[00:00:01]
IT GOES.[Veteran Affairs Commission Meeting on June 08, 2023.]
JUST INFORMED WE HAVE A QUORUM.SO, UH, IT'S 11, 11 O'CLOCK ON THE DOT.
SO, UM, WE'RE CALLING THIS, UH, MEETING TO ORDER.
SO THE JUNE, THE JUNE, UH, DIRECTOR'S COMMISSION, UH, MEETING.
AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA START WITH THE PLEDGE, AS WE ALWAYS DID, OR YOU SHOULD.
SO EVERYONE WITH STAND PLEDGE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WITH STAND NATION, GOD, LIBERTY, JUSTICE, JUST, OKAY.
UM, THE FIRST THING IS THERE HAS EVERYONE, OR HAS Y'ALL SEEN THE LAST MONTH OR LAST MEETING'S, UH, AGENDA? Y'ALL GONE THROUGH IT? ANYBODY, UH, HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE LAST AGENDA? OKAY.
THEN WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON AND, UM, TAKE A VOTE TO, UM, CALL, YEAH, TO ACCEPT THOSE, THOSE MINUTES.
SO, ALL IN FAVOR? OPPOSED? ANYBODY? ONE.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMENTS ONLINE REGARDING THE MINUTES? OKAY.
UH, SO WE HAVE OUR, UH, FIRST, UH, ITEM IS GOING TO BE OUR, OUR GUEST, OUR GUEST SPEAKERS, UH, HOMELESS, UH, SOLUTION, OUR HOMELESS, UH, ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR AND I SPECIALIST, UH, FROM THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY.
AND, UH, YOU WOULDN'T MIND INTRODUCING YOURSELF, SIR? AND, UH, A YOUNG LADY THAT CAME WITH YOU, IS SHE NOT GONNA COME UP AND, AND HELP YOU, SIR? GOOD MORNING.
UM, THANK YOU ALL, UH, FOR HAVING ME HERE.
I AM, UH, THE NEW HOMELESS ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY.
AND MY NAME IS SHANNON ADAMS. I'M THE COMMUNITY SERVICES ADMINISTRATOR AT DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY.
UH, WELCOME Y'ALL TO, TO OUR MEETING.
UH, SO, UM, I, Y'ALL HAVE A PRESENTATION? YES, SIR, I DO.
AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE AND, UH, BE PRESENT HERE.
UH, AGAIN, MY NAME IS ALEXANDER GARRETT.
I AM THE HOMELESS ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR FOR, UH, DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY, THE HOMELESS ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE.
UM, I AM A SIX YEAR ARMY DISABLED VETERAN WHO HAS, UM, CO-OCCURRING DISABILITIES.
I HAVE BEEN, UM, MAIN MAINTAINED MY SOBRIETY FOR EIGHT YEARS NOW.
I HAVE SPENT SIX YEARS HOMELESS, UM, AND I ALSO HAVE WORKED AS A PEER SUPPORT, UH, MENTAL HEALTH AND RECOVERY SUPPORT, UH, PEER SUPPORT FOR OVER 10 YEARS.
UM, REASON WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT, I TAKE THIS PERSONALLY DUE TO MY PERSONAL LIFE EXPERIENCE, UH, DEALING WITH, UH, CO-OCCURRING DISABILITIES AND HOMELESSNESS AND ALSO DISABILITIES.
UM, SO THIS IS VERY, VERY CLOSE TO MY HEART WITH THE HOMELESS ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE.
UM, OUR MISSION AND OBJECTIVES, OH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
UH, THE DPLS HOMELESS ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE, OUR MISSION AND OBJECTIVE, UM, IS, UM, HOMELESS ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE.
MISSION IS TO SMARTLY ENGAGE WITH THE HOMELESS POPULATION WHILE CONNECTING THEM, CONNECTING THEM TO SERVICES AND PROGRAMS THAT CAN HELP IMPROVE THEIR LIVES.
UH, THE OBJECTIVE IS TO MAXIMIZE THE CAPACITY OF THE LIBRARY AND THE ORGANIZATION'S SUPPORT AND PARTNERS WITH BY INCREASING KNOWLEDGE ABOUT COLLABORATION, HOMELESSNESS IN OUR COMMUNITIES, AND SUCCESSFUL INTERVENTIONS AND SERVICE PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
[00:05:07]
THE PURPOSE OF THE HOMELESS ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE TO ENGAGE WITH THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY, HOMELESS AND UNHOUSED PATRONS, OR AT RISK PATRONS.UH, PROVIDE THEM WITH EMPATHETIC, YET EMPOWERING PUBLIC AND PUBLIC SERVICES, CREATE CITYWIDE ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS, PROVIDE HOLISTIC RESOURCES TO THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY, HOMELESS AND UNHOUSED PATRONS POST PUT PRESENTATIONAL FORMS FOR NEIGHBORING SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND PROVIDE PROGRAM ACTIVITIES FOR PATRONS TO REINFORCE POSITIVE AND CREATIVE TIME MANAGEMENT.
HERE IS THE LIST OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE HERE AT THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY HOMELESS ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE.
WE HAVE THE HELP DESK COUGHING CONVERSATIONS, AWFUL FRIDAYS, THE COOLING AND WARMING STATIONS CARDBOARD PROJECT, THE ON THE BLOCK PODCAST VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS, AND WE HOST MOVIES ON SATURDAYS OR DESCRIPTION OF THESE PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO, THE HELP DESK IS, UM, PROVIDE PHONE ACCESS, UH, ASSIST WITH COMPUTER FUNCTIONS, EMAILS, PASSWORDS, LOGINS, ET CETERA.
UH, WE RESEARCH RESEARCH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND SERVICES FOR REFERRALS FOR THE UNHOUSED, UH, PATIENTS THAT COME THROUGH THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY.
UH, WITH THIS PROVO, WITH THIS PHONE PROVIDED ACCESS, WE, UH, ASSIST PATRONS WITH SNAP, TF AND WIC BENEFITS.
ALSO, THE HELP DESK SUPPLIES, UH, BASIC HYGIENE, HYGIENE, UM, KITS, EXCUSE ME, WHICH WE CALL HYGIENE BAGS.
SO HYGIENE KITS, ALSO JOB AND SHELTER REFERRALS.
UH, THIS HELP DESK IS OPEN TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, 9:00 AM TO 4:00 PM NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
COUGHING CONVERSATIONS WHERE WE INVITE NEIGHBORING COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO PRESENT AND PROVIDE, PROVIDE SERVICES AND PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO THE HOUSE AND UNHOUSED COMMUNITY, UH, THAT THEY MIGHT NOT KNOW OR HAVE TANGIBLE ACCESS TO.
THE HOMELESS ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE HOSTS COUGHIN SNACKS WHILE ENGAGING WITH PATRONS ABOUT EXPERIENCES AND AVAILABLE SUPPORTS.
UH, THIS IS TO EMPOWER THEM THROUGH MEANINGFUL INTERACTIONS AND CONVERSATIONS.
UM, WE HAVE THIS COUGHING CONVERSATION EVERY THURSDAY AT 2:00 PM IN OUR COMMUNITY, EXTA COMMUNITY EXCHANGE.
ALSO, WE HAVE ARTFUL FRIDAYS FOR FRIDAYS, UM, BY THE USE OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION WITH CREATIVE MATERIAL PAINTING, COLORS, DRAWINGS, AND 3D, ET CETERA.
UH, WE ALLOW PATRONS TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES IN DIFFERENT OPTIONS OF CREATIVITIES, UH, LEADING THEM TO, UM, EXCUSE ME, UH, HAVING THEM TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES AND THEIR ABILITIES IN DIFFERENT MANNERS OF CREATIVITY.
OUR COOLING AND WARMING STATIONS, WE SUPPLY, UH, AVAILABILITY FOR, UH, COOLING DURING, UH, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS WHEN ACTIVE, I KNOW IT SAYS WHEN ACTIVE ON THERE, BUT YEAR-ROUND, WE SUPPLY THE SPACE FOR UNHOUSED PATRONS TO MAINTAIN SOME TYPE OF COOLING DURING THE SUMMERTIME AND WHEN IT'S COLD OUTSIDE DURING THE WINTERTIME.
UM, WE ALSO WORK WITH THE OFFICE OF HOMELESS SOLUTIONS WHEN ACTIVATED FOR THAT WOULD BE THE EMERGENCY SHELTERING, UH, DURING THE INCLEMENT WEATHER SITUATIONS.
WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CARDBOARD PROJECT.
THE CARDBOARD PROJECT IS HELD ONCE A WEEK IN THE COMMUNITY EXCHANGE.
UM, WHAT THEY HELP OUR PATRONS WITH IS DIGITAL ID, DIGITAL ACCESS, UH, TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING, WORK READINESS, FINANCIAL LITERACY, AND ALSO, UH, ESSENTIAL TO ACCESS, UH, ESSENTIAL ACCESS TO FOOD, CLOTHING, AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES.
UH, THIS IS A DIGITAL ORGANIZATION THAT HAS PARTNERED WITH US, UH, TO HELP THE GROWTH TO OBTAIN THE MEANS, UH, FOR PATRONS TO COME MORE SELF-SUFFICIENT, AND THIS EVER ADVANCING WORLD.
OUR ON THE BLOCK PODCAST IS SOMETHING THAT'S, UH, BEEN IMPLEMENTED FROM AN OLD, UM, THEORY OF, UH, PODCASTING.
WE HAVE CREATED 10 EPISODES, UH, INTERVIEWING THE DPLS HOMELESS PATRONS.
