[3:25] first um meeting this year
[3:29] >> of the human rights to the microphone.
[3:32] Let's
[3:32] >> get a microphone.
[3:33] >> Dr. I didn't do you any favors there.
[3:36] >> Thank you.
[3:36] guys.
[3:41] » Um good evening everyone. Um this is our
[3:44] first human rights and inclusion
[3:45] committee meeting of the um 2026
[3:50] um fall season. We wishing everyone all
[3:53] the best as we begin our our affairs of
[3:56] the day and for the remainder of the the
[3:59] year. Want to thank everyone who's
[4:01] joining us on uh the cable access TV and
[4:04] all of my wonderful colleagues sitting
[4:07] here at the table. Um my name is Dr.
[4:10] Charles Desmond. People call me Dr.
[4:12] trolley. Um, that works very well for
[4:15] me. And maybe, um, before I go any
[4:17] further, we'll just have people that are
[4:20] sitting at the table introduce
[4:22] themselves and we'll then get into our announcements and what have you.
[4:27] >> Sure. Johan Hunter,
[4:29] >> Paulac,
[4:30] Luis Velasquez,
[4:32] >> Paula Garcia, and Karen Elliot Gradorf
[4:39] leazison.
[4:43] Hi, I'm Christy Fair on the
[4:46] accessibility commission.
[4:50] » I'm Amy Velasquez. I'm also on the
[4:52] Dammer accessibility commissioner.
[4:56] >> I'm Heather Carnival and I'm a teacher
[4:58] at the high school and
[5:02] um a liazison between the high school
[5:03] and HR.
[5:06] >> Wonderful. Thank you everyone. I'm
[5:09] really looking forward to this wonderful
[5:11] year that we're going to be having and
[5:13] the um issues that we're going to be
[5:15] attending to. I think we have a lot to
[5:17] share. I'm very happy that u we have
[5:20] citizen participation and we will um
[5:23] we'll have a lot to accomplish over the
[5:26] course of the the year. I'd like to now
[5:28] turn to Luis who will um read the Native
[5:31] Land acknowledgement.
[5:33] >> Thank you, Dr. Charlie. Uh in keeping
[5:36] with our values of equity and inclusion
[5:38] and to support those who experience
[5:40] marginalization, this evening's meeting
[5:42] will begin with a Native American land
[5:44] acknowledgement.
[5:46] We acknowledge that this meeting is
[5:48] taking place on the ancestral ancestral
[5:51] lands homelands of the Nagmeck and Agam
[5:55] people to honor the Nakmeck and Augan
[5:59] communities along with any other
[6:01] indigenous peoples who inhabited these
[6:02] lands we now known as dampers
[6:06] and who might be lost to history. Let us
[6:09] take a moment to recognize the past,
[6:10] present and future of indigenous peoples
[6:13] and reflect on our roles within their
[6:15] settler settler colonialism. We
[6:17] acknowledge these ancestral grounds we
[6:20] have collectively gathered upon and
[6:22] support the resilience and strength the
[6:24] indigenous peoples have shown worldwide.
[6:28] >> Thank you very much. Thank you. Um at
[6:30] this time I'd like to turn to um
[6:33] approval of the minutes of our June 23
[6:36] meeting. Um, is there a motion to
[6:39] approve these minutes or are there any
[6:40] comments, corrections, or other matters
[6:42] that we want to raise relative to the
[6:44] minutes?
[6:45] >> Move as uh printed, presented.
[6:50] >> I second that.
[6:51] >> All in favor, please say
[6:53] >> I.
[6:55] >> Wonderful. Thank you very much. Um so
[6:58] I'm turning to an item that um is an
[7:01] outgrowth of work that we did last year
[7:03] in discussions that I'm sorry um
[7:05] Lieutenant Sullivan um we did
[7:07] acknowledge the liaison and forgive me
[7:10] for not recognizing you. I saw you come
[7:12] in and I said let's recognize them.
[7:15] >> I app I apologize for for being late
[7:19] and I knock my water. [laughter]
[7:22] So um just um a few informal comments
[7:26] and then I'll turn to what I've written
[7:28] because I sometimes if I don't read what
[7:30] I write then it gets a little bit goes
[7:32] off in different directions. So um last
[7:35] year we had um a little bit of um
[7:39] occasions and situations where we had
[7:41] public comments that extended in into
[7:44] our full agenda for our meeting. and it
[7:48] really represented a a situation in
[7:51] which all very very important issues
[7:54] really um may not have gotten the full
[7:57] attention that we needed to give to the
[7:59] discussions that we had. So we really
[8:01] have been reflecting on whether or not
[8:04] we need to have a more a different type
[8:06] of a structure through which we can deal
[8:08] with
[8:10] brief comments that may be made by
[8:12] citizens and lengthy more deliberative
[8:14] issues that might require greater uh
[8:17] attention from uh this body. So, we're
[8:20] engaged in discussions about that. And I
[8:22] want to just give the public just the
[8:24] framework of what we're thinking about
[8:27] and how we're looking at that with the understanding that we are we
[8:32] will continue to work on this. We'll
[8:33] discuss with legal counsel and anyone
[8:36] else that needs to be uh involved
[8:38] relevant to how we might
[8:42] govern the process through which uh
[8:45] public comments are going to be
[8:46] received. So um so what I have the human
[8:49] rights and inclusion committee believes
[8:50] that an engaged community is essential
[8:53] to the work of a community focused
[8:55] committee. Hearing directly from
[8:57] residents about their experience,
[8:59] concerns, ideas, and perspectives
[9:01] broadens our understandings and helps
[9:03] inform the work we undertake on behalf
[9:05] of the community. The citizen comment
[9:08] period is an important part of our
[9:10] meetings because it provides residents
[9:12] with an opportunity to bring issues and
[9:13] concerns directly to the committee. We
[9:16] want residents to know that their
[9:18] participation is welcomed, encouraged,
[9:20] and valued. At the same time, the
[9:23] committee has a responsibility, a
[9:24] responsibility to conduct its meetings
[9:27] in an organized and productive manner.
