Youth Services Advisory Board Minutes
SIMSBURY YOUTH SERVICES ADVISORY BOARD
MINUTES
December 14, 2020
On December 14, 2020 the Simsbury Youth Services Advisory Board met via ZOOM and livestreamed on SCTV.
Present: Jovin Girard, Tom Tyburski, Rachael Loveland, Alexander Lee, Kyla Lorden & Jack Williams.
Roll call was held. Pledge of Allegiance was completed & meeting was called to order at 2:19 PM.
No Public Audience Comments were submitted ahead of today’s Youth Service Advisory Board meeting.
Action Items:
1: Reviewed and approved upcoming calendar of meeting dates: Tom Tyburski made a motion and Alexander Lee seconded it. The calendar was approved.
2: Discuss initial theme ideas for school year: Student suggested connecting students at home with resources, reports that there are a lot of resources out there that he and his peers are not aware of. Discussion was held to encourage the start of brainstorming of board members for larger discussion at the next scheduled meeting.
3: Current school/youth issues: Discussion was held about students feeling isolated and depressed, wondering if YAB could create a program to cheer people up a bit. Discussion led to students reporting that some are feeling disconnected academically and in their mental health and relationships.
4: Open discussion: School issues led into an open discussion with School Social Worker Jovin Girard and the school social worker’s creating a group on Google Meets that allows students and social work staff to connect and talk. It’s currently being held on Mondays when there is distance learning from 1:15-2. Student discussion led to ways to help market this group as they were not aware of it. Solutions include an email blast and including it in morning announcements.
Reports:
1: Simsbury Social Services: Rachael Loveland reports that the Social Services Department is working on several different programs. The Youth Service Bureau is offering a Home Alone Safety Class for children in town held virtually via Zoom, is working on the holiday program for town families and has seen a large increase in the need for their food program.
2: SPD School Resource Officers: No Report given as not in attendance.
3: Recreation Department: Tom Tyburski reports that they continue to try and offer programs to the best of their abilities. He reports they are keeping parks and courts open as long as they can so people can use them however expects that the state will be shutting them down soon. He also reports that outdoor programs have been limited to 4 people each, they will continue to offer them as long as they can. Tom reports that Simsbury Celebrates went well and overall the Recreation Department is keeping busy.
4: Student Updates: No updates from the students.
Next Meeting: Monday, February 8, 2021 at 2:15 PM
Having no further business to come before the Board, Tom Tyburksi made a motion for the meeting to be adjourned, Alexander Lee seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 2:37 PM.
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Rachael Loveland