THIS IS TO HOST ENGAGING CONVERSATION SEGMENTS, HIGHLIGHTING THE NAVIGATION OF THE
[00:10:01]
C O C, UH, WITHIN OUR METROPLEX, UM, SOCIAL SERVICES OPPORTUNITIES, RESOURCES, AND EXPIRATIONS FOR FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCES, THOUGH THAT ARE HOMELESS OR HAVE THE HAVE GONE THROUGH HOMELESSNESS.ALSO, WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED A VOLUNTEER PROGRAM FOR THE UNHOUSED PATRONS, UH, THAT HAVE, UM, COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS THAT ARE NEEDED.
THIS GOES THROUGH A PROCESS OF BACKGROUND CHECK.
THEY ARE ALLOWED UP TO FOUR HOURS EVERY WEEK.
THEY CAN APPLY ONLINE, UH, OR APPLICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE AT OUR HELP DESK.
UM, THIS FUTURES, THIS ALSO HAS FEATURES OF EXPRESSING YOUR EXPERIENCE ON OUR WEEKLY PODCAST OF ON THE BLOCK PODCAST, UM, WITH THAT EXPERIENCE.
WE ALSO HAVE GAMES, ACT, AND ACTIVITIES, AND THIS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP ALL OF THE PATRONS, UH, INTERACTIVE WITH SOME TYPE OF STRESS RELIEF, UM, CARDS, DOMINOS BILLBOARDS, PUZZLES, AND ALSO COMMUNITY GAMES.
UH, AND THIS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE, THEY FEEL LIKE THEY ARE PART OF SOMETHING.
UH, IN OUR SATURDAY MOVIES, EVERY SATURDAY AT THE DPL, WE HA WE HOST DIFFERENT ARRAY OF MOVIES TO ENTERTAIN THE, UM, OUR PATRONS.
UH, THIS PROVIDE A SENSE OF NORMALIZATION WITH, UM, THOSE THAT ARE UNHOUSED AND THAT ARE, IS JUST AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO FEEL NORMALIZED WHILE AT THE D P L AND BEFORE GARRETT GETS TO HIS LAST SLIDE, I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF SUM IT ALL UP.
SO, BASICALLY, OUR HOMELESS ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE IS THERE TO ENGAGE OUR UNHOUSED POPULATION.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE NOTICED IS THAT, UM, O OVER TIME PASSED EVEN BEFORE THE INITIATIVE STARTED IN 20 13, 20 12, 20 13, IS THAT WE ALSO HAVE HOMELESS VETERANS.
VETERANS WHO, YOU KNOW, UM, MAY NEED HELP WITH, UM, OR EVEN AT RISK VETERANS BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE, UH, A PLACE TO BE ABLE TO, UM, GET THEIR CHECKS MAILED TO IF THEY'RE A DISABLED VET.
UM, AND SO WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UM, SITUATIONS WHERE WE'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH HOMELESS VETERANS AS WELL.
SO, BUT NONETHELESS, THE HOMELESS ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE IS TO REALLY ENGAGE THE UNHOUSED POPULATION.
UM, WHETHER THAT'S JUST OFFERING THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO FEEL NORMAL, TO HAVE A VOICE, WHICH IS WHY WE DO THE PODCAST.
UM, IT USED TO BE CALLED STREET VIEW PODCAST, BUT NOW IT'S CALLED ON THE BLOCK.
UM, AND THAT IS WHERE THAT PERSON, UM, ONE OF OUR UNHOUSED PATRONS WILL COME IN, THEY'LL BE A GUEST ON THE PODCAST.
AND, UM, WE HAVE A STAFF PERSON WHO ASKS THEM QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR LIVED EXPERIENCE.
AND, AND SO, AND THE TARGET AUDIENCE FOR THAT PODCAST IS ACTUALLY PEOPLE WHO ARE HOUSED, PEOPLE WHO LIVE, UM, DAY TO DAY IN A HOME.
AND SO FOR THEM TO KIND OF NORMALIZE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HOUSED UNHOUSED AND, AND REALIZE THAT THEY DO NEED ASSISTANCE, THE LIBRARY, BECAUSE WE'RE THE LIBRARY, WE CAN'T SOLVE HOMELESSNESS, BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY ENGAGE BECAUSE WE ARE THAT THIRD SPACE.
SO THAT IS THE WHOLE JUST TO, I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF SUM UP THE HOMELESS ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE.
AND, UM, OF COURSE, ALL OF THE PROGRAMS THAT GARRETT JUST KIND OF TALKED ABOUT WHAT WE DO OR WAYS THAT WE ENGAGE THOSE, THOSE PEOPLE THAT COME, THE PEOPLE THAT COME.
MR. CHAIRMAN, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, IF THAT'S OKAY? YES, SIR.
UH, DID YOU SAY YOU HAD THESE, THIS GOING SINCE 2012 OR 2013? YES, IT'S STILL PUSHING.
WELL, THE INITIATIVE HAS GROWN SINCE THEN, BUT WE DID INITIALLY START IN WITH JUST COFFEE AND CONVERSATION AND GAME DAY SINCE 2013.
SO, UH, AND WHAT'S YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH EACH ONE OF THESE PROGRAMS IN TERMS OF, OF, UH, SATISFACTION AND OR NUMBER OF PEOPLE SERVED? WELL, WHEN DEFINITELY, WELL, I CAN'T GIVE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE SERVED, BUT I CAN SAY ON A WEEKLY BASIS, 25 TO 50 PEOPLE WILL ATTEND COFFEE AND CONVERSATION.
AND, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE, UM, OFFICE OF HOMELESS SOLUTION, UM, CARDBOARD PROJECT, AND, UH, DDI AND SO MANY OTHER OF THE CITY DEPARTMENTS WHO HELP WITH IN HOUSING FORWARD, THOSE WHO ACTUALLY, UM, WE CONNECT OUR UNHOUSED PATRONS TO THOSE WITH THESE ORGANIZATIONS AND DEPARTMENTS TO HELP THEM GET THOSE SERVICES STARTED.
SO WE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN, UM, BUILDING THAT BRIDGE.
UH, ONE, YOUR ART PROGRAM, IS THAT THROUGH THE STUPAC? NO, ACTUALLY I, IT'S NOT.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE EXPLORING.
I DID, I WENT TO A FRIEND'S, UM, GALA NOT TOO LONG AGO AT SMU AND MET A NICE LADY WHO GARDENS AT
[00:15:01]
THE, THE STU POT, AND SHE STARTED GIVING ME SEVERAL DIFFERENT IDEAS.SO, WELL, STEW POT HAS AN EXCELLENT ART PROGRAM.
I'VE HAD ART FROM THE HOMELESS, UM, ARTIST, EX HOMELESS ARTIST.
SO SHE MAY HAVE MENTIONED YOUR NAME,
DO YOU ACTUALLY ASK ANY OF THE, ANYBODY WHO COMES THROUGH IF THEY'RE A VETERAN? YOU KNOW, WE DO.
UM, GARRETT WORKS MORE ON THE PUBLIC SIDE OF THINGS, BUT FROM MY EXPERIENCE, UM, WE TRY NOT TO GET TOO PERSONAL JUST ON THE SURFACE LEVEL, BUT WHEN WE'RE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS, WE DEFINITELY ASK THEM THEIR EXPERIENCE.
AND OF COURSE, A VETERAN IS PROUD TO LET US KNOW THAT THEY'RE A VETERAN.
IS THIS MAINLY, OH, SEVERAL QUESTIONS.
IS THIS MAINLY AT THE DOWNTOWN, THE MAIN BRANCH, OR DO YOU HAVE THESE AT ALL OF THE BRANCHES? SO THE INITIATIVE OPERATES LIKE THE HELP DESK IN THESE PROGRAMS, OR SPECIFICALLY AT THE CENTRAL LOCATION.
BUT WE TRY TO PROVIDE, UH, RESOURCES AND INFORMATION ACCORDING TO WHAT'S AVAILABLE IN THE COMMUNITIES AT OUR BRANCHES.
AND THEN ON COFFEE AND CONVERSATION, THE ARTFUL FRIDAYS, I WAS TAKING NOTES THE WHOLE TIME Y'ALL WERE TALKING, AND THE GAMES AND ACTIVITIES AND SATURDAY MOVIES.
UH, WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR SUPPLIES FROM? HOW, WHO DONATES OR CAN SOMEONE DONATE THINGS TO THIS? WHAT DO YOU, WHAT DO Y'ALL NEED,
AND PEOPLE DO, UH, DONATE TO US.
WE, CUZ WE DO A BACKPACK CHALLENGE EVERY YEAR.
AND SO A LOT OF TIMES WHEN WE HAVE OVERFLOW FROM THE BACKPACK CHALLENGE, WE USE A LOT OF THOSE THINGS WHEN THERE'S AN EMERGENCY SITUATION, WE TRY NOT TO GET IN THE HABIT OF JUST GIVING AWAY ITEMS YEAR ROUND.
YOU KNOW, IT'S DEFINITELY BASED ON NEED.
UM, IF SOMEBODY COMES IN AND THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, SO A CLOTHING AND WE HAVE SOMETHING WE CAN GIVE IT TO 'EM.
SO WE DEFINITELY DO TAKE DONATIONS FROM DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS WHEN, UM, WE ARE COLLECTING FOR THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
BUT LIKE FOR THE ART SUPPLIES OR THE CARD GAME, YOU KNOW, THE GAMES OR THE MOVIES, YOU KNOW, FOR SNACKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
DO Y'ALL, YOU SAID YOU HAVE IT IN YOUR BUDGET, BUT DO Y'ALL HAVE ANYONE THAT'S DONATING ANYTHING TO STRETCH THAT BUDGET? CUZ WE KNOW CITY NEVER GIVES ENOUGH FOR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
I'M GONNA LOOK THEM INTO THAT.
WELL, I THINK THE IDEA PRETTY BE GAMES AND VIDEOS, UH, DONATIONS WOULD BE GOOD.