[9:29] Our meeting agendas are published,
[9:31] posted in advance, and identify the
[9:33] matters the committee has scheduled for
[9:35] consideration. When an unscheduled
[9:37] citizen comment develops into an
[9:39] extended discussion, it can limit the
[9:42] committee's ability to address the
[9:44] business that has been placed on the
[9:46] published agenda. The purpose of these
[9:49] proposed guidelines that we're be
[9:51] talking about will be trying to address
[9:54] that particular concern. So, uh, I'm
[9:57] proposing, uh, that we engage in a clear
[10:00] and consistent framework for citizen
[10:02] comments and community engagement at our
[10:04] human rights and inclusion committee
[10:05] meetings. The purpose is not to limit
[10:08] public participation, but to promote
[10:10] equitable participation by ensuring that
[10:12] every resident has a meaningful
[10:14] opportunity to be heard and no single
[10:17] discussion prevents others from
[10:19] participating
[10:20] uh, on the committees from addressing
[10:23] the published agenda. Under this
[10:25] approach, residents could raise brief
[10:27] comments, concerns, ideas, and
[10:28] experiences during the citizen comment
[10:31] period. Matters requiring additional
[10:33] information, preparation, discussion, a
[10:37] possible committee action could then be
[10:39] scheduled for a future agenda, allowing
[10:41] the committee to provide a more
[10:42] thoughtful and effective response. This
[10:44] framework would help ensure that
[10:46] community concerns receive appropriate
[10:48] attention while enabling enabling the
[10:50] committee to conduct its business in an
[10:52] orderly focused and transparent manner.
[10:55] So the purpose will be to either come up
[10:57] with some language that frames that. As
[10:59] I said, we will discuss with all
[11:00] appropriate parties on what that might
[11:02] look like and we will get back to the
[11:03] public and the committee as a whole as
[11:05] that develops. So I think that should be
[11:09] okay.
[11:11] Um
[11:12] >> question.
[11:13] >> Yes. So, is there a subcommittee that's
[11:15] working on this?
[11:16] >> No.
[11:17] >> Oh, okay. So,
[11:19] >> um
[11:20] >> Dr. Charles and I are working
[11:21] >> we're we are working on a framework that
[11:25] we'll bring to the full committee for
[11:26] the full committee to review and to come
[11:28] back with their comments. We'll discuss
[11:30] with legal counsel if they have any
[11:33] concerns and the public itself can
[11:34] participate and engage if necessary and
[11:37] appropriate.
[11:39] Did
[11:39] >> I get a copy of that?
[11:41] >> Yes.
[11:47] So, at this time, we actually turn to
[11:48] the public comments discussion. Are
[11:50] there any members of the public who want
[11:52] to uh have anything that they'd like to
[11:54] bring before uh the committee?
[12:00] Um, not hearing any, then I'd like to
[12:02] move to uh the liaison updates. If there
[12:05] are any comments, updates, information
[12:08] that you want to share with the board
[12:09] and the community at large, this is the
[12:11] appropriate time to do that.
[12:14] >> Hello. Um, so one of the speaking for
[12:18] the Danvers Accessibility Commission,
[12:20] one of the big thing that's that is
[12:22] going on with us right now is we're
[12:24] planning a human library event that um
[12:27] was supported by a grant from you. So uh
[12:31] we are very excited about it. The event
[12:32] is on October 17th, Saturday, October
[12:35] 17th, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at
[12:38] the senior center. And you might be
[12:40] wondering, what is a human library
[12:42] event? It is an opportunity for people
[12:44] with various backgrounds to become human
[12:47] books that can be checked out and read in quotes um by other people so
[12:52] that they can better understand the
[12:55] experience of an individual. And so we
[12:58] have a number of books who have
[12:59] volunteered to share their varying
[13:01] experiences um either with with
[13:03] disabilities with their past life
[13:06] experiences
[13:08] um with part of their identity that may
[13:10] be misunderstood by people um in the
[13:13] larger broader community. Um, and then
[13:16] we invite you and Danver's residents to
[13:20] come during that day and check out a
[13:21] book and have a conversation, have an
[13:24] opportunity to unjudge the people in
[13:26] their community, um, to to better
[13:29] understand each other. I do have flyers.
[13:32] Um, so I'm going to pass them down. Um,
[13:34] I think I have enough for everybody. Um,
[13:36] but we also have it's a there's a
[13:37] Facebook event um, that's been created
[13:39] so people can say that they're
[13:40] interested if they want to. Um and we do
[13:44] probably still have room for if anybody
[13:46] wants to be a book. Um there is a
[13:49] training that partic that volunteers
[13:51] have to go through. Um and we also have
[13:53] volunteer librarians even though and
[13:55] some of us are actual librarians too. Um
[13:58] who will be kind of coordinating the
[14:00] event during the day. Um so we hope that
[14:04] you have um the opportunity to join us
[14:06] um and participate and be part of that
[14:09] broader conversation.
[14:12] We're gonna tag team the updates today
[14:14] because Amy has the other stuff.
[14:19] Hi. Yeah. Um I wanted to share an
[14:21] update. Um I guess on behalf of the
[14:24] accessibility commission um when looking
[14:27] at and preparing like kind of seeing the
[14:30] agenda for this evening I noticed on the
[14:32] agenda that you're going to be talking
[14:33] about suicide prevention month and I
[14:35] wanted to bring some information um from
[14:39] a disability lens from an accessibility
[14:41] lens to kind of um frame that discussion
[14:45] when you get to that part of that
[14:46] meeting. Um but just some some
[14:49] statistics um about we're talking about
[14:52] suicide prevention, suicide prevention
[14:54] month um that up to 40% of people with
[14:59] intellectual and developmental
[15:00] disabilities have co-occurring mental
[15:02] health conditions.
[15:05] >> Additionally, people with disabilities
[15:07] report three times more suicidal
[15:09] ideiation compared to those without
[15:11] disabilities. and adults with
[15:14] disabilities are three and a half times
[15:16] more likely to experience frequent
[15:19] mental distress.
