to assure access for lowest income, disabled, and elderly citizens to have equitable access in the City of Santa Fe while accessing housing, food, medical care, employment, education, and other community resources - (Kathlyne Gish and Kendra Garcia)
Item has been deferred to the next meeting on August 19, 2021.
d. COVID-19 access issues. Inaccurate accessibility being identified within city vaccine distribution locations by the state website. City Senior Services issues in providing access/follow-up for vaccination of homebound seniors - (Kathlyne Gish)
Member Gish discussed her experience with requesting drive through accommodation at the Southside Library vaccination site that she registered for on the State website. The requested disability accommodations were not available as described on the website and this proved to be a problem for many disabled people looking to get vaccinated. The website inaccuracies for people with disabilities need to be addressed. This caused quite a bit of difficulty for a non-disabled person to get through the process.
Member Fresquez relayed information about the Disability Access & Functional Needs (DAFN) meeting that takes place every Thursday and provided the link below as a method for Member Gish to voice the concerns experienced to the State Department of Health DAFN Coordinator as a means of bringing these concerns to the appropriate personnel. The meeting is open to those interested in the needs of the disability community and a good platform for bringing matters to the forefront that conflict with what is being told.
Please Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84585559309?
pwd=bmt0YkM5bnk3YmZMcEhkRnBseVB4UT09
e. Affordable and Senior Housing Issues in the City of Santa Fe. Continuing conversation and updates on affordable housing for disabled and seniors in the City of Santa Fe - (Kathlyne Gish)
Item discussed during Presentation Item 6(b).
6. PRESENTATION
a. City of Santa Fe Alternative Response Unit (ARU) and how it works for people with disabilities. An overview of the unit and progress since going active - (Deputy Chief Paul Joye, SFPD (505) 955-5355, pmjoye@santafenm.gov - Assistant Chief Brian Moya, SFFD (505) 955-3111, bjmoya@santafenm.gov)
Assistant Chief Brian Moya of the Santa Fe Fire Department and Deputy Chief Paul Joye of the Santa Fe Police Department met with the MCD to present the newly formed Alternate Response Unit (ARU) and have a discussion about how the unit operates and the needs of people with disabilities relating to 1st responders.
The pilot program unit has been active for 12 days and answered 116 low acuity calls. Primarily disorderly conduct and welfare checks. The unit responds to all sorts of calls, not only behavioral health or calls concerning people with disabilities. This allows the unit to answer many calls that are delayed by priority and allows the police department and fire department to focus their efforts where needed the most while responding to all calls and providing the ability to assess the individual call with less official presence that could possibly escalate a given situation. The ARU responds in scaled down uniforms without sirens and lights in plain vehicles that quietly handles the sort of calls the unit responds to and in doing so can minimize a potentially excitable situation for a person with a disability The ARU is currently operating 3 days a week, 8a – 6p on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with plans to expand in the future pending the addition of additional case workers and allowing the unit to operate on a more consistent basis. The ARU has received great acclaim from the Police Department and appears to be operating at a high level in addressing many low acuity calls. The program received thanks and support from the MCD.The MCD offered information about trainings and recruitment of Social Workers.
The discussion also introduced the members of the MCD Core Advisory Group (CAG) Subcommittee to the Chiefs who gave a brief background and vision of the CAG. Assistant Chief Moya also discussed the City Fire Department’s efforts to provide vaccinations to homebound people.The appointment must be made through the Department of Health and can be reached at (855) 600-3453 who then contacts the Santa Fe Fire Department to schedule the vaccinations in their home. Also mentioned was the desire to provide a sticker or Identification method, primarily for vehicles, that was initialized prior to the pandemic shut down, and both the MCD and the 1st responders expressed their desire to work toward starting this effort back up.and developing a system that would be beneficial to 1st responders and people with disabilities.
b. Continuing need to protect disabled and elderly citizens from income source discrimination in Santa Fe. Discussing Housing Choice Voucher discrimination in low-income tax credit buildings as related to Section 8 and other income related discrimination - (Kathlyne Gish)
Vice Chair Gish gave an update on the recent bill that failed in the last legislative session regarding housing income source discrimination. Even though the bill failed this session, it will be brought back in the next session and does move New Mexico closer to having housing income source discrimination laws. There is a distinct problem regarding seniors and disabled people with Section 8 housing vouchers not being able to find places available or willing to rent to them. Member Gish expressed a deep concern that affordable housing is necessary for seniors and disabled people.
Mr. Graham mentioned the City’s efforts to prioritize affordable housing and asked if the MCD would like for him to arrange a presentation from the appropriate City staff for the next meeting. This was thought to be a very good source of presentation for the August 19, 2021 meeting and would provide the opportunity to voice the Committee’s concerns..
The position of the MCD is that many factors and experiences can cause landlords to be wary, but the use of a Section 8 housing voucher should not be a reason to discriminate against someone. The usual parameters and history should be used in evaluating the potential tenant, not the source of income.
Member Garcia and Fresquez suggested that the MCD write an advocacy letter in support of legislation providing protection against this type of discrimination. The City of Seattle was suggested to have legislation that could serve as the groundwork for developing legislation in the City of Santa Fe. Chair Bleck suggested this item be added to the next agenda as an action item,
7. MATTERS FROM STAFF
A video recording of the meeting can be accessed at the web address below:
https://santafenm-gov.zoom.us/rec/share/oJpegeFu2NrRx_sNviWaGy6X4h2u_HDUOHonB AgUgT1egZJOQh6Wf46TmDkSwB5.-kcnyLKyHBHMbk0H
Please use Passcode: xnDh?60&
8. MATTERS FROM THE COMMITTEE
9. MATTERS FROM THE CHAIR 10. NEXT MEETING: August 19 2021 11. ADJOURN
Meeting is Adjourned at 12:10 pm
https://santafe.primegov.com/public/portal
