SAC MIN 1995-12-13 - Laserfiche WebLink

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deal with them. The Watch Committee makes publicity contacts in the community, does outreach to community agencies, and has developed a informational brochure. Mr. Farmer announced a recognition event is being held for the peer counselors on January 16 and training for the counselors will begin January 22. They now have 6 people per training dass and would like to see 10-15 in a class. Mr. Farmer stated the biggest issue peer counselors encounter with their clients is depression, especially due to the loss of a spouse or significant other. Peer Counseling is a free service offered to seniors ages 50 and over. Comprehensive training for peer counselors is offered over a 12 week period, 3 hours per day,2 days per week and is offered once or twice per year. Mr. Farmer said presentations are made to senior groups and clubs, churches and other public forums to try and recruit new peer counselors. He stated the senior center in East Palo Alto has a peer counselor available on Thursdays each week to speak with clients and suggested Redwood City might want to consider doing the same thing. Teresa Hurtado spoke regarding "La Esperanza Vive" which does peer counseling outreach to the Hispanic community. She explained that the biggest problem is getting information into hospitals or the proper agencies to make referrals. The Spanish speaking peer counseling program is limited to people ages 60 and over due to funding restrictions from Aging and Adult Services. Ms. Hurtado explained that if she assists people under 60 years of age, the program does not receive credit. Chairperson Lloyd suggested approaching the Commission on Aging to get the age limitation lowered so more people could be provided with assistance. Ms. Hurtado said she is now trying to recruit people as peer counselors who are bi-lingual. She has sent a press release to senior centers and other organizations to assist in her recruitment process. She stated she does see Spanish speaking clients in their homes due to the fact that most of her clients do not drive. ITEM 2-PROGRESS REPORT FROM COMMISSIONERS ON WORK PLAN ASSIGNMENTS The Commissioners were reminded that the new meeting date for the Commission is the 2nd Thursday of each month at 3:00pm. The next meeting date is 3:00pm on Thursday, January 11, 1996 at the Senior Center Annex. Commissioner Capone said she is continuing her monitoring of the "orange sticker program in mailboxes". She has contacted both the Police Department and the Post Office to determine the success of the program. She reported the Police Department and Post Office have received no reports of incidents but the program has only been in existence about 6 months. Most people who are using this service live in apartments. Commissioner Capone said she is