[15:21] um which really just considering those
[15:23] things that really highlights the
[15:26] importance um for training and awareness
[15:29] and a community response um in being
[15:33] able to provide supports for everyone
[15:36] experiencing mental health crisis, but
[15:39] also in particular from our lens and our
[15:42] place in the world just how
[15:43] disproportionately
[15:45] it impacts people um with disabilities.
[15:49] Just wanted to share that information.
[15:58] » You have [laughter] nothing. You have
[15:59] nothing. Okay. Thank you.
[16:04] » We also just got back to school. So, um
[16:08] actually our first full week of Labor
[16:11] Day,
[16:12] >> so things are still like
[16:15] >> unfolding.
[16:16] >> Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely.
[16:20] Thank you.
[16:23] » Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Um,
[16:26] uh, our last meeting I kind of left you
[16:28] all with a few incidents that have been
[16:30] happening throughout town at our
[16:32] playgrounds. Um, and, uh, I'm happy to
[16:36] report that the the number and type of
[16:39] those events have I can't believe I'm
[16:41] saying this because I'm going to jinx
[16:42] myself. But it it it has stopped um at
[16:46] least by that um that actor that was
[16:49] doing it across town. Uh and when they
[16:51] were destroying our property, it was
[16:53] across like entire picnic tables. Very
[16:55] visible. Um a lot of damage and done day
[16:58] after day. Um since then there have been
[17:02] uh I believe two other um incidents that
[17:06] were not uh as widespread. Uh, one was
[17:08] in the library um where I believe was I
[17:12] believe it was the nword that was
[17:13] written on a wall. Um, it's really
[17:16] difficult to determine how long ago this
[17:18] was put there. It was it was by a like
[17:20] an air conditioning vent next to a
[17:23] public computer space. Um, and it was
[17:26] really small, so it could have gone
[17:28] unnoticed for an extended period of
[17:30] time. Uh, in another incident, I believe
[17:32] it was a swast sticker that was um
[17:36] at one of the public parks. Um, we're
[17:39] unsure as to what was it was like the um
[17:41] it was like a a black Sharpie was used
[17:42] in the picnic tables. Um, this was
[17:45] either chalk or if you were to take like
[17:48] if you take a rock and like scratch onto
[17:50] concrete, um, that was kind of what was
[17:52] used. But if both of those were easily
[17:54] removable. Um they since those have
[17:58] happened since our last meeting, we've
[18:00] had no other incidents uh to report of
[18:02] that type of nature. Um and I was also
[18:05] going to ask I know we're just getting back to school, but
[18:09] if the uh if we can get permission from
[18:11] the board to get a future date uh to
[18:14] invite um Prism, we have a donation to
[18:17] present to them from funds raised at the
[18:19] Pride event.
[18:25] Thank you everyone. Appreciate your
[18:26] comments. Can I ask a question? Can I
[18:29] ask a question? I have a question.
[18:31] >> Yes.
[18:32] >> Sorry. I just had a question about the
[18:33] human library. You said you're still
[18:35] taking um people are are you taking
[18:38] young adults as well or does it have to
[18:40] be an adult? I think the
[18:45] so it's been I I've been very careful
[18:47] about inviting people because I am
[18:50] cognizant of the fact that we're
[18:51] inviting people to share very vulnerable
[18:54] parts of their selves. Um I think that
[18:59] I would prefer if it was a teen, it was
[19:01] an older teen just because of that
[19:03] potential. I don't want to assume that
[19:06] people coming are going to um cause
[19:09] harm, but there is that possibility and
[19:12] that is part of the the training. That's
[19:14] part of why books need to go through
[19:15] training. So, you're going to be talking
[19:16] about your identity um with strangers.
[19:19] >> Um but if it's depends, you know, we
[19:23] could talk about it. Um I think that I I
[19:26] would never want to discourage teens
[19:28] from sharing their experiences and this
[19:30] is one of those amazing opportunities to
[19:32] do that. Um, so it's not that we have a
[19:34] you have to be 18 to do this. Um, I
[19:36] think it would just need to be a
[19:38] conversation about what the experience
[19:41] could be and how comfortable the young
[19:44] adult and their family is about that
[19:47] experience.
[19:49] >> Okay. Thank you.
[19:51] >> Any other questions or comments or
[19:53] observations?
[19:55] Okay. Um, I'd like to now uh turn our
[19:58] attention to uh the education committee
[19:59] update and I will be um be led by our
[20:03] co-chair of the HRIC. I want to say that
[20:06] uh Paul has been in the past the chair
[20:09] of this committee. I don't think that
[20:10] there's too many people better able and
[20:13] aware and capable of helping to move the
[20:16] work of this uh committee forward and on
[20:18] behalf of the citizens of Danvers and uh
[20:21] he's also been actively very much
[20:24] engaged in work with the public schools.
[20:27] uh I've been on a co-chair with him um
[20:30] liaison for the public schools at
[20:32] various times and so I'd like to turn it
[20:35] over to him now who give you some
[20:37] updates on um a recent meeting that took
[20:39] place with the uh principal of the high
[20:41] school.
[20:42] >> Yeah. Yes. Thank you Dr. Charlie. We had
[20:44] a very positive meeting um with uh
[20:48] principal Strauss and it was a meeting
[20:50] that we asked for and he asked for
[20:53] because we wanted to get uh
[20:54] [clears throat] involved get the school
[20:56] system involved with some of our events
[20:59] this coming year. Um they do
[21:04] I'm going to rely on Dr. Charlie too to
[21:06] correct to fill in or correct me but uh
[21:09] [clears throat] they do work in in the
[21:10] immigration area in uh uh what's the
[21:16] word I want to a food the
[21:19] >> food food insecurity
[21:20] >> food insecurity right um and a couple of
[21:23] other things that we we would like to
[21:25] get them to come here and present the
[21:27] program and that's the kind of thing we
[21:30] want to do with the schools we also Dr.
