Project VISION Meeting

September 8, 2016 at 12:00 p.m.

Alliance Community Fellowship, 1 Scale Ave., Rutland, VT 05701

Save the Date:

• September 17^th: Free, family friendly outdoor movie at 113 Library Ave, starts at 8 PM
• September 20^th: Free Homebuyer Education Course at the Vermont Farmers Food Center, 5-9 PM on Tuesday and Thursday (9/22). Register here or call 438-2303.
• September 29^th at 3:30 PM at VISION Center- Health Committee interim meeting
• October 2^nd: Walk a Mile in Her Shoes- Rutland County Women’s Network and Shelter, sign up here!

Updates from Police:

• Recruitment: the Rutland Police Department has received a lot of applications for the open positions but are still encouraging people to apply
• Office Prouty is excited about the relationships with the colleges that result in interns and shadowing opportunities at the Police Dept.
• VISION team attended ADAPT conference and were well received, presenting to over 140 people- thanks Sarah Roy!

Announcements:

• Joe Perella, Assistant U.S. Attorney, reported that Vermont’s federal pre-trail drug court program, which is in its first year of operation in Rutland, has had four successful graduations from its year long program
  • Kiley Dixon reported that the state drug court has been operating since 2004, and in the last 3 years, 42 have graduated and 2/3 of those graduates have not reoffended.
• Community Cupboard: Kelly Giancola announced that Green Mountain Power is donating $.25 for every food item collected for the month of September (up to $5000), and is inviting local organizations to form teams to compete- the winning team will have $500 donated in their name from GMP. She reminded us that the Cupboard is always looking for volunteers! 802-747-6119 is their number.
• Habitat for Humanity is looking for volunteers to help with the build for 42 Cleveland Ave in Rutland, which should begin spring 2017. Their recently completed renovation in Poultney took over 120 volunteers 3000 hours! To help with “building a community while building a house,” contact them at rutlandhabitat@gmail.com or 802-747-7440
• Rutland County Women’s Network and Shelter is inviting all to sign up for their annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event in recognition of victims of domestic or sexual violence. It will be October 2^nd, starting at Main Street Park. Teams are encouraged to sign up, and you can register here.

Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention Committee:

• Traci Moore, Jeff McKee, and Sarah Narkewicz had exciting news: the committee is refocusing its efforts to become a Health committee, with a full scale reprioritization: new ideas, new membership, new goals
  • This is part of Accountable Rutland Community Health: health care communities and hospitals across the state are shifting from treatment of the sick to how to keep people well at home and drive down the demand for services. 8-10 people are tasked with aligning efforts at grass roots and Project VISION with what happens at institutional level prioritization
• Immediate next step: Brainstorming session to discuss redefining/broadening goals
  • Tentative Date: October 11, 4-7 PM at the Howe Center
  • Thoughts, questions, ideas? Email Traci Moore at tmmoore@rrmc.org

Building Great Neighborhoods Committee:

• Family Fun Day: planning is underway. It will be at Giorgetti this fall, Linda Justin is organizing it. In the past it’s been an open skate with free food, but this year we’re hoping to add more activities (broomball! Scavenger hunt outside, tie dye clinic). Tentative date is November 26. To be involved: email Linda at ljustin@comcast.net
• Outdoor Movie: NWWVT held an outdoor, walk-in movie at 113 Library on August 27^th that had 57 attendees. Another will be held Saturday, Sept 17 at 8 PM.
• Southwest Ice Cream Social: well attended by families- lots of ice cream consumed!
• Pam Favreau: Looking for a property in Northwest Rutland to be a community center, a location where community activities and classes can be held

Uplifting Story:

Through time spent working side by side with DCF due to Project VISION, Brad and Donna have become the proud foster parents of a senior in high school who now has a new goal of college.