I, WELL, I'M GETTING, I'M GOING THROUGH MY HOU I'M GONNA HONEST, I'M GOING THROUGH MY HOUSE AND I'M GETTING RID OF STUFF AND I THINK I HAVE A BACKGAMMON SET STILL LEFT OVER AND A CHEST SET AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THINGS LIKE, IF YOU DON'T WANNA DUMP THINGS ON A CHARITABLE EVENT AND THEN THEY HAVE TO STORE IT.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IF THEY NEED MORE SETS OF DOMINOES TO MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT BETTER, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE AIN'T PLAYING DOMINOES ANYMORE.
UM, SO WHO WOULD I SPEAK TO IF Y'ALL NEED, YOU CAN DEFINITELY REACH OUT TO ME.
SHANNON ADAMS IS YOUR NAME ON OR NO, LAURA, YOU CAN EMAIL GARRETT AND HE CAN CONNECT YOU TO ME.
WELL, AND I THINK THAT'S THE SAME QUESTION WE USUALLY, UH, ASK JUST ONE QUESTION.
SO THAT'S HOW WE CAN HELP YOU HELP US AND WITH OUR VETERANS PRO POPULATION.
UM, AS FAR AS LIKE, UH, SOME OF THE, THE GAMES OR ACTIVITIES, IS THERE ANY COST OR, OR FEES, YOU KNOW, LIKE A LIBRARY CARD OR, OR BE IT HOUSE OR IN-HOUSE OR, UH, NO, WE LIKE ACTIVITIES.
EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING WE DO, EVERYTHING IS FREE FOR, FOR THE UNHOUSED PATRONS, EVERYTHING IS FREE FOR ALL OF OUR PATRON.
WHETHER YOU'RE A VETERAN OR OR, OR VETERAN OR NOT, EVERYTHING IS, IS, IS IS FREE.
I I DID HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION, IF THAT'S OKAY.
UH, ON THE COFFEE AND CONVERSATION, WHAT KIND OF, UH, GROUPS ARE, ARE COMING IN TO YOU? YOU SAID YOU HAD THE WEEKLY COMMUNITY GROUPS COMING IN TO TALK, YOU HAD KINDA SUCCESS HAVE YOU HAD WITH THAT? SO WE, WE, WE, WE, WE TRY TO TARGET, UM, THOSE, UH, OUT OUTSOURCE THOSE, UM, ORGANIZATIONS THAT DEAL WITH HOMELESSNESS, SERVICE, HOME SERVICES OR, UH, SOME TYPE OF SOCIAL SERVICES THAT WE CAN BENEFIT A LOT OF THE INDIVIDUALS THAT'S COMING INTO THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
A LOT OF, A LOT OF PROBLEMS THAT WE'RE FINDING IS THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE, UH, THE VITAL PAPERWORK.
SO WE, WE LOOK FOR INDIVIDUALS OR, OR ORGANIZATIONS THAT COULD HELP THEM GET TO THE NEXT STEP.
UM, A LOT OF SHELTERS, UM, A LOT OF SERVICE PROVIDERS FOR AS MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.
UH, RECOVERY SERVICES FOR SUBSTANCE USE, UH, FINANCIAL LITERACY SERVICES, UH, EMERGENCY SHELTERING.
[00:20:01]
OF COURSE THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST ONES, UH, THAT WE KIND OF TARGET WHEN IT COMES TO THE UNHOUSED POPULATION.BUT THERE ARE HOLISTIC, UM, SERVICE PROVIDERS, PEER SUPPORT PROGRAMS, UM, OTHER CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WILL CARE, PROGRAMS THAT WILL COME IN AND, UH, PRESENT SERVICES THAT THEY NEED.
ALSO SERVICE PROVIDERS SUCH AS, UM, SERVICES, HOPE THAT DOES, UH, FOOD, FOOD PANTRIES, AND, UH, THOSE TYPE OF ITEMS AS WELL.
UH, THE IDEA IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HOLISTICALLY SUPPORT, UH, AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
UH, BUT WE STILL TRY TO WORK AT A BASIC, UH, STANDPOINT FOR, AS A HYGIENE PRODUCTS AND JUST SUPPLY THEM SERVICES, SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS THAT COULD HELP THEM MOVE THROUGH THE STAGES OF CHANGE.
YEAH, SO PEOPLE LIKE THE, THE, UM, OUR CALLING HAVE COME, HUMAN IMPACT ARE WORKING TO COME.
UM, HOUSING FORWARD IS ALWAYS THERE, BUT THEY HAVE EVEN PARTICIPATED IN COFFEE AND CONVERSATION BECAUSE THEY HAVE A MONTHLY MEETING AT THE LIBRARY, BUT SOMETIMES THEIR MONTHLY MEETING DOESN'T GET AS MUCH TRAFFIC AS THE COFFEE AND CONVERSATION.
SO MAYBE THEY'LL VISIT COFFEE AND CONVERSATION AND, AND BE ONE OF THOSE SERVICE PROVIDERS.
UM, ALSO, AGAIN, THE CARDBOARD PROJECT WHO HELPS CONNECT, THEY HELP WITH JOB RESOURCES, SO AS WELL AS THE DIGITAL, UM, IMPACT THAT THEY'RE DOING.
SO SOME PEOPLE LIKE THAT HAVE COME AND SPOKEN WITH, UM, THE UNHOUSED DURING COFFEE AND CONVERSATION.
AND DEFINITELY WITH, UM, I WAS JUST TALKING WITH, UH, THE HUMAN IMPACT, WHICH THEY, THEY'LL START PROBABLY THIS WEEK CUZ THEY HAVEN'T REALLY JUST STARTED YET, BUT WHEN THEY HAVE PEER SUPPORT SPECIALISTS AS WELL, SO, AND THEY ARE ADVOCATES, UM, SO THEY STAY WITH THE, UH, PATRON OR THE CLIENT FOR THE DURATION OF THEIR, THEIR NEED OR CERTAIN SEEKING OUT OF SERVICES.
YOU, YOU SAID THE NAME OF THAT ORGANIZATION WAS THE HUMAN IMPACT, CORRECT? YES, SIR.
IS IT POSSIBLE YOU COULD HAVE A, A VET ON YOUR HELP DESK? I AM A VETERAN SIR.
ARE YOU ON THE HELP DESK CALL? YES, SIR.
I, I'M ON THE, THE HELP DESK VET COMES IN.
YOU COULD AND HAS VET SPECIFIC QUESTION YOU, SO.
UH, I THINK ONE OF MY, MY, MY STRENGTHS IS THE FACT THAT I AM, UM, I'M A DISABLED VETERAN FROM 17 SURGERIES, CANCER SURVIVOR, AND, UH, UH, CO-OCCURRING DISABILITIES.
LIKE I'VE GONE THROUGH THE P TS D THE SHELL SHOCK.
UH, I HAVE THE EXERCISE, UH, NUMEROUS, UM, BENEFITS AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT THE VA HAS.
SO I HAVE, UH, UH, EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE ON HOW TO POINT, UH, VETERANS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
UH, BOY, AS IF IT'S A SIMILAR ROAD FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE THAT I, I KNOW OF.
UH, ALSO I DO HAVE SOME CONNECTIONS BEING AN EX UH, EX, UM, VA EMPLOYEE.
I STILL HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH INDIVIDUALS THAT'S ON THE MENTAL HEALTH TEAM, THE SUBSTANCE USE TEAM, UH, AND OUTREACH TEAMS WITH THE VA SO THAT I DO HAVE A RESOURCE THAT I CAN POINT VETERANS THAT COME TO THE HELP DESK, UH, TO SUPPORT THEM IN THEIR NEEDS.
AND WE ALSO, THE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM THAT WE'VE, UH, CREATED, UH, FOR OUR UNHOUSED PATRONS, UM, WE ALSO ALLOW FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO ASSIST WITH THE HELP DESK AS WELL.
SO, UM, AND ONE OF THE, AND REGULAR VOLUNTEERS OF AS WELL, NOT JUST UNHOUSED PATRONS, BUT, SO WITH OUR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM, WE ALSO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE OF ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF BACKGROUNDS.
SO IF WE IDENTIFY A VET WHO WANTS TO WORK ON THE HELP DESK, WE TRAIN THEM.
WE HAVE, UM, UM, AVERY, WHO'S THE PUBLIC SPECIALIST SERVICE, SHE, UH, PUBLIC SERVICE SPECIALIST, SHE WILL TRAIN THEM ON HOW TO WORK THE HELP DESK.
AND SO THAT, THAT DEFINITELY WOULD BE A GREAT ADDITION CUZ GARRETT IS USUALLY SOMETIMES ONLY AVAILABLE AT THE DESK FOR LIKE TWO HOURS A DAY.
SO IF, IF HE'S NOT THERE, AND WE MISS, CUZ WE DO HAVE NOW LIBRARY AMBASSADORS WHO ARE, UH, WHO ARE VOLUNTEERS WHO JUST KIND OF TELL ABOUT OUR SERVICES.
AND SO OUR VOLUNTEER, UH, COORDINATOR ACTUALLY LOOKS TO RECRUIT DIFFERENT TYPES OF VOLUNTEERS.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S ON OUR AGENDA TODAY IS TALKING ABOUT A VETERAN'S RESOURCE CARD AND, UH, WHAT THAT CARD IS GONNA BE AVAILABLE TO GIVE OUT TO FIRST RESPONDERS, BUT ALSO ANY OTHER COMMUNITY SERVICE GROUP THAT WANTS IT.
AND WE OF COURSE MAKE SURE YOU GET OUR BETTER VETERANS RESOURCE CARD.
IN FACT, UH, I, I TALKED TO A LIBRARY BOARD MEMBER THE OTHER DAY AND WE ADDED THE LIBRARY TO OUR VETERANS RESOURCE CARD BECAUSE OF THAT.
DO ANY OF OUR COMMISSIONERS ONLINE HAVE ANY
[00:25:01]
QUESTIONS? NO.I, I, I REALLY APPRECIATE SURVIVING
I APPRECIATE YOU LETTING US SHARE.