[21:32] Charlie and I are going to meet with the
[21:35] uh school principal of the high school
[21:37] and the middle school because they have
[21:38] a new staff with the middle school
[21:40] pretty much and through [clears throat]
[21:42] Dr. Bower uh he's asked us to come in
[21:45] and we're more than willing to come in
[21:47] and sit with the middle school folks and
[21:50] uh get a feel for where they think they
[21:52] are and how things are going because
[21:54] again I think there might have been two
[21:57] or three changes at the at the middle
[21:59] school. Um, so it's important that we we
[22:01] relate to them and also uh we want to
[22:04] continue to work and that's one of the
[22:06] reasons why we have Heather there now
[22:08] too because we need as much help as we can get um and also in our program
[22:14] development. I think that's key. Uh
[22:16] that'll help us um get the town more
[22:19] involved. Uh and al and the um we have
[22:23] to get the students back in here. The uh
[22:25] what's there was a
[22:26] >> um United
[22:28] >> United and they're another one of our
[22:30] liaison. So we got a lot of liaison now
[22:33] and this and this is good. No, because
[22:35] it gets us to the point where now we're
[22:37] talking to the groups that are really
[22:39] handling some of the issues, problems
[22:42] and uh positive things that happen in
[22:44] the town. So, it was a produ it was a
[22:46] productive meeting. Uh, we didn't really go in with any specific agenda, I
[22:52] think, other than Dr. Charlie and I
[22:54] wanted to see if we could um
[22:58] uh join with the schools and have them
[23:00] come in and make one or two preserv
[23:02] presentations over the uh this year.
[23:07] Okay. Any qu that's it.
[23:10] >> Yeah. other other than the fact that um
[23:13] there was a open uh agreement that um
[23:17] coming to one of our meetings at some
[23:18] time and making a presentation on some
[23:21] of the issues that are happening at the
[23:22] school. It's a very complex year in the
[23:25] sense that there's a a broad a range of
[23:28] students that are at the high school
[23:29] this year and in the middle school. And
[23:31] I think we'd all benefit from hearing um
[23:33] from the perspective of an academic
[23:35] leader um what has to happen in order to
[23:38] make that system run well and benefit
[23:40] all students. So um we'll keep you
[23:43] posted on that and if anyone has any
[23:45] observations or uh suggestions to make
[23:48] that you think that we should be aware
[23:49] of in our liaison meetings just let us
[23:52] know and we'll be happy to carry that
[23:53] with us and report back to you in the
[23:56] future.
[23:57] Um, yes.
[24:03] » Um, I did remember there was one thing
[24:05] um as you're all speaking um that uh I
[24:09] did want to just mention to anybody who
[24:12] would be interested in joining the at
[24:14] the high school um on October 6th at um
[24:18] just looking at 4 pm we're going to be
[24:20] having our second unified basketball
[24:23] game or second annual. It's going to be
[24:25] pretty big deal. We did one last fall um
[24:29] for is everyone familiar? I'm not sure
[24:31] if everyone's familiar with what a
[24:32] unified basketball team is. We have
[24:35] students who are um are sort of our
[24:38] learning disabled population with some
[24:41] regular ed students as well and they are
[24:43] com a combined basketball team and then
[24:45] we invite a team from another school
[24:47] who's a similar kind of team. Uh and
[24:50] they come together and they play
[24:51] basketball and it's really it's actually
[24:53] and I'm not a sports fan one of the more
[24:55] fun sports events I have ever attended
[24:57] I'll say. Um, and [clears throat] then I
[25:00] know that this is sort of a a goal also
[25:02] of um of Superintendent Bower to try to
[25:05] there's we're going to try to aim to set
[25:08] the Massachusetts record of 10,000 or
[25:11] sorry 10,000 1,50 attendees, which is
[25:14] going to be quite a lot
[25:16] [laughter] to to just keep uh order, but
[25:19] it was a lot of fun last year. Again,
[25:21] it's four o'clock um on October 6th in
[25:24] the fieldhouse at at the high school.
[25:27] >> Thank you. Well, this certainly seems to
[25:29] me like a an event that Danvers can show
[25:31] up in full force wearing our colors, you
[25:34] know. Let's let's let's bring it to the the records, the Guinness record for
[25:38] Danvers. I guess that's our our
[25:40] objective.
[25:42] >> Um, so
[25:43] >> I'll say that I saw that they're also
[25:45] selling shirts like the Damra CPAC is
[25:48] selling shirts for the event as well.
[25:50] So, you can find those on Facebook or at
[25:53] the CPAC which is pretty cool.
[25:55] >> Very cool. Would they be selling them at
[25:57] the event?
[25:58] >> I'm sorry, what?
[25:59] >> Would they be selling them at the event?
[26:00] >> I'm not sure to be honest. Um I think
[26:03] Julie would have that information, but
[26:05] um I know last year they had like a
[26:07] small number and the community responded
[26:09] to them saying we want more. Um so I I'm
[26:13] going to imagine that they do maybe, but
[26:15] I don't want to speak for them.
[26:17] >> Right. We can get the entire ship to
[26:18] come so we'll update the numbers of
[26:20] them.
[26:20] >> Yes.
[26:22] So we need a,50.
[26:27] » It was pretty packed last year, I say.
[26:30] Um, it was pretty exciting. So,
[26:32] >> okay. Well, we'll do our best to be
[26:33] there,
[26:34] >> right? All of us community at home.
[26:36] >> Don't forget October 6, the fieldhouse.
[26:40] We need,50 folks. We'll see you guys
[26:42] there.
[26:44] >> That's wonderful. I'd like to now turn
[26:46] it over to item number eight on our
[26:48] agenda, which is National National
[26:50] Hispanic Month. activities and Louisa is
[26:52] going to share some insights with us to
[26:55] that matter.
[26:56] >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, how you doing
[26:59] everybody and folks at home? Uh,
[27:02] National Hispanic Heritage Month. So,
[27:05] each year from September 15 to October
[27:07] 15, United States observes National
[27:09] Hispanic Heritage Month. And what
[27:12] started as a week-long observation under
[27:14] President Linda B. Johnson back in 1968
[27:17] expanded into a month-long celebration.
