SAC MIN 1994-11-09 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Jack Anthony was unanimously elected vice chairperson of the Senior Affairs Commission for 1995. The Commissioners expressed their concern about Commissioner Sharp and asked to have someone inquire abut her health. Chairperson Anthony agreed to do this. ITEM 3 - PEER COUNSELING UPDATE-MARIANNE MANNIA Supervisor Mannia reported she contacted Mimi Goodrich of the Palo Alto Senior Center who is also the director of their peer counseling program. Ms. Goodrich indicated their program involves a 12-week training program and that peer counselors must make a one year commitment to the program. Each counselor works approximately 3 hours per week and has 1 or 2 clients. Supervisor Mannia said Ms. Goodrich felt the most difficult area of the program is recruitment. Their recruitment methods include advertising in newspapers, flyers, networking with other agencies, and bulletin boards. Palo Alto currently has 15 active peer counselors and they recently did a recruitment which brought in six new peer counselor trainees. Palo Alto's peer counselors meet once a month for three hours with an experienced senior peer counselor and Ms. Goodrich. Supervisor Mannia said Palo Alto does not hold training during the summer months or during the holiday season. A large graduation ceremony is held after the completion of the peer counselor training. The Commissioners had several questions regarding Palo Alto's program and Supervisor Mannia will contact Ms. Goodrich to obtain the answers to their questions and will report back at the December meeting. ITEM 4-TRANSPORTATION The Commissioners discussed the purchase of the van for the Veterans Memorial Senior Center and the special driver's license requirements needed for different types of vans. Superintendent Hartman said she felt that a committee needs to be formed to address the issues and concerns of the van purchase. She said there are many different issues such as the type of van to be purchased, the licence requirements and cost of the driver, and scheduling of the van. Commissioner Newell said the City of Menlo Park has a small van and suggested that staff check with them to determine their license requirements. Chairperson Anthony gave a Redi-Wheels status report for October and November from PCC. A copy of the report will be sent to all Commissioners for their review. He reported that SamTrans is getting ready for several public hearings they will be holding on ADA Plan Updates. Commissioner Jordan noted the SamTrans Paratransit Coordinator will be attending the San Francisco PCC to see how it operates.