ALL RIGHT, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE, UH, AGENDA IS NUMBER FOUR.
AND WE'RE GONNA DISCUSS AND VOTE, APPROVE THIS, UH, VETERANS, UM, RESOURCE CARD FOR DISTRIBUTION.
AND I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW A COPY OF IT.
UM, HOW MANY, HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE ON LINE? OKAY.
WELL, I I'M GLAD THAT THE LIBRARY'S ON HERE.
SO I MEAN, I THINK WE, WE'VE COVERED ALL THE GROUPS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE ESSENTIAL YEAH.
MR. CHAIRMAN, I, I, I MAKE ONE COMMENT ABOUT THE LIBRARY BEING ON THERE.
I'M, UH, APPOINTEE OF, UH, COUNCILMAN COUNCILMAN SCHULTZ, AND SHE HAS A, A MONTHLY BOARD AND COMMISSION MEMBER MEETING.
AND I GAVE A LITTLE REPORT ABOUT THE VETERANS RESOURCE CARD AT THIS LAST MEETING.
AND THE LIBRARY, HER LIBRARY BOARD, UH, APPOINTEE SAID, IS THE LIBRARY ON
AND THEY SENT ME ALL THIS INFORMATION AND THAT'S ON THIS SHEET NOW.
I WANNA THANK CHRISTINA FOR PUTTING IT ON THERE.
THE NUMBER THEY HAD ON THERE, UH, POWERPOINT WAS DIFFERENT FROM THIS NUMBER, SO I THINK WE MAY WANNA HAVE TWO NUMBERS ON THE LIBRARY.
WHICH PHONE NUMBER WOULD BE BEST? UH, OKAY.
IS, IS THE INFORMATION CENTER, IS THAT THE RIGHT WORD? OR IT SHOULD BE CALLED HELP DESK.
SO, SO THE NUM THE NUMBER ON, ON THIS FILE ON THIS IS, UH, FOR THE HELP DESK.
AND, AND, AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT, AND THIS WAS A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE I HAD A COUPLE OF WEEKENDS AGO THAT THIS HOMELESS SOLUTION, I, I DON'T THINK THERE'S GONNA BE A SOLUTION.
SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO REACH OUT TO A LOT OF GROUPS TO, TO PULL OUR RESOURCES TOGETHER TO HELP WITH, WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING.
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I I, I RAN INTO A VETERAN, A FELLOW, A FELLOW, UH, NAVY VETERAN AT THAT AND KNOW WHO RODE FROM, UH, OVER IN, UH, NORTH DALLAS.
AND I TOOK HIM OVER TO THE VA OVER IN LANCASTER, AND WE HAD A LONG CHAT AND, YOU KNOW, HE WAS IN THE, OUT OF REHAB, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST, UH, OUT OF DIFFERENT, UH, UH, FACILITIES, YOU KNOW, AND, AND JUST, YOU KNOW, JUST THE HELP HE NEEDED.
AND I, AND I DIDN'T HAVE A BUSINESS CARD AND I DIDN'T HAVE ANY, EVEN THIS AND, AND, BUT I GAVE HIM MY, MY PERSONAL NUMBER TO CONTACT.
NO, HE'LL PROBABLY NEVER CALL ME.
BUT IF I SEE HIM, I KNOW WHO HE IS, YOU KNOW, SO, BUT YEAH.
YEAH, IT, IT, IT'S JUST A BATTLE.
ONE, ONE, YOU KNOW, ONE, ONE READ AT A TIME OR ONE PERSON AT A TIME.
[00:30:01]
ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT THE CARD.IT'S JUST HOW BIG IS THIS CARD GONNA BE, OR ANY IDEA ABOUT THAT? YEAH, SO THE WAY THAT IT WILL BE PRINTED, IT'S GONNA BE A HALF A SHEET, SO IT'LL BE LIKE A POSTCARD.
UM, AND IT WILL BE DOUBLE-SIDED.
UM, AND, UM, WE'LL BE ABLE TO PRINT, BASICALLY IT'S, IT'S A STANDARD THAT WE DO DOUBLE SIDED, UM, WHEN WE PRINT.
AND THEN, UM, WE ALSO TRANSLATE ALL OF OUR DOCUMENTS INTO SPANISH AT MINIMUM.
SO YOU GONNA BE ABLE TO PUT SPANISH ON BOTH SIDES? UM, WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE TO DO SEPARATE DOCUMENTS.
HOW MANY ARE YOU GONNA PRINT? GOOD QUESTION.
UM, DO WE HAVE A BUDGET?
UM, AND SO I THINK, UM, WE, I NEED, I PROBABLY NEED TO GET APPROVALS FOR, FOR OUR BUDGET MANAGER TO CONFIRM HOW, HOW MUCH WE HAVE.
I THINK WHAT'S BEEN DISCUSSED HAS BEEN, UM, THE CARD WOULD BE DISTRIBUTED AMONG FIRST RESPONDERS, UM, AND THAT WOULD INCLUDE POLICE, FIRE, AND CODE COMPLIANCE.
UM, AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE COULD MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO OTHER CITY EMPLOYEES, UM, LIKE, LIKE A LIBRARY, LIBRARY, UM, AND EVEN JUST TO OTHER FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, ONE THING THAT WOULD BE ALSO POSSIBLE IS PUBLISHING THIS DOCUMENT ON THE WEBSITE SO PEOPLE ON THEIR OWN CAN PRINT IT OUT AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE COULD, WE COULD LINK IT, UM, SO THAT OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS CAN ALSO BE ABLE TO PRINT IT OUT ON THEIR OWN.
WE'VE ALSO CALLED THEM AND JUST CONFIRMED THEIR, EXCEPT FOR THE DOS PUBLIC, THAT WAS ONE THAT WE GOT LAST MINUTE.
BUT, UM, UH, EVERYBODY'S BEEN CALLED AND, AND JUST CONFIRMED THEIR INFORMATION, UM, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE RIGHT, UH, RIGHT INFORMATION LISTED.
BUT WE COULD DEFINITELY ALSO, UH, AS A FOLLOW UP, MAKE SURE THAT THEY'LL HAVE THE FINAL COPY.
I THINK PUTTING IT ON THE WEBSITE'S A GREAT IDEA, BECAUSE I KNOW SEVERAL GROUPS, I, I COULD JUST LINK IT BACK TO THEIR WEBSITE OR TO THEIR, OUR WEB, THE CITY WEBSITE.
UM, JUST A ANOTHER QUESTION OF AGE GROUP.
DO YOU SEE A CERTAIN AGE GROUP OF, UH, WHO'S COMING IN? YOU KNOW, DO YOU SEE ANY OF THE NEWER, YOUNGER, UH, IRAQI, YOU KNOW, AFGHANISTAN, I CALL 'EM YOUNGER.
SO I, I HAVE SEEN A FEW OF THE, UM, 18 TO 24 AGE GROUP, UH, FAR AS, UH, A COUPLE OF VETERANS.
BUT THE MAJORITY OF THE VETERANS THAT I HAVE ENCOUNTERED THAT'S COME THROUGH THE LIBRARY HAVE BEEN BETWEEN THAT, I'D SAY 25 TO 35 AGE.
UH, AND IT WOULD BE MORE SO, UM, 60 AND UP.
I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF OLDER VETERANS, BUT THEY'RE, AS, YOU KNOW, VETERANS KIND OF HARD TO ASK FOR HELP.
YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY, THEY'RE VERY RELUCTANT TO SAY, YEAH, I NEED THIS, I NEED THAT.
SO IT'S, IT'S THE RELATIONSHIP BUILDING THAT THAT ACTUALLY OPENS UP DOORS TO, TO SAY, HEY, I'VE, I'VE GONE THROUGH SOME THINGS TO, UH, I, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT YOU IN ANY TYPE OF WAY.
SO THE MOST, UH, THE, THE BIGGER BRACKET OF NUMBERS OF VETERANS THAT I'M ENCOUNTERING WOULD BE BE BETWEEN THAT 25 TO 35 AGE.
UM, SO, AND THEN JUST ANOTHER PART OF THAT QUESTION WAS, WAS, UH, SO THAT AGE GROUP, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT HYGIENE PRODUCTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT WE COULD DONATE, UM, IT WAS A IDEA THAT I, I WENT TO A HIGH SCHOOL MEETING AND THIS YOUNG LADY BE THERE FOR ONE OF THE, UH, YOUNG, UH, LEADERSHIP, UH, CLASSES.
UM, THEY DEVELOP A LOCKER OR A CLOSET FOR FEMALE HYGIENE PRODUCTS AND, YOU KNOW, SEPARATE FROM THE MEN'S, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, FEMALES NEED THAT EXTRA, YOU KNOW, PRODUCTS AND, UH, AND THEY HAVE THOSE, YOU KNOW, JUST FOR THOSE YOUNG LADIES OR OR AGE GROUP.
SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS AN EXCELLENT IDEA, YOU KNOW, THAT IT'S NOT ALL JUST BUNDLED UP TOGETHER.
YEAH, WE, WE DO SUPPLY, UM, UH, SEPARATE HYGIENE, UH, PACKETS AND WE, WE KIND OF PERSONALIZE THOSE PACKETS FOR, UH, INDIVIDUALS, UH, PRETTY MUCH ASKING WHAT THEY NEED.
AND WE JUST PRETTY MUCH DO AN ASSESSMENT AND, UH, EVERYONE GETS THE BASIC HYGIENE FOR AS, UH, IF THEY'RE NEEDING IT OR AS EMERGENCY SITUATIONS, UH, DEODORANT, TOOTHPASTE, UH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
WE DON'T, UH, HAND OUT ANY TYPE OF, UM, NO MOUTHWASH WITH ALCOHOLIC, UH, ALCOHOL IN IT OR NO RAZORS.
RIGHT? SO, UH, JUST FOR SAFETY PURPOSES AND SOBRIETY PURPOSES.
