09-08-1986 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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on the of Eect of heal th carp f i nanc i n(J on the quality and accessii)ility of menEaI 'iealth and chemical dependency care. This was a working conference which Grew participation from the entire Metro area and had keynotes by recognized experts in health care financing from Canada and Washington, D. C. Conference proceedings were published and widely distributed after the conference. A group organized as a resul* of this conference will look at strategies for change on a sta'Cewide basis. �11_ Hwla..famflu viol Within the last year a new domestic abuse intervention project began which serves the cities of Mound, St. Boni- facius and Minnetrista. WHHS provided technical assistance and support to the organizers of the new service, Westonka Intervention Project. This service is an example of the kind of result the Family Violence Committee hopes to promote in its community edu- cation efforts. The committee has develped a traveling film and panel presentation that includes police, battereu women, former perpetrators of violence and counseling profes- sionals that can be used by west sub- arban groups upon request. WHHS pro- ided support to Sojourner Shelter _n their recent move. The committee recognizes that its community education efforts must be continued to reduce stereotypes about victims and perpetra- tors of family violence. WHHS is also represented on the Home Free Advisory Board and the Working Group on the Legal Problems of Low -Income Families, which deals with battered women's issues. ilsv -lanainou arditance With the other two suburban human ser- vices councils, we sponsored the energy assistance program for the sixth year. Utilizing Federal and State funds, the three (3) councils served 4897 households with payments of $1.8 million for heating costs during the 1985 program year. In addition, the program paid out almost $18,000 for emergency repairs for furnace repair and other heating related work. An- other $96,000 was paid out in crisis assistance wnere the energy assistance grant was Insufficient to advert shut- off. in the West Hennepin area 1,468 households r :eived grants for heating assistance. Emergency repairs were alsoprovided to 27 households in the West Hennepin area. As in previous years a key ingredient in the delivery of this servi.,e were the 29 volunteers who contributed almost. 1000 hours of service. Intake sites were located inExcelsior, St. Louis Park, Plymouth, Mound, Minnetonka, Hopkins, and Maple Plain. As of mid -May, the 1986 Energy Assistance Program has served 1300 households and again utilized volun- teers. This year over 40 volunteers participated in the program. In an effort to expand our outreach, we have enlisted the assistance of three busi- ness graduate students to do a market- ing survey for the program. Also this year a new vision and philosophy state- ment were developed for the program. As part of our continuing efforts to address the problems relating to the high cost of energy for a low income household, West Hennepin Human Services testified and advocated at the State Legislature and the Public Utilities Commission on behalf of weatherization and energy assistance issues. In addi- tion, Wes, Hennepin Human Services has continued tr, play an active role in the Suburban Energy Issues Task Force, a group representing munici- palities, and other community groups interested in promoting weatherization and other conservation activities in suburban Hennepin County. These acti- vities have included the submission of two conservation program proposals to Minnegasco and Northern States Power for Conservation Improvement Program funds, the sponsoring of speakers on subjects such as marketing, program funding and the monitoring of state and federal legislative activities. ["mergencu In 1985, our Emergency Services Pro- gram provided food to 2512 people, shelter to 243 people and emergency transportation and utility assistance to 1356 people. This program is de- signed to provide assistance to people in crisis who are without other re- sources. This is a cooperative effort with STEP, Interfaith Outreach, Inter - church Community Association and West- onka Christian Services with assistance from First Call for Help, YES, 12 local Police departments. Home Free and So-