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Human
Relations Commission
Actions
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NOVEMBER 16, 2006
ATTENDANCE: Sarah Mann, Chairwoman; Lucy Romeo, Vice Chair; Daisy
Franklin, Bea Brown, Dr. Amodio, Dr. Stabinsky, Carol Frank,
Vicky Su (7:45 p.m.)
STAFF: Elisabeth Youngerman
OTHERS: Curtis Law, Norwalk Housing Authority; Robert Koch, The Hour;
Carvin J. Hilliard, Common Council Member (8:05 p.m.)
CALL TO ORDER
Chairwoman Mann called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. She announced there was a quorum and also asked the Commission members if Mr. Law from the Housing Authority could speak the Commission first. This was agreeable to all.
NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Law introduced himself to the Commission. He said that in Norwalk about 10 –12 % of the student population comes from families that are in public housing. Years ago, it was noticed that the students of these families were not doing as well as their parents had in school. The Housing Authority then contacted the school system and decided to open up Learning Centers where the students could receive voluntary after school assistance. These Learning Centers focus on basic skills such as reading and math skills. However, a new trend has been noticed in recent years. Some of the students are not succeeding in school because they are truant.
The Housing Authority is operating under the assumption that parents want what is best for their children. In response to that, the Housing Authority works with the parents as much as they can to ensure that the student is successful in school. One of the programs that the Housing Authority sponsored was a Drug Elimination Program. Mr. Law also mentioned that the better education that a young woman receives, the more likely she is to wait until later to have children. Early data from the BOE indicates that the middle school truancy is a target area.
Mr. Law explained that the present program would take some effort for a family to be evicted. He also stated that when the program was being developed and the lease changes discussed, which would require the Housing Authority to be notified of unexcused absences, there was a thirty day comment period. With the requirement in the lease agreement, Mr. Law felt that situations would change for the better. Meetings were held at all the public housing projects about this issue. He indicated that Ms. Franklin had attended the meetings held at her project. Mr. Law went on to say that reasonable people disagree on this matter.
Chairwoman Mann asked how the tenants were notified. Mr. Law stated the Housing Authority either sends the notice by regular mail or hand delivers it. When it is sent by registered mail, the recipient often will not pick up the letter. Ms. Frank asked what the reaction was when the program was presented to the occupants of the public housing projects. Mr. Law replied that they were 95% positive. Ms. Youngerman asked if other Housing Authorities had instituted this type of policy. Mr. Law replied that there was another Housing Authority that had this policy and that there had been no evictions to date.
Dr. Stabinsky asked about the Board of Education. Mr. Law said that he knew it had been discussed by the BOE in one of their Board meetings. It was critical to work with the BOE regarding this issue and that the Superintendent of Schools was fully supporting the program. Prior to this, an attendance records release was required from the parent. Now this has been incorporated into the public housing lease, which makes it mandatory for all who live in public housing projects. Dr, Stabinsky commented that one of the roles of the Human Relations Commission is to see that every Norwalk resident is treated equally. He stated that this program coerces the public housing residents by the mandate in the lease, where those who live in private homes are not required to relinquish the same information. Therefore it is focused on a particular population in Norwalk. Mr. Law acknowledged this and reiterated that this issue caused reasonable people to disagree.
Dr. Amodio had several questions about the qualifications and certifications of the staff at the Learning Centers. Mr. Law replied that the Learning Centers were not set up to operate as schools. The rooms were deliberately not designed to look like classrooms. In addition, the Learning Centers lean heavily towards the arts, to allow the students to express themselves in creative ways. The Learning Centers have participated in the Norwalk READS campaign for years and the Center gives away over 200 books per week to the students. The Centers also help the students with exposure to tennis and golf, along with scholarships to college.
Ms. Su joined the meeting at 7:45 p.m.
Ms. Romeo commented that she was confused about the goals of the Learning Centers and felt that the Learning Centers were creating an alternative school. Mr. Law reiterated that the Center attendance was voluntary and that the staff works with the students on their assigned homework from their regular classes. Concerns were expressed about a possible situation where one child in a family was truant, thus leading the family to be evicted. Mr. Law reiterated that the Housing Authority was not looking to evict families but to have successful students. By placing this agreement in the lease, it was felt that the situation would change.
Mr. Hilliard joined at the meeting at 8:05 p.m.
Mr. Law then reported that the Housing Authority had instituted a program called The Academy, which provided students with a stipend.
Dr. Amodio asked to see the results of the study that Mr. Law had mentioned. Mr. Law stated that it was a HUD study that was done 10-15 years ago, which is when the Learning Centers were set up. He suggested Dr. Amodio check with the Board of Education for copies of the various studies. Dr. Amodio said that this was not acceptable to her and that she required footnotes and documentation. Mr. Law reiterated that reasonable people disagree on this issue and went on to say that he had seen the young people who were not being successful in the school system.
Ms. Frank commented that she felt this was creating a two classes system. Mr. Law replied that the idea was to help young people be successful in school. Ms. Frank wondered why it was necessary to have the issue included in the lease. Mr. Law said that if the students were not in school, they could not succeed.
Ms. Franklin asked what the Housing Authority planned on doing when there was a suspension. Mr. Law said that suspension were strictly a school issue, not a Housing Authority issue. The Housing Authority’s aim is to support a parent who is having difficulty with a child. Ms. Franklin asked about truancy because of gang intimidation. Mr. Law said that they would work with the parent as much as they were able to have a successful student.
Ms. Youngerman asked Mr. Law if he would be willing to return in six months to meet with the Commission. Mr. Law said that he was always willing to meet with the Commission.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
Ms. Youngerman distributed copies of the November 6th Special Meeting. Ms. Brown asked why these minutes had not been included in the information packets sent out. Ms. Youngerman explained that the minutes had arrived after the packets had been mailed out.