[00:35:01]
NOW THAT YOU'RE BACK UP HERE, UH, WE WOULDN'T LET YOU GO THAT EASY.UM, I THINK YOU AND I ARE THINKING THAT ALONG THE SAME LINES.
I TEACH A HIGH SCHOOL, I TEACH AT BRIAN ADAMS HIGH SCHOOL IN PAR EAST DALLAS.
AND A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THE J R R T C, THE STUDENT COUNCILS, THE NATIONAL HONORS SOCIETY, UM, YOU KNOW, FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, A LOT OF TIMES THEY'RE LOOKING FOR PROJECTS TO DO.
AND I'M ACTUALLY TRYING TO GET THEM TO DO ONE FOR THE DOGS THAT THE BRIDGE ALLOWS, YOU KNOW, THE HOMELESS VETERANS TO BRING ONE IN TO GET DOG FOOD AND THINGS, BUT ALSO MAYBE SOMETHING LIKE THIS THROUGH THE LIBRARY, UH, WHAT FEW LIBRARIANS WE HAVE LEFT IN D I D, THEY GUTTED THAT PROGRAM, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO BRING IT BACK.
SO HAVE Y'ALL DONE ANY OUTREACH TO GET THOSE THINGS OR, YOU KNOW, CUZ WE'RE NOT SURE, YOU'RE SAYING YOU'LL HAVE SOME, A BUDGET, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, EVERY TIME WE TALK TO A VETERANS' GROUP, IT'S ALWAYS, THEY NEED MORE SUPPLIES, THEY NEED MORE THINGS.
AND ONCE THIS CARD GOES OUT, YOU MAY END UP GETTING MORE CLIENTS.
SO IF THERE'S ANOTHER OPTION FOR YOU IS TO REACH OUT TO THE DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT AND, UM, AND SOME OF THE PRIVATE SCHOOLS AS WELL, BECAUSE THEY'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR LEADERSHIP.
I KNOW JESUIT, THE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOLS, THE FOUR FIVE IN DALLAS, THEY HAVE TO HAVE LIKE, WHAT, 70 HOURS OF VOLUNTEER WORK BEFORE THEY GRADUATE.
SO YOU'VE GOT, UM, A LABOR BASE
AND BECAUSE I'M ALWAYS TRYING TO GET OUR HIGH SCHOOL KIDS TO DO MORE AND BE MORE EMPATHETIC AND WORK MORE IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO I THINK Y'ALL ARE EASY THING BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND LIBRARY.
THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE.
YOU COULD GO TO BRANCH LIBRARY AND VOLUNTEER.
UH, SO HOW THAT VOLUNTEER WORKS, UH, IT IS ONLINE APPLICATION.
UM, I WOULD HAVE TO SPEAK WITH THE VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR TO SEE HOW SHE'S ABLE TO COORDINATE AT OTHER BRANCHES.
UH, BEING THAT WE HAVE 30 OTHER BRANCHES, AND IF THOSE BRANCHES NEED SOME TYPE OF ASSISTANCE OR VOLUNTEER WORK, UH, I'M PRETTY SURE THAT I CAN SPEAK WITH THOSE BRANCH MANAGERS AND THE VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR TO SEE HOW WE CAN GET THAT, UM, HOW WE CAN HAVE THAT ENROLLED.
THAT'D BE A VERY GREAT IDEA TO, TO HELP, UM, THE MASSES WHEN IT COMES TO VOLUNTEERING IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.
UH, BEING THAT WE HAVE 30 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS ALL OVER THE CITY.
I SURE THERE'S SOME MORE QUESTIONS SOMEWHERE, BUT I, YEAH.
SO RIGHT NOW I HAVE THE EDIT OF, UM, THE LIBRARY INFORMATION.
UM, YOU MIGHT NEED TO MAKE IT LARGER
SO THAT'S HOW IT WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, ON THIS FIRST COLUMN, DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY, THE SECOND COLUMN WOULD BE HELP DEATH TRAUMA,
AND THIS IS THE PHONE NUMBER THAT I COPIED FROM THE, THE POWERPOINT.
IS THERE ANY OTHER EDITS? YES.
SO TELL YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOURSELF REAL QUICK? YEAH, SORRY.
WE HAVE PEOPLE ALL VIRTUALLY THEY CAN'T HEAR YOU.
YEAH, YOU GOT IT? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? I SHOULD SAY SPEAK.
SHOULD IT SAY SPEAK? IT'S GREEN, YEAH.
I'M THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIP COORDINATOR FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION AND MENTAL HEALTH.
[00:40:01]
AND IN THIS FORM I WAS ASKING IF YOU GUYS COULD ADD THE 9 88 CRISIS LINE, UM, AND THE OPTION TO PRESS ONE.IS IT THE VETERAN CRISIS LINE OR IS IT THE VETERAN SUICIDE LINE? IT'S THE VETERAN CRISIS LINE.
MS. TURNER, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU IF IT'S OKAY.
UM, 2012, I BELIEVE IT WAS, THERE WERE 22 VETERANS, UM, A YEAR COMMITTING SUICIDE OR 22 VETERANS A DAY COMMITTING SUICIDE.
HAS THAT NUMBER UH, DECREASED AS OF 2023? UM, UNFORTUNATELY WE'RE SEEING AN INCREASE IN IT.
NOW, I CAN'T GIVE YOU SPECIFICS CAUSE I DON'T HAVE MY POWERPOINT WITH ME, BUT IT IS, UM, FULLY COMMON.
WE HAD A DECLINE FROM, I WANNA SAY 2019 TO 2020, BUT THEN THE PANDEMIC HAPPENED.
UH, AIDS GROUP, UH, IS THERE A SPECIFIC AIDS GROUP OR, OR ERA, UM, IS IT STILL THE VIETNAM ERA, THE MAJORITY? OR IS IT NOW THE IRAQI AFGHANISTAN, UH, ERA? YEAH, POST NINE 11 ERA.
IT, THAT'S WHERE THE ENTRANCE POST NINE 11.
WE ARE CREATING RECORDS FOR NORTH TEXAS.
UM, THE DIFFICULTY IS WORKING WITH THE DIFFERENT MEDICAL EXAMINER OFFICES, I'M SORRY, OFFICES TO DETERMINE IF IT WAS A VETERAN, IF IT WASN'T A VETERAN.
CUZ RIGHT NOW WE HAVE DALLAS COUNTY WHO SENDS US A LIST OF SUICIDES FOR EACH MONTH, BUT IT DOESN'T SAY IF THEY WERE SPECIFICALLY A VETERAN.
SO IF WE HAVE THEM IN OUR SYSTEM, WE CAN LIST THEM AS VETERANS, BUT IF NOT, CUZ WE HAVE A LOT OF VETERANS THAT ARE NOT LISTED WITHIN THE, UM, VA.
SO WE ARE, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET AN ACCURATE NUMBER.
I THINK WE HAVE, UH, MS. TURNER, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE HOPING WE CAN INVITE HER TO SPEAK MORE IN DEPTH, UM, ABOUT HER WORK.
MY MY HESITATION ABOUT TALKING MORE IS THAT WE HAVE TO STICK TO THE AGENDA AND IF SHE'S NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA, KIND OF VIOLATING THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
SO THAT'S MY ONLY, MY HESITATION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IF IF IT'S FOCUSED ON THE, UH, ON THE RESOURCE CARD, SINCE YOU'RE HEARING THE QUESTIONS, YOU CAN KIND OF TRACK WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
ROBERTSON WAS SAYING, UM, YOU COULD HAVE A PRESENTATION ON THAT.
I KNOW WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT BEFORE.
I KNOW WE'VE HAD PRESENTATIONS BEFORE, BUT, YOU KNOW, POST COVID, WE DO NEED SOME UPDATES.
AND SO WHO MAKES THE THIS INTERNAL INVITE INVITATION? IT'S OPEN.
SO WE CAN DEFINITELY SEND THE INVITE AND WE CAN COORDINATE A DATE THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE.
BUT THANK YOU FOR THAT FEEDBACK.
I WOULD SUGGEST YOU PUT HER IN AS PUBLIC COMMENTS.
UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER EDITS ON THE CARD? YEAH, I THINK, UH, YOU INDICATED THAT THE, THE DIMENSIONS OF THE RESOURCE CARD WOULD BE LIKE FOUR AND A HALF BY FIVE OR LIKE A HALF A SHEET OF AN EIGHT AND A HALF BY 11.
AND THAT IT WOULD BE PRINTED IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH.
BUT WE HAVEN'T DETERMINED THE NUMBER OF OUR FIRST PRINT OR OUR RESOURCE.
NO, I'D HAVE TO CONFIRM THE NUMBER OF COPIES.
I CAN, I CAN GIVE LIKE, MIGHT CAN BE AN ESTIMATE.
I COULD SEE US PRINTING ABOUT 200 THAT IT, TO START OUT WITH HOLD BITES.
I THINK THAT'S WHAT I, THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I KNOW WE HAVE THE BUDGET FOR.
I WOULD HAVE TO PROBABLY CONFIRM WHAT, WHAT WE COULD DO, UM, WITH, YOU KNOW, BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
WELL 200 WON'T EVEN COVER THE FIRST RESPONDERS.
WELL BUT ISN'T IT UP TO THE BUDGET? SO HOW DO WE HELP YOU WITH A BUDGET ISSUE ON THAT? IS IT SOMEONE THAT WE HAVE TO GO TO AS A COMMISSION TO ASK FOR MORE BUDGETARY? DO WE HAVE TO GO TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO BE GRANTED MORE MONEY FOR THIS AFTER WE DO A TEST PRINT AND WE CAN BRING IT TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND SHOW THEM? YEAH, I MEAN, UM, I THINK, I THINK, UH, IF WE WANNA PRINT MORE COPIES, I CAN GET AN ESTIMATE OF HOW MUCH THAT WOULD COST AND SHARE IT ALL WITH YOU.