[27:20] uh when none other than President Ronald
[27:22] Reagan signed it into law on August 17, 1988. Now, President Reagan
[27:28] knew that the contributions and
[27:29] experiences of Latinos United States are
[27:32] an essential part of our nation's
[27:34] history and culture. Now, during
[27:37] Hispanic Heritage Month, Americans join
[27:39] in to celebrate the history, diverse
[27:41] cultures, achievements, and
[27:43] contributions of Latinos whose ancestors
[27:45] came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean,
[27:49] Central, and South America. Uh, this
[27:51] presents an opportunity for many in the
[27:53] US to learn about or to be reminded of
[27:56] the contributions of Hispanic people,
[27:59] the nation's largest racial or ethnic
[28:01] minority. So, fun fact, Mr.
[28:03] According to the US census, the Hispanic
[28:06] population in the US reached 7 70.1
[28:10] million in 2026, accounting for 21% of
[28:13] the total US population and making us
[28:17] the nation's largest racial or ethnic
[28:19] minority. Now this year's theme unidos
[28:22] mass translated to together we are more
[28:25] pays tribute to the community strength
[28:27] shared values and the collective impact
[28:30] of of generations of Hispanic Americans
[28:33] who have positively influenced and
[28:35] enrich our history and nation and
[28:37] society while recognizing the only the
[28:40] unity of Hispanic and Latino communities
[28:42] in United States. Unitos mass honors the
[28:45] unique voices and experiences of
[28:47] individuals shaping the future while
[28:49] recognizing historical achievements of
[28:51] the past. Our festivities across the
[28:54] nation spotlight the interconnected
[28:55] struggles of Latin, Caribbean, and South
[28:58] American countries and show the history
[29:00] of fighting for the rights of indigenous
[29:02] people while gaining independence from
[29:04] the Spanish crown. Now, September 15 was
[29:07] chosen as the beginning of National
[29:09] Heritage Hispanic Month for historic
[29:11] significance. On September 15 of 1810 at
[29:15] 1157, Padre Miguel Dalgo told the bells
[29:18] of his church in the town of the
[29:19] Loresalgo in Mexico and rally the
[29:22] country to take up arms in their fight
[29:24] for freedom against Spanish rule. On
[29:26] September 15 of 1821, Costa Rica, El
[29:30] Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and
[29:32] Nicaragua signed the act of independence
[29:35] of Central America, effectively
[29:37] proclaiming their independence from the
[29:38] Spanish Empire.
[29:40] Folks, the parallels between the
[29:42] struggle for independence in United
[29:44] States is profound. Just as the founding
[29:46] fathers had enough of the tyranny of
[29:49] King George and rebelled, heroes such
[29:52] Jose Marti and Simon Bolivar led their
[29:54] people to vanquish European colonizers
[29:57] and break the break free from the yoke
[29:58] of subjugation.
[30:00] I stands today United States of America
[30:03] and we the people are proud to celebrate
[30:06] National Hispanic Heritage Month by
[30:08] embracing the diversity in our diverse
[30:10] community and recognizing the
[30:13] contribution of Hispanic Americans to
[30:14] the growth of the American dream in this
[30:17] country that we all call home. Thank
[30:19] you, Mr. Chair.
[30:20] >> Thank you very much. Very excellent
[30:22] presentation. Comments, observations,
[30:24] thoughts?
[30:26] We're looking forward to this. It's
[30:28] going to be a great month.
[30:30] Uh, I'd like to now turn it over to Paul
[30:32] Pollock, the co-chair, who will give us
[30:34] some feedback on our agenda, our
[30:37] scheduled meeting for the year. Uh, yes.
[30:40] I just, uh, if you'll notice in item
[30:42] nine, uh, on the, uh, agenda. Uh, I have
[30:46] set up meeting dates
[30:49] through February. All right? And the
[30:51] reason we don't go go beyond February is
[30:53] because at some point we are bumped from
[30:57] this room uh because of uh FinCom and the budget work that is done in the
[31:03] springtime. So, we're scheduled right
[31:05] now through the um uh February uh month
[31:10] of February and um this meeting of
[31:14] course is uh 9:17 if you look and the TR
[31:18] stands for TUMI room
[31:20] in case you're wondering. Okay. Then on
[31:22] 10:15 because of the election and this
[31:25] room is being used for early election.
[31:28] All right. We will have our meeting at
[31:30] the senior center
[31:32] followed by um [snorts] November 19th
[31:36] we'll be at the TUMI room. December 17th
[31:39] at the TUMI room. January 27th we're
[31:43] going to meet at the uh Dammers Police
[31:45] Department. That'll be after our MLK
[31:48] event so that we can down uh you know
[31:52] speak about it, brief brief ourselves on
[31:54] the meeting, etc. But other things can
[31:56] come up also. Um and then the
[32:00] uh February 18th will be our our uh
[32:04] meeting here in the TUMI room and then
[32:07] we'll work around what town hall needs
[32:10] and move our meetings acc accordingly.
[32:12] It may be that you we may want to move a
[32:16] meeting from a Thursday to a Wednesday
[32:18] depending upon how we feel depending
[32:20] upon what the commitments are. Um, I
[32:23] know myself being on finance committee,
[32:25] I do have I think there's a couple of
[32:27] conflicts in there, but I know you can
[32:29] do without me. Don't don't worry about
[32:31] it. That's it.
[32:34] >> Uh, you were going to say a few words
[32:36] about the meeting attendance
[32:37] requirements.
[32:37] >> Oh, yes. That's next.