November 6, 2006 Special Meeting
** MS. BROWN MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 6TH SPECIAL MEETING
AS CORRECTED.
** MS. FRANK SECONDED.
Please change all references to “Ms. Amodio” to “Dr. Amodio”.
Page 1, paragraph 3, line 3: please change “She suggested that the school programs”
to
“The Mayor’s secretary suggested that the school programs”
Page 1, paragraph 4: please change: “Ms. Amodio also pointed out that the Commission should try to submit a newspaper column once a month to raise awareness of the Commission in the community. She offered to write a column for December. Ms. Franklin suggested that perhaps doing a column every two months would be better. If enough material was available to do a monthly column, that would be wonderful, but starting with a bi-monthly column might be the best.”
To
Dr. Amodio also pointed out that the Commission should try to submit a newspaper column. . She offered to write a column for December. There was some discussion regarding if there was enough material was available to do a monthly column, but starting with a bi-monthly column might be the best.”
Page 2, paragraph 7, line 3: please change “Dr. Stabinsky said it would be important to follow up on recommendations during various programs.” To “Dr. Stabinsky said it would be important to follow up on recommendations.”
Page 2, paragraph 8, line 2: please change “Ms. Su informed the Commission that Asian New Year will be on February 8th this year.” To “Ms. Su informed the Commission that Chinese New Year will be on February 18th this year.”
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Minutes of the October 19, 2006 Meeting.
** MS. BROWN MOVED TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 19, 2006 MEETING AS
SUBMITTED.
** MS. FRANKLIN SECONDED.
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Chairwoman Mann reported that she had submitted the by-laws to Corporation Counsel for review and an opinion. She expects the opinion in a few weeks. Ms. Brown will chair the By-laws Committee. Ms. Frank asked what the by-laws said about Commissioners who never attended meetings. Chairwoman Mann said that issue should be considered after Corporation Counsel gives their opinion on the by-laws.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Ms. Youngerman distributed copies of a November 9, 2006 letter from the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities to the Human Rights Commission (CHRO). Ms. Brown asked why this letter had not been included in the packet of information that was sent. Ms. Youngerman stated that the letter had come in after the packets had gone out. Ms. Youngerman said that she did not have the exact dates of the meetings for the December, January and February meetings, but that she would make that information available to the Commissioners as soon as it was announced.
Ms. Youngerman stated that currently the enrollment for the Diversity Program was up to 65 and that there were only 70 slots available.
Ms. Youngerman then distributed copies of a letter to the editor about the Sister City Project, which appeared in a recent newspaper.
STATISTICS
Ms. Su had a question about the budget and Ms. Youngerman then reviewed the numbers with her.
Ms. Brown stated for the record that she wanted the Human Relations Commission budget separated from the Fair Rent Commission budget. Chairwoman Mann asked Council Member Hilliard about the issue of having the two budgets separated. Council Member Hilliard replied that he had spoken to Mr. Hamilton about this and it could be done. A formal request needs to be filed.
Ms. Brown also commented that Mr. Patterson was not present to give a report. Ms. Brown stated that she wanted the Human Relations Commission to have its own Field Representative. Chairwoman Mann asked Ms. Brown what she saw as a Field Representative’s task. Ms. Brown replied that the Field Representative would need to be in the community to let people know about Human Relations. Ms. Brown then went on to recount her activities when she worked for the State Commission on Human Relations and stated that there was a lot of hidden discrimination in the Police Department and Fire Department. Dr. Amodio agreed with Ms. Brown that there was a lot of soft bigotry. Ms. Su commented that she was uncomfortable with Ms. Brown’s concept of what a Field Representative would do. Chairwoman Mann suggested that the newspaper column and personal outreach would be good first steps. Dr. Stabinsky agreed and asked if the Commission could move to the next item on the agenda. Dr. Amodio commented while some people were free to go home, she was present to work.
Dr. Stabinsky left the meeting at 9:15 p.m.
A discussion followed as to why the numbers of inquiries at Human Relations had decreased in the last few years. Dr. Amodio commented that when the former director had been in charge, all the calls were referred to the Commission for determination. Now Ms. Youngerman stated that she routes the calls to the Human Relations office directly to the other agencies. It was also noted that many of the complaints were most likely going directly to CHRO rather than the Norwalk Human Relations Office.
Ms. Romeo left the meeting at 9:20 p.m.
OLD BUSINESS
Human Rights Day
Dr. Amodio stated that the date for the in school event at Brien McMahon High School was not firm yet. The event for the Atrium in City Hall will be on Thursday, December 7th at 10 a.m. Details for an event at N.E.O.N. are being developed.
Dr. Amodio also reminded the Commission about their commitment to the Carver Center to plant a perennial garden on the grounds. Chairwoman Mann asked if the Carver Center had decided if they would be staying in the same location because of the planned Redevelopment project. Dr. Amodio said there were many different ways to do a perennial garden including a dish garden.
Diversity Program
This had been discussed earlier in the meeting.
Goal Setting and Implementation
This item will be carried over to the next meeting.
NEW BUSINESS CONT’D
Finance
Chairwoman Mann asked Ms. Su and Ms. Brown to work on the finances. This was agreeable to all.
Ms. Frank stated that she was the Human Relations representative to Fair Housing. She said that she had copies of the Norwalk Fair Housing Officer’s Annual Report for 2005-2006 for the Commission members. Ms. Frank distributed copies of the report to the members of the Commission.
ADJOURNMENT
** DR. AMODIO MOVED TO ADJOURN.
** MS. FRANK SECONDED.
** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sharon L. Soltes
Telesco Secretarial Services
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