UM, AND ALSO CONFIRM, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT WOULD TAKE
[00:45:01]
WHAT OUR, WHAT OUR CURRENT BUDGET IS.RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF, OF GETTING THAT BUDGET UPDATED.
UM, IT GETS OFFICIALLY APPROVED USUALLY BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER.
UM, SO WE'RE HALFWAY THROUGH OUR FISCAL YEAR AND THAT'S KIND OF WHY I'M LIKE, I I, I'D HAVE TO CONFIRM WITH OUR BUDGET OFFICE WHAT IS AVAILABLE.
I WAS GONNA SAY, CAN YOU SEND US AN EMAIL, UM, EXPLAINING THE PROCESS.
I KNOW HOW IT WORKS IN D I S D AND THE TIMELINE.
IF YOU COULD EXPLAIN TO US JUST VERY SIMPLY OF IF WE WANTED TO SAY PRINT 5,000, I MEAN, I'M JUST GOING WAY OVER, BUT IF WE WANTED TO PRINT 5,000, YOU KNOW I KNOW, I AGREE.
BUT IF WE WANTED PRINT 5,000, YOU SAY YOU COULD COME UP WITH A COST ON THAT, YOU KNOW, IN-HOUSE COST.
BUT EXPLAIN TO US HOW YOU AS A CITY EMPLOYEE REQUEST SOMETHING NEW.
IT'S NOT ONE OF THESE WHERE WE NEED MORE OR LESS OF A PREVIOUS YEAR.
BUT IF WE WANT SOMETHING NEW WHO, YOU KNOW, WHO DO WE GOTTA TALK TO? YEAH.
IS BASICALLY WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY SO THAT WE CAN DO IT IN A TIMELY MANNER.
CUZ I DO KNOW THIS ABOUT GOVERNMENT THAT ONCE THEY SET THE BUDGET IS HELL ON EARTH TRYING TO GET THEM TO RESET IT.
SO IF WE CAN DO THIS AHEAD OF TIME AND HAVE THEM PUT IT INTO THE BUDGET, THEN THAT SOLVES THAT PROBLEM FOR US.
DOES THAT MAKE, DOES THE, DO THE FELLOW COMMISSIONERS AGREE WITH ME ON THAT ONE? YEAH.
AND ONLINE DOES, DO THEY HAVE ANY COMMENTS FOR ME ON THAT ONE? AM I WRONG? ANYONE ONLINE HAVE, HAVE A COMMENT? CHRISTINA, I ALSO LIKE TO, UH, SUGGEST THAT, UH, YOU LET US KNOW WHEN YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET THE RESOURCE CARD ON THE ONLINE MM-HMM.
SO CUZ IT, GETTING IT OUT ONLINE AND THEN BEING ABLE TO FORWARD IT IS GONNA BE A, A BIG ADVANTAGE TOO.
I THINK THAT, I THINK HAVING IT EXACTLY, HAVING IT FINALIZED AS A DOCUMENT AND BEING ABLE TO SHOW IT TO YOUR CITY COUNCILOR, SAY THE, THIS IS THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING AND THEY, SO RIGHT NOW THEY'RE IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, BASICALLY THE CITY MANAGERS IS DEVELOPING THE BUDGET.
CITY COUNCIL WILL REVIEW THE BUDGET AND HOST, UM, BUDGET TOWN HALL MEETINGS GENERALLY IN AUGUST.
UM, AND SO THAT'S GENERALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC CAN ATTEND THE BUDGET TOWN HALL MEETINGS.
YOU CAN ALSO EMAIL AND AS COMMISSIONERS, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A DIRECT LINE TO YOUR CITY COUNSELORS.
UM, AND UH, YEAH, JUST CONFIRMING THAT THE BUDGET WOULD ALLOW FOR THE NUMBER OF COPIES THAT ARE NEEDED.
AND I THINK HAVING ALSO LIKE AN ESTIMATE, I'D HAVE TO DO, PROBABLY GET A QUOTE OF HOW MUCH IT COSTS TO PRINT 5,000, 10,000 COPIES MM-HMM.
AND JUST PIGGYBACKING OFF OF WHAT CHRISTINA SAID, ANOTHER UH, METHOD THAT WE CAN DO TO PROCURE THE FUNDING IS WE CAN EACH TALK TO OUR COUNCIL MEMBER, SHOW THEM THE RESOURCE CARD AND THE COUNCIL MEMBERS CAN ALLOCATE FUNDING TOWARDS THE 5,000.
AND I AGREE WITH THE 5,000, THAT'S WHERE I WAS THINKING WE WERE GONNA GO AT FIRST.
UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE, WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE WHAT, 42,000, UM, VETERANS THAT CALLED THE DALLAS HOME AND I CAN'T REMEMBER THE NUMBER OF HOMELESS VETERANS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED.
BUT WHILE WE ARE OUT AND WE ARE, YOU KNOW, UM, BOOTS ON THE GROUND RUNNING INTO HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS, THIS CARD CAN ALMOST GO TO ANYONE, NOT NECESSARILY JUST VETERANS, ALTHOUGH THAT IS OUR FOCUS.
BUT I CAN SEE THESE CARD STAFF HANDING THESE CARDS OUT TO VETERANS AND CIVILIANS AS WELL.
I THINK WE CAN ALSO TAKE THAT APPROACH, TALK TO OUR, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO WERE SERVING HONORABLY, OUR HONORABLE COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND THEN SEE IF WE CAN, UM, ASK FOR FUNDING.
WE CAN ALSO IDENTIFY WHAT OUR QUOTES WOULD BE.
AND OUR REQUEST CAN EITHER BE I WAS GOING TOWARDS 2000.
SHE MENTIONED FILE FIVE, 5,000.
UM, BUT THAT'S AN, AN ADDITIONAL, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 2000 AND 5,000 SHOULDN'T BE VERY MUCH.
I MEAN, I, I'D I WANNA BE SURPRISED AT WHAT THIS BID COMES IN AT THE CITY OF WELL, YOU'D BE SURPRISED IN GOVERNMENT
I KNOW, BUT MY THING IS, UM, WE HAVE, IF WE HAVE, IF SHE CAN DO, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW WITH THE CHAIR, ARE WE GONNA HAVE TO VOTE TO GO AHEAD AND GIVE THE APPROVAL FOR THE FIRST RUN OF 200 BECAUSE THE 200 IS WHAT WE NEED IN OUR HANDS TO GO TO THESE MEETINGS TO TALK TO OUR COUNCIL MEMBER, ET CETERA.
IF WE TALK ABOUT JUST THIS THING THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, DRAFT THAT MEANS NOTHING TO THEM.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU LEARNED ANYTHING ABOUT POLITICS, YOU GOTTA HAVE IT IN YOUR HAND TO SHOW 'EM WHAT, WHAT IT IS, HAVE A PROTOTYPE.
[00:50:01]
BUT IF WE NEED TO VOTE TO AUTHORIZE CHRISTINA TO PRINT THOSE 200, GET THOSE TO US SOMEHOW, EVEN IF WE HAVE TO PICK 'EM UP OR GET 'EM MAILED TO US, AND THEN WE CAN THEN TURN AROUND AND USE THEM TALKING TO EVEN THE UNIONS WITH THE FIRST RESPONDERS TO GET THEM ON BOARD WITH THIS AS WELL.BECAUSE THEY ARE LIKE TEACHERS, THEY ARE CONSTANTLY TOLD WHAT TO DO AND ADDED, YOU KNOW, HERE, PUT THIS IN YOUR CAR, PUT THIS ON YOUR FIRE TRUCK AND ALL THIS.
BUT WHEN YOU TALK TO THE FIRST RESPONDERS, THEY TELL US IF I JUST, YOU KNOW, I CAN GIVE THEM MY OWN CARD AND IF I'M WRITING IT DOWN, BUT IF WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING, I KIND OF FORGET.
AND IF THEY JUST HAD THESE HALF SHEETS, UM, THAT'S JUST ANOTHER TOOL FOR THEM TO MAKE IT SPEEDIER MORE EFFICIENT, MORE STANDARDIZED, WHICH MILITARY VETERANS UNDERSTAND.
AND SO I THINK THAT'LL HELP US IF WE CAN DO THAT.
SO DO WE NEED TO HAVE A VOTE SO THAT CHRISTINA, DO WE NEED TO VOTE ON THIS? SO WHAT I WOULD, YEAH.
WHAT I WOULD NEED IS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THESE EDITS, WE COULD, I, WHAT I NEED IS A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS AS A FINAL VERSION AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THOSE EDITS, UM, AND THEN OUR COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT CAN MAKE THOSE EDITS AND FINALIZE THE DOCUMENT.
AND THEN WE HAVE, WE HAVE CURRENTLY THE BUDGET THAT WE COULD DO 200 COPIES AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN PROVIDE FOR YOU ALL.
UM, AND THEN, UM, AND THEN YEAH, IF, IF YOU'RE WANTING TO COMMUNICATE TO YOUR CITY COUNSELOR, WE CREATED THIS RESOURCE CARD MM-HMM.
YOU KNOW, WE WOULD LIKE O E I OUR, OUR OFFICE OF EQUITY INCLUSION TO PRINT MORE.
OR YOU KNOW, MAYBE THERE'S ANOTHER DEPARTMENT THAT HAS ANOTHER BUDGET THAT'S BIGGER THAN OURS.
WE JUST DON'T HAVE A BIG, THAT'S THE THING IS OUR DEPARTMENT JUST DOESN'T HAVE A BIG BUDGET.
WELL, IT'S JUST FACT OF, AGAIN, IN GOVERNMENT, WE'VE ALL BEEN IN THE MILITARY AND WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT PRIOR MONEY FOLLOWS PRIORITIES MM-HMM.
AND IF YOU MAKE IT A PRIORITY, THEY WILL FUND IT.