[32:39] >> Yes. I believe I looked at the minutes
[32:41] again and last
[32:43] the last meeting which was I think was a
[32:45] June meeting we decided that we wanted
[32:48] to
[32:50] uh
[32:51] require
[32:53] all members to at least attend six
[32:56] meetings. That's six out of 10
[32:59] >> regular scheduled meetings as we know
[33:01] them once a month. Um we don't think
[33:04] that that's uh a burden on anyone. We
[33:06] hope not. But uh and we're not we're not
[33:09] in a position and I certainly don't want
[33:11] to be in a position to ask people to
[33:14] leave but when we ask people to come on
[33:16] the committee we're certainly asking for
[33:18] their time and their effort and uh so we
[33:21] ask them to attend at least six meetings
[33:24] it I believe it doesn't have to be in
[33:26] person it can be zoom if we have to
[33:28] right correct and also to take if
[33:32] necessary the chairman uh the chair of
[33:35] one of the subcommittees you may be
[33:37] working on for instance I know Paul
[33:39] right now you're you're sub you're the
[33:41] subcommittee chair for uh um celebration
[33:44] on okay so those are what we that's what
[33:47] we agreed to do and we voted on it and I
[33:50] think it was unanimous vote so we're sort of taking attendance uh but
[33:55] it's uh you know we're not we're not
[33:57] going to try to be overbearing in any
[33:58] way other than we want participation
[34:01] >> correct
[34:03] >> uh just a question I'm wondering um Paul
[34:06] if you've discussed having sort of
[34:09] establishing a process so that if
[34:10] somebody needs to attend by Zoom um
[34:13] there would be a process by which um
[34:16] they would they would need to let one of
[34:20] you that are serving in in the executive
[34:22] team
[34:24] >> let them know so that you could then let
[34:27] >> those that need to know know um so that
[34:30] it's not a scramble the day of because
[34:32] that has happened in the past
[34:34] >> you know I'm going to rely I'll I will I
[34:36] will look look look at that and try to
[34:39] get back to town I'll get back to town
[34:41] hall but I'm just wondering um how's it
[34:44] been done in the past I've never been
[34:46] involved with how um what the procedure
[34:49] is does is town hall set it up or or um
[34:53] >> um
[34:53] >> is it is it is it a cost for the member
[34:56] to set it up?
[34:57] >> No, there's not a cost. So, uh, town
[35:00] hall by and large, uh, seems to use
[35:02] teams
[35:04] >> and so far that has needed to be set up
[35:08] by somebody within town hall.
[35:11] >> And that was very easily done when there
[35:15] was a staff person in town hall who was
[35:18] uh, committed to working with this
[35:19] committee. And so since somebody has not
[35:22] been in that position, it's just been a
[35:24] little it's been a little tricky. And so
[35:26] sometimes we've had to find alternative
[35:29] ways. I mean, we've had some meetings,
[35:30] as you know, because you've all been
[35:32] there that we've met completely online.
[35:34] And so we've we've had to um we've had
[35:37] to spontaneously respond respond when
[35:41] the tech wasn't quite working. And I
[35:43] think I'll just leave it at that. So
[35:44] this is an area for improvement and and
[35:48] um getting it clear from the beginning
[35:50] and communicating what the plan is.
[35:52] >> Mhm. I'll just mention that um what it
[35:55] is is that on Thursday's town hall
[35:57] closes at 7. So essentially the
[35:59] individual who's the late person in the
[36:02] HR team is the person that's getting
[36:04] this teams up and running.
[36:08] Um teams tends to be challenging. So if
[36:12] it's not up and running 15 minutes into
[36:16] um us starting it, that staff member may
[36:19] no longer be working. So that's where it
[36:21] gets a little tricky. But for the most
[36:23] part, um I think we had success with at
[36:25] least when Lieutenant Sullivan opened
[36:28] it, I think they gave him all the codes
[36:30] and he was able to run it. Um so, you
[36:33] know, maybe getting the information for
[36:36] us to manage it might be the easiest
[36:38] solution. However, I do we had success
[36:41] with um you know, when Paula had to log
[36:43] in and um even Jorge had to log in from
[36:47] afar. I think it's been, you know, it's
[36:49] been a nice way to help those who want
[36:52] to be present, um, if they have, you
[36:55] know, a location situation going on.
[36:57] Yeah.
[36:59] >> All right. Now, I
[37:05] » No, I don't have anything.
[37:07] >> Can I ask you to help me?
[37:08] >> Oh. Oh, sure. Yeah, absolutely. I need
[37:10] all the help I can get when it comes to
[37:13] that aspect of technology as you mo all
[37:15] know because you're always trying to get
[37:16] me on soon. So, I'd be more than h happy
[37:21] to lead it, but I'm going to need some
[37:22] real good help. All right.
[37:27] » Thank you very much, U Paul. That was a
[37:29] good report. I'd like to now turn to
[37:31] item 10 on our agenda. No, excuse me,
[37:34] item 11, which is the celebration
[37:36] update. Move to hear from Paula. Yes.
[37:40] >> Thank you. Um, so we are very excited.
[37:43] Celebration is happening this year, so
[37:46] mark your calendars. Um, on October 14th
[37:49] at 5:30 p.m. in the library. Um, so
[37:52] historically, celebration has been kind
[37:54] of a fun community event on the weekend.
[37:57] Um, enjoy is a very integral, you know,
[37:59] keystone aspect of lat many Latin Latinx
[38:03] cultures. And so we wanted to continue
[38:04] to honor that in a way that felt very
[38:06] intentional and supportive of the
[38:08] community. Um so in order to do this
[38:10] we've opted for an evening event at the
[38:12] library um in lie of the day event um on
[38:15] the weekend. Um and there's going to be
[38:17] delicious food, good vibes, some really
[38:19] cool organizations. Um we're also going
[38:22] to be screening a movie that highlights
[38:23] many aspects of the Latinx experience.
[38:26] Um and we're going to be setting up a
[38:28] very cool Day of the Dead of Um which is
[38:31] going to be on display for community
[38:33] interaction in the library starting at
[38:35] the beginning of October.
[38:37] um and then subsequently moved to the
[38:39] event to the event space um for
[38:41] continued interaction during the event.
