03-26-18 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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REGULAR MEETING March 26, 2018 meaning. Inclusion puts the concept and practice of diversity into action by creating an environment of involvement,respect and connection. Our young men at the Woodford Home want to be included into a community and we desire the community be part of our functioning. We want to be your best neighbors. Therefore, as I have stated many times in the last few weeks, we will establish a Community Advisory Board that will assist us in staying true to our mission and help develop opportunities to serve the community. We will be connecting with local employers in an effort to hire our young men so that they will learn life and work skills. We will also be reaching out to the community to hire staff who will be devoted to the mission of improving the lives of youth. Finally, I just want to thank everyone who has contacted us within the past several weeks that have expressed support and offered assistance. It is much appreciated. I would like to thank the Common Council for considering this issue and ask for your support in granting this special use so that we can open the Woodford Home. May I note that it is no coincidence that your vote comes at the beginning of Holy Week. This is a sacred time for many in our community, and thus, I pray you vote to do the good and right thing for the community and our young men. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston stated, There were some things that came up in Committee that I think should be brought up here. There was a question about how many young men there would be. Is there any plan or possibility to expand that number? Dr. Bruinsma replied, There is no plan to expand the capacity of twelve (12) at Woodford Homes. There are twelve (12)beds, it is licensed by the Department of Child Services. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston followed up,What is the demographic of your clientele? Dr. Bruinsma replied, The demographic is forty percent (40%) African-American, forty percent (40%) Caucasian and twenty percent(20%) Hispanic or Latino heritage. Councilmember Oliver Davis asked, What have you done to address issues that have been in conflict with your views and such? Dr. Bruinsma replied, Thank you for that question. I have gone to a couple of neighborhood association meetings. I have gone to the business association meeting. I have met with the head of the business association to discuss the project. I have given people time to come over and tour the facility after the meetings and have answered any questions brought up to us. I have also sought out questions from everyone. Councilmember Karen White stated, I would like to thank you for your willingness to meet with the neighbors and the business community. What have been some of the common themes heard from the neighbors and businesses? Dr. Bruinsma replied, We've had business people come up and say they will support us. The concerns were mainly from people that didn't understand the nature of what we were going to do. I think they associated it with past group-homes that have not been well supervised.They may also have had a misconception of what type of child we were going to take in as well as the level of supervision. I think after answering a lot of their questions, I think a lot of people were swayed. Councilmember Karen White followed up, So at this point, do you think you have more support? Dr. Bruinsma replied, Yes, absolutely. Councilmember John Voorde asked, Could you briefly describe a day at the Woodford Home? How regimented is it?Are the twelve (12) young men able to come and go?Are they able to have guests? The men old enough to drive and if they have licenses, do they have cars? Dr.Bruinsma replied,Well,we want it to be as normalized an experience as possible. So they have to get up, do their chores, get ready and go to school. If it is school day, they're going to school. That could be IUSB, Ivy Tech, or vocational school. If they are still in high school, they may be going over to DePaul or to a community high school. They will then be taken to school and picked up from school. There is a time when we look over the school work with the young men, a recreational time,preparation for meals, study time and group time. There will be no student there that will be licensed to drive. They might get their license but they will not have cars and they will not be driving. We will have visitation times for their families or others to come over. That will be supervised. The young men will not go out in the community unless they are supervised by our 12