SO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS HAVE AN EXAMPLE AND THEN EXPLAIN IN HOW WE CAN MAKE IT INTO A SIMPLE PRIORITY.
IT, AND I HATE TO SAY IT, BUT POLITICALLY IT'S A WIN FOR THE COUNCIL MEMBER BECAUSE THEY CAN SAY WE HELP THE VETERANS COMMISSION GET MORE INFORMATION OUT TO HELP THE HOMELESS.
BECAUSE WHAT YOU, THE CITIZENS COMPLAIN ABOUT ONE OF THE MOST NEXT TO GUNFIRE AND HOME AND DOGS HOMELESS.
WELL, THE PRIORITY BEING THIS IS THE MAYOR VETERANS ADVISORY COMMISSION.
ALL WE'VE DONE BEFORE IS TALK, DISCUSS, AND THEN PRINT AND THEN GIVE A REPORT.
NOW WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT SHOWS WE'RE ACTUALLY TRYING TO GET SOMETHING SOLVED.
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO, UM, APPROVE THE CARD AS IT IS.
ANYBODY ONLINE HAS ANY IDEAS OR DISCUSSIONS? MR. RAMOS? MR. RAMO QUESTION MR. RAMOS, WHERE ARE THE, WHERE ARE THE FIRST 200 CARBS GONNA GO? DID YOU HEAR ME? YES SIR.
SO MY QUESTION IS, WHERE ARE THESE FIRST 200 CARDS GONNA GO? WHAT'S GONNA, WHO'S GONNA BE THE RECEIVING AGENCY? ARE THESE GONNA GO TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OR, OR TO HIM? WHERE, WHERE ARE THE TWO, THE FIRST 200 CARDS GOING? YES SIR.
IS THAT YOUR QUESTION? YES, SIR.
DID Y'ALL GET THAT? HE'S ASKING WHERE THE FIRST 200 ARE GONNA GO, CORRECT.
AND I THINK WHAT OUR DISCUSSION WAS LEADING TOWARDS GENTLEMEN AND MA'AM, IS THAT WE WERE THINKING THAT WE WOULD BE USING THEM AS THE EXEMPLARS, AS THE SAMPLES.
BECAUSE IF WE GIVE IT TO ONE, I MEAN 200 CARDS WON'T EVEN LAST ONE SHIFT IN THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, AND WE HAVE WHAT, 57 OR 59 STATIONS OF FIREMEN.
SO THIS IS MORE OF AN ATTEMPT TO PRINT SOMETHING TO GET THE 5,000 THAT WE NEED.
SO I THINK WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THE, WE WOULD USE A 200, UH, TO ADVOCATE FOR THE 5,000 THAT WE REALLY NEED.
DID YOU, DID YOU HEAR ME? I DID.
UH, DID ANY OTHER DISCUSSION OR, OR ANYTHING ELSE? OR IS THAT, DOES THAT SOUND FAIR OR RIGHT? I AM INTERESTED TO KNOW, CHRISTINE, WHAT WAS YOUR STRATEGY? THE 200 WAS FOR WHAT? WELL, I WOULD SAY IF, UH, YOU ALL COULD HAVE COPIES ON YOUR OWN, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE LIKE EACH OF YOU HAVE
[00:55:01]
10.UM, AND THEN, UM, I WOULD PROBABLY LEAVE ABOUT A HUNDRED LEFT.
UM, THERE WERE, I KNOW SEVERAL CITY STAFF THAT WE INVITED, UM, THIS, I THINK IT WAS IN FEBRUARY FROM FOR EXAMPLE, THE POLICE FIRE RIGHT.
UM, SO MAKING SURE THAT THEY ALSO HAD SOME COPIES AND THEN MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAD THE LINKS SO THAT THEY, THEY WANTED, SOME OF THE DEPARTMENTS HAVE THEIR OWN PRINTING BUDGET.
AND SO THEY COULD BE ABLE POTENTIALLY TO PRINT ON THEIR OWN MM-HMM.
UM, DOES IT HAVE TO GO THROUGH LEGAL OR ANYBODY ELSE TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS, SINCE IT HAS THE CITY OF DALLAS LOGO, IT BECOMES AN OFFICIAL REPRESENTATION OF THE CITY WHEN THIS GOES OUT BECAUSE IT'S GOT THE CITY LOGO ON IT.
YEAH, I KNOW, BUT I MEAN, JUST CUZ WE SAID WE'RE GONNA HAVE HAPPY TUESDAY, YOU KNOW, HAPPY TACO TUESDAY DOESN'T MEAN THE CITY'S GONNA SPONSOR IT.
IT WOULD BE A PROBLEM IF THINK WE WERE ADVERTISING COMPANIES OR FOR PROFIT, BUT SINCE THESE ARE ALL NONPROFITS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY ALL AGREED TO HAVE THEIR INFORMATION LISTED.
UM, IT'S, IT'S A REFERRAL PROGRAM SERVICE, SO WE'RE NOT, UH, VIOLATING ANY.
AND THEN WILL IT BE ON CARDSTOCK? YES, THAT WOULD, THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I'M THINKING THE COST MIGHT BE ACTUALLY.
IS THAT IT? WE'RE NOT GONNA USE LIKE, FLIMSY PAPER.
IT'LL BE SOMETHING THAT'S PROBABLY A LITTLE MORE DURABLE ONCE I GET WORD.
AND THIS IS OUR FIRST ACTION ITEM, SO I'M SUPER EXCITED THAT YOU NOTICE THAT I AM SO TIRED OF TALKING
YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY WE HAD A SECOND QUESTION.
SO, UH, DOES CHRISTINA NEED A MOTION FROM US TO ASK FOR 5,000, UH, TO GET A BID ON THE 5,000? UM, SHE CAN JUST LOOK UP QUOTES.
I THINK WHAT I'LL DO IS I'LL JUST GET A QUOTE YEAH.
AND SEE HOW MUCH IT IS AND, AND THEN IF, YOU KNOW, IF IT IS SOMETHING THAT'S COST PROHIBITIVE FOR OUR DEPARTMENT MM-HMM.
UM, AND IF THERE IS AN ISSUE THAT WE NEED MORE FUNDING, THEN WE CAN BRING THAT TO THE NEXT MEETING AND FORMAT IT IN A WAY THAT'S ACTIONABLE FOR YOU ALL TO, I COULD DEFINITELY ASK MY COUNSEL PERSON, HE'S ON HIS WAY OUT, BUT HE MAY HAVE A LITTLE RESIDUAL FUNDS REMAINING AND HE YEAH.
HE'D BE HAPPY TO SCOOT IT ON OVER.
MY OTHER QUESTION WAS, UM, CAN YOU DO A QUOTE FOR 2000 AND 5,000? YES.
I'LL DO CORPORATE, UH, FOR CARDSTOCK.
THE OTHER THING IS IF WE'RE GONNA FINALLY GET TO DOING SOME ACTIONABLE THINGS, WE NEED TO ALL OF US MAKE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEM.
THAT'S WHY I ASKED ABOUT LEGAL BECAUSE IN D I S D, NO MATTER WHAT WE DO, WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH LEGAL.
EVEN WHEN, LIKE IF THERE'S AN INCIDENT ON CAMPUS AND YOU KNOW, SEND OUT LETTER HOME TO THE KIDS, OUR PRINCIPAL HAS TO GO THROUGH LEGAL TO APPROVE THE LETTER HOME.
THAT'S WHY IT ALWAYS TAKES SO LONG FOR PRINCIPALS TO RESPOND.
SO I'M TRAINED THAT LEGAL TOUCHES EVERYTHING.
IT WASN'T THAT CHRISTINA DIDN'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY OR WE DON'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY.
BUT THEY JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE DON'T GO OFF THE RAILS.
BUT ANYWAY, THE OTHER IS IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A BUDGET, WHICH I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE WE HAD
IT'S THE OFFICE OF EQUITY INCLUSION.
WE NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ON OFFICE OF EQUITY INCLUSION ON HOW WE CAN HELP EXPAND THAT BUDGET IN CASE WE HAVE SOMETHING ELSE COME UP IN THE NEXT YEAR OR SO BECAUSE, OR WE MAY NEED A SECOND PRINTING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'VE DONE ANYTHING WITH THE GOVERNMENT, IT NEVER ENDS.
OR THE MAYOR ADVISORY VETERAN COMMISSION SHOULD HAVE A BUDGET OF ITS OWN.
ANY DISCUSSION ONLINE, THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME.
SO I THINK IT'S BEEN APPROVED.
SO I'LL, UM, I'LL FINALIZE THE DOCUMENT WITH COMMUNICATIONS AND UH, SEND IT ALL TO YOU AND, AND GET A QUOTE FOR 2,005,000 AND SEE IF THERE IS BUDGET IN THIS FISCAL YEAR FOR MAKING THOSE.
[01:00:08]
WELL WE HAVE ONE MORE ITEMWE'RE ON, UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE.
UH, THE DISCUSSION TO AND VOTE TO SCHEDULE VETERAN AFFAIRS COMMISSION MEETING IN AUGUST.
AND I THINK YOU ASKED TO SUBMIT SOME DATES OR TIME, RIGHT? I THINK THE, THE IDEA WAS TO HAVE EVERYBODY BE ABLE TO ATTEND AND SO WE WERE LOOKING AT AUGUST AS A DATE, CORRECT? YEAH.
SO I RECEIVED SOME COMMENTS FROM FOLKS VIA EMAIL, UM, ABOUT DATES THAT DIDN'T WORK.
AND BASED OFF OF THAT, I MADE A LIST OF DATES THAT POTENTIALLY WOULD WORK AND TIMES, UM, SO BETWEEN MONDAY, AUGUST 7TH AND WEDNESDAY AUGUST 9TH, IT WOULD BE AFTER 6:00 PM MONDAY 14TH AFTER 6:00 PM WEDNESDAY 16TH AFTER 6:00 PM AND THEN MONDAY 21ST THROUGH WEDNESDAY 23RD AFTER 6:00 PM MONDAY, UH, 28TH THROUGH THE, I THINK THAT'S A WEDNESDAY.