[38:44] >> Um so the loss muertos and ofas are you
[38:47] know a community-based tradition where
[38:50] people honor and remember their loved
[38:52] ones collectively um and support each
[38:54] other through you know honoring their
[38:56] loved ones. And so it's a tra tradition
[38:57] that's very reflective of the
[38:59] communityentric and joyful spirit found
[39:00] across Latinx cultures. Um, so it's
[39:03] really exciting that we can share that
[39:04] cultural experience with the community
[39:06] here in Danvers. Um, so it's going to be
[39:09] a great time. Please mark your
[39:10] calendars. Um, join us and we'd love to
[39:12] obviously have anyone and everyone. Um,
[39:14] all are welcome. Um, I have also printed
[39:17] out quite a few flyers. Um, so, you
[39:20] know, happy to hand them out. Also, if
[39:22] anybody has any local orgs that, um, you
[39:25] know, cafes or things like that where
[39:26] this can be posted up so that the word
[39:28] can um, be spread about this event, that
[39:30] would be great. Um, and yeah, we're
[39:33] really excited. So, please come.
[39:36] >> Excellent. That's It sounds like that's
[39:37] going to be a fun event.
[39:39] >> Yeah, I think we're excited.
[39:40] >> Excellent. Um, so let's turn back to uh
[39:44] Luis, who will be commenting on night
[39:46] item number 12 on our agenda, which is
[39:49] National Suicide Month.
[39:52] >> Thank you once again, Mr. Chair. And
[39:54] before I continue, I just want to um I
[39:57] just want to
[39:59] if anybody at home is watching, um we're
[40:02] going to talk about suicide attempts.
[40:04] And for anybody who that's triggering,
[40:06] just be aware and warn um because
[40:09] September in our in the United States,
[40:12] it is um
[40:15] suicide prevention month and it's a
[40:17] heavy um it's a heavy subject. Of
[40:20] course, um many of us have have had that
[40:24] experience that we lost someone. Um
[40:28] and basically tonight we would like to
[40:30] recognize the suicide prevention month
[40:32] of 2026. Now these months remind us that
[40:35] mental health is a community
[40:36] responsibility
[40:39] and that each of us can play a role in
[40:41] supporting someone who might be
[40:42] struggling across the country. Nearly
[40:45] 45,000 people died by suicide last year
[40:48] and many more faced overwhelming
[40:50] emotional distress here in Exus County.
[40:53] Rates of depression and anxiety continue
[40:55] to rise and access to care can be
[40:57] challenging. That's why knowing where to
[41:00] turn and how to help is so important. I
[41:03] would like to share a few resources for
[41:05] the folks here and those at home um that
[41:08] they know that we are not alone. For
[41:10] example, and at a national level, the
[41:12] 988 suicide and crisis lifeline is
[41:15] available 247. Anyone can call, text or
[41:18] chat. Um 988
[41:23] train has trained counselors who provide
[41:25] immediate emotional support during
[41:26] mental health or substance related
[41:28] crisises. In Denver, we have some local
[41:31] support and we have some strong partners
[41:33] right here in our community as well.
[41:35] Elliot Community Human Services provides
[41:38] mobile crisis intervention and urgent
[41:40] evaluations throughout Exis County. Ley
[41:43] behavioral health services offers
[41:45] outpatient therapy and psychiatric care.
[41:49] Danverse cares supports youth families
[41:52] and school in schools with prevention
[41:54] and mental health education.
[41:56] Mental health first aid in our area.
[41:59] Now, community members can also learn
[42:00] how to recognize signs of mental health
[42:03] or substance use challenges through
[42:04] mental health first aid training. In
[42:08] addition to programs offered by Elliot,
[42:09] Ley, and Danver, the Northeast Ark in
[42:12] partnership with United Healthcare and
[42:14] the Ark of the United States is offering
[42:16] monthly
[42:18] mental health first aid training
[42:20] throughout the fall right here in
[42:21] Danvers. Now these sessions are open to
[42:23] the public and anyone interested should
[42:26] visit North Northeast AR book website
[42:28] for registration and details. Um there's
[42:31] some dates I want to share for the fall.
[42:33] Um October 10 October 14 November 14 and
[42:38] December 12 once again October 10
[42:41] November 14 and December 12. These are
[42:44] training. These are trainings teach
[42:46] everyday people how to identify warning
[42:49] signs of initial support and connect
[42:52] someone to professional help that are
[42:54] practical, accessible and incredibly
[42:55] valuable for anyone who wants to be
[42:58] prepared to help a friend, a coworker or
[43:00] a family member. [snorts]
[43:02] Um 988 versus 911. The two of those
[43:06] numbers uh is very important for us to
[43:09] understand the differences.
[43:11] 911
[43:12] is for mental health emergencies when
[43:14] someone is overwhelmed, in emotional
[43:16] distress, or thinking about suicide. It
[43:19] connects directly to crisis counselors.
[43:21] 911 is for immediate physical danger
[43:25] when someone has already been harmed or
[43:27] harm themselves, is unable to stay safe
[43:30] or needs urgent medical or police
[43:32] intervention intervention. Both numbers
[43:35] save lives, but they serve different
[43:37] roles. And I do want to make note that
[43:39] our incredible Danbridge Police
[43:41] Department does often play a role when
[43:43] someone is experiencing a mental health
[43:45] emergency in our town. Our officers are
[43:47] skilled at the escalation and are able
[43:50] to connect folks with resources to
[43:52] support individuals and mental mental
[43:54] health crisises and emergencies as well.
[43:57] Um as we observe suicide prevention
[43:59] month, let's commit to being a community
[44:03] where people feel supported and safe. uh
[44:06] these resources check in on one another
[44:10] and help make sure no one in Denver
[44:12] faces crisises alone. Thank you, Mr.
[44:15] Sher.
[44:16] >> Thank you very much. It's a very
[44:18] sensitive and complex issue and I think
[44:20] that all of us need to be aware as we've
[44:23] heard tonight that there are uh tensions
[44:25] that sometimes go unnoticed that but
[44:28] that are critical to our community and
[44:30] Damas is not immune in any way from
[44:32] these um external forces. So, let's all
[44:35] be aware and cognizant of uh what we can
[44:38] do to be be helpful. Um, I'd like to now
[44:43] just quickly turn to item 13, which is
[44:45] the uh update on the mini grant program.