UM, I DID NOT INCLUDE SATURDAYS, BUT THAT'S UP FOR DISCUSSION FOR YOU ALL IF YOU WOULD.
SO, SO THAT IT WOULD BE, UH, YEAH, DEFINITELY A PUBLISHED, UH, AGENDA OFFICIAL MEETING AND, UM, IT COULD BE HERE AT CITY HALL WE CAN MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO RESERVE THE ROOM, UM, OR RESUME RESERVE A ROOM.
UM, THAT WOULD BE, YEAH, THAT WOULD BE THE GOAL.
AND I'LL BE HONEST, I THINK HAVING ONE MEETING, I'VE ALWAYS WANTED THE CITY COUNCIL TO START HAVING MEETINGS AFTER SIX, SOMETIMES AT LEAST ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR, BECAUSE THOSE OF US WHO STILL WORK, IT'S AN IMPOSITION.
I MEAN, WE VOLUNTEER FOR THIS, BUT IT'S AN IMPOSITION TO CON, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE TO INTERFERE WITH YOUR WORK.
AND IF EVERYONE'S SAYING AFTER SIX THAT, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS A ONE TIME THING, IF WE ADVERTISE THAT WE MIGHT GET MORE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN COMING AS WELL.
THIS IS A WAY TO ADVERTISE US IS THAT WE'RE BEING MORE RESPONSIVE TO THE COMMUNITY BY SAYING, HI, WE'RE GONNA MEET AFTER SIX IN THE HEAT OF AUGUST INSTEAD OF NOON IN AUGUST.
I WISH ALL THE SERVICE DELIVERY COMPANY NEEDS THROUGHOUT DALLAS WOULD DO THAT SO THAT I CAN BE HOME FOR THESE HOME PROJECTS.
SO CHRISTINE, DO WE NEED TO VOTE ON AN ACTUAL DATE? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE ASKING? YEAH, SO IF YOU WANNA MAKE A MOTION ON A DATE AND TIME, THEN WE, WE CAN, SOMEONE CAN SECOND THAT AND DISCUSS AND THEN VOTE ANYBODY ONLINE.
HAVE A, UH, ARE ARE, ARE YOU LISTENING TO THE DISCUSSION, UH, AS FAR AS THE DATES THAT WERE DISCUSSED? COMMISSIONER ELLO, DO YOU HAVE ANY, ANY COMMENTS? NO.
UH, ANYTIME AFTER SIX WOULD BE GREAT FOR ME.
UH, RIGHT, SO ANYTIME AFTER SIX AS PART PART OF THE, THE MOTION.
I THINK I HEARD SEVENTH, BUT AUGUST THE SEVENTH WAS THE MOST MENTIONED.
IF YOU WANNA MAKE A MOTION FOR AUGUST 7TH, UH, AND I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE MEET AUGUST 7TH PURSUIT HERE.
YEAH, WE CAN CONFIRM THE LOCATION.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THERE'S AVAILABILITY.
SOMETIMES THIS ROOM MIGHT BE BUSY, BUT WE HAVE ANOTHER ROOM THAT'S AVAILABLE, BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY SEE WHICH ROOM WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO THE ALL AT A, AT A LOCATION TO BE ANNOUNCED.
SO THE FIRST MOTION, AUGUST 7TH AFTER SIX, THE LOCATION TO BE A I SECOND.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT? NOPE.
[01:05:02]
OKAY.THAT WAS MUCH MORE EASIER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE.
I'LL CONFIRM CITY HALL, UH, A ROOM IN CITY HALL.
OKAY, SO THEN THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS NUMBER SIX, AND THAT'S THE REPORTS OF OFFICERS, BOARDS AND STANDING COMMITTEES.
AND WE ONLY HAVE ONE AND WE DID NOT MEET, THAT'S MOSTLY ON MY PART, MY BEHALF.
UH, BUT THAT WAS THE ONE BEFORE.
AND THERE WAS SOME PROGRESS IN THAT FIRST MEETING.
UM, WE MET SOME, UH, AND ACTUALLY WE CAN ASK, UH,
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR? UM, WOULD YOU WANNA HAVE MS. TURNER SPEAK IN THE IN-PERSON MEETING OR IN SEPTEMBER? WHAT'S MS. TURNER? DO YOU HAVE A CALENDAR ON YOU? HOW, WHAT'S YOUR CALENDAR? YOU MAY BE IN THE CARIBBEAN THEN.
SO OUR NEXT AUGUST MEETING HAS BEEN DECIDED FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 7TH, 6:00 PM HERE AT CITY HALL.
AND THEN THE SEPTEMBER MEETING WOULD BE A REGULAR SECOND THURSDAY, UM, AT 11 AT THIS TIME.
SECOND THURSDAY WOULD BE, UH, SEPTEMBER MEETING WOULD BE PERFECT.
THAT'S SUICIDE PREVENTION MONTH.
SO WE'RE DOING A LOT AT THE VA FOR THEM.
SO WE CAN MAKE PLANS FOR THAT FOR THE 14TH.
14TH OF SEPTEMBER SECOND, FIRST.
THAT WOULD BE INSTEAD OF THE 10TH BE THE SECOND.
IS THERE ANYONE WHO'S GOT IDEAS OF PEOPLE TO INVITE FOR THE SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER? OR HAVE WE TALKED ABOUT THAT, UH, ON ANYBODY ELSE? OR HOW DO YOU KNOW WHO'S BEEN GETTING THE PEOPLE TO COME? CHRISTINA, OR YEAH, SOMETIMES IT COMES FROM COMMISSIONERS THAT REQUEST.
UM, OR SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN DISCUSSED, WE WANNA INVITE SOMEONE FROM DART, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE PUBLIC MEETINGS.
AND SO I, I REACH OUT AND, AND UH, I DID MEET, UH, UH, AN EMPLOYEE, A CD EMPLOYEE, UM, THAT DOES A LOT OF, UH, WORK WITH THE HOMELESS.
UM, I CAN'T, I, I'LL GET HER CONTACT, THE EMPLOYEE, YOU KNOW,
AND THAT WAY, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN DISCUSS HERE ARE THE PRIORITY AREAS THAT WE WANNA FOCUS ON.
UM, AND, AND THEN WE MAP IT OUT FROM THERE.
KIND, KIND PLAN, LIKE A, YEAH, LIKE A STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS.
ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS ANYBODY HAVE? UH, OH, JUST, I HAD ONE, I HAD ONE JUST REPORT I WANTED TO SHARE ABOUT THE WELCOMING COORDINATOR, COORDINATOR POSITION.
WE RECEIVED 170 APPLICATIONS, UM, AND OUR HR DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN, UM, I GUESS UNDERSTAFFED.
SO I FINALLY GOT THE FINAL SHORT LIST, UH, ON TUESDAY.
UM, AND SO I'M HOPING WE CAN START WITH INTERVIEWS.
I'LL JUST SAY WE HAD A LOT OF GREAT CANDIDATES.
SO I'M, I'M, I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN HAVE SOMEONE, UM, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO PRESENT SOMEONE BY AUGUST.
UH, I WILL PROBABLY ALSO REACH OUT IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BEING PART OF A PANEL TO INTERVIEW.
UM, I HA I MIGHT NEED TO CONFIRM WITH OUR ATTORNEY, YOU KNOW, HOW THAT COULD, WHAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE IF MAYBE WE HAVE TWO
[01:10:01]
PEOPLE OR, UM, I HAVE TO CONFIRM IT.SO IT'S A COORDINATOR POSITION THAT WOULD BE COMPLETELY DEDICATED TO THE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMISSION.
UM, AND THAT WILL HELP A LOT WITH, YOU KNOW, GETTING, UH, ACTIONS COMPLETED.
UM, SO, UH, SO I THINK THAT THIS PERSON WILL, WILL REALLY HELP A LOT WITH, UH, UM, FOLLOWING UP AND, UM, YOU KNOW, BEING MORE PROACTIVE ON THINGS.
UM, SO YEAH, THAT, AND IT'S A FULL-TIME POSITION.
UM, YEAH, BASICALLY YOU WOULD BE THAT PERSON'S BOSS.
SO, YEAH, I, UM, I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD AND AGAIN, LIKE I SAID, WE HAD A LOT OF CANDIDATES APPLY, WHICH WAS GREAT.
VERY, UH, COMPETITIVE POSITION.
UM, SO WE'LL BE SURE TO SHARE UPDATES OVER EMAIL.
ANY ANNOUNCEMENT FROM ANYONE, UM, ONLINE? ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? I DO.
UH, SO I JUST GRADUATED, UH, THIS PAST MONTH FROM UT WITH MY MASTERS AND I ACCEPTED THE POSITION.
SO, OH, HOPEFULLY I I'M IN SO YOU'RE GONNA BE HELPING US WITH THE BUDGET.
SO HOPEFULLY I PROVIDE YOU COMBINE ALL THE MONEY WHERE THE MONEY'S AT.
BE BE ABLE TO HELP YOU GUYS WITH THAT.
SO YEAH, I'M EXCITED TO START.
MY FIRST DAY IS ACTUALLY ON MONDAY, SO I'M EXCITED.
WELCOME JUAN TO THE CITY OF DALLAS.
ARE YOU COMING INTO THE OFFICE AND ARE YOU COMING INTO CITY HALL? UH, NO.
UH, I'LL BE WORKING AT ANOTHER, UM, ANOTHER, UH, LOCATION.
EXCEPT FOR THE SECOND THURSDAY AT 11:00 AM EX.
CONGRATULATIONS ON BOTH THINGS.
ANYBODY ELSE? ANYONE ELSE? WELL, IT IS 1213.