[44:48] As everyone knows, last last season we
[44:51] awarded, I believe, eight mini grants to
[44:54] various groups and organizations across
[44:55] Stanvers that are uh doing efforts to um
[45:04] oh, excuse me. Um
[45:07] uh so to lead initiatives or activities
[45:09] in Danvers to spread inclusivity and
[45:11] cultural awareness to support the
[45:13] mission of ampl amplifying marginalized
[45:16] voices or celebrate the identity of
[45:19] citizens in the community. A secondary
[45:21] goal is to merrist the committee's
[45:23] mission in the community through
[45:24] opportunities on the ground impact. We
[45:27] request that the grant recipients
[45:28] publicly acknowledge the mission of the
[45:30] HRC and the grant materials. Um and
[45:32] we're we are just uh today we've sent
[45:35] out um
[45:41] documents to ask grant recipients to
[45:44] give feedback on their grant activities,
[45:46] what happened uh what kinds of results
[45:48] that they had, what they have to report
[45:50] about uh what transpired, how much
[45:52] impact it had on the community. And um
[45:56] [snorts] another factor that we included
[45:58] in that
[46:00] report that we sent to grant recipients
[46:02] was whether or not they would be uh
[46:04] would be willing to come to our MLK
[46:06] event in January to report to their
[46:09] broader public on how the grants were uh
[46:12] executed. Maybe that's not the best
[46:14] word. How the grants were implemented
[46:16] and um and some of the impact that they
[46:18] had. We think that would be a wonderful
[46:20] thing to share with the broader
[46:21] community. So that is in process right
[46:23] now. We will keep everyone updated and
[46:26] posted on that as it progresses and
[46:28] that's the extent to which um we're
[46:30] going to report on the mini grant
[46:32] activity. Are there any questions or
[46:34] observations about that?
[46:37] There being none, thank you very much.
[46:39] Um so if there's any new business that
[46:42] any members of the
[46:46] liaison group or our board members like
[46:48] to raise, this is an appropriate time to
[46:50] do so.
[46:52] >> I have something. Go ahead.
[46:54] >> Um, for those of us who are fans of
[46:57] fresh fruits and vegetables, which we've
[46:59] been talking a lot about this week, I um
[47:02] realized as I was scrolling on the
[47:04] Danver pages that we have our last
[47:06] farmers market this Saturday. So, for
[47:09] anybody who's interested and doesn't
[47:10] want to go to another town, um we have a
[47:14] farmers market pop up this Saturday at I
[47:19] want to say this is Danver's Art
[47:21] Association from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
[47:24] Um it's at 105 Elliot Street. Yeah. So,
[47:28] um they say there's going to be produce,
[47:31] flowers, baked goods, food and drinks,
[47:33] and handmade goods. So for anybody who's
[47:37] interested,
[47:38] come on down. I think I'll be
[47:40] >> there Saturday 1 to 5.
[47:42] >> This Saturday, um 300 PM to 700 p.m. So
[47:45] it's actually pretty, you know, you can
[47:47] get your stuff done in the morning and
[47:49] still make it. Yeah.
[47:50] >> Okay.
[47:55] » I understand there's a farmers market on
[47:58] the committee.
[48:00] [laughter]
[48:01] Um, actually
[48:03] >> someone I got someone was trying to give
[48:06] away cucumbers.
[48:07] >> Oh, a tomato.
[48:09] >> There's a trade going on.
[48:10] >> There's a trade.
[48:11] >> There were eggs.
[48:12] >> My tomatoes for Johan's cucumbers.
[48:14] [laughter]
[48:15] >> Okay.
[48:15] >> And my eggs.
[48:17] >> My hands.
[48:20] [snorts]
[48:20] >> I just would like to meet private after
[48:23] the meeting with
[48:26] Luis and Pa.
[48:28] >> Okay. About celebration. Yeah. Okay.
[48:31] thank you.
[48:32] >> So,
[48:33] >> sorry, I just wanted to mention one more
[48:34] thing before I forget. Um, there was an email exchange. Just wanted to make
[48:39] sure everyone saw the school committee
[48:41] le the new chair of the school committee
[48:43] um would like to know if it's feasible
[48:46] for a liaison to attend um via teams.
[48:50] Um, so I guess this is a continuation of
[48:52] our team's conversation, but um, I did
[48:56] draft a response, so if you guys want to
[48:58] talk about it later, but um, they're
[49:00] trying to they would like to be more
[49:02] involved this year and just trying to
[49:04] bridge the gap between work schedules
[49:06] and other committees that everybody's
[49:08] on. Um, trying to see if that could
[49:10] work.
[49:10] >> Y
[49:11] >> we try to accommodate, I think, as best
[49:13] they can.
[49:14] >> Yeah. Uh, I'm the liaison for the school
[49:17] board, but I'm not going to ask to do
[49:18] that through Zoom. I'd rather go. Could
[49:21] one minute? Our friend Alance from Salem
[49:24] is here. When did you sneak in?
[49:26] >> About [clears throat] five minutes ago.
[49:28] >> Okay. [laughter]
[49:29] Thank you for coming, Alons.
[49:31] Um, so uh I want to thank everybody on
[49:34] the board and our liaison and visitors
[49:36] as well for uh joining us tonight and
[49:39] for participating in this discussion
[49:40] which is always very important.
[49:42] Obviously, we thank our listening
[49:44] audience who are listening into what
[49:46] we're uh conversing and discussing at
[49:48] the board meetings and it's always open
[49:51] opportunity to provide feedback if you
[49:54] have something that you'd like to
[49:55] comment or if you need additional
[49:56] information. Um I also wanted to say
[49:59] that uh uh D
[50:02] our our board chair um town board chair
[50:06] is out of state which is why he's and
[50:08] liaison to this board uh was out of
[50:10] state today which is why he was not in
[50:12] attendance. So he uh sent a note to let
[50:14] me let you know as to why he wasn't
[50:17] here. Uh so with that I'd like to ask
[50:19] for a vote to adjourn.
[50:22] >> Move to adjourn.
[50:24] >> All in favor? I
[50:26] >> I
[50:26] >> thank you very much.