EPIC
Community Meeting Draft Minutes
January 13, 2022, 6:30 – 7:30
East Phillips Park Cultural &
Community Center, 2307 17th Ave S.
EPIC web address: eastphillips.org
Email: sarah@eastphillips.org
Office: 2433 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis, MN
55404
Phone:
(612)
354-6802
Board Roster: Laura Dale, Mary Gonsior, Cassandra Holmes, David Ingold, Shontal Lajeunesse, Steve Sandberg, Earl Simms, Karen Townsend, Nikolas Winter-Simat
Board Members Present: Nikolas Winter-Simat, Laura Dale, Steve Sandberg
Board Members Not Present: Cassandra Holmes (E), Shontal Lajeunesse (E), Karen Townsend (E), David Ingold (E), Earl Simms, Mary Gonsior
Members: Brad and Carol Pass, Stephen, Devika Ghai, Amanda Yourd
Guests: Kor Pace, Grace Hallberg-Cain, Rhiannon Hellmuth and Lars,
Amy Luciano, Joel McReynolds, Spencer, Persis (sp?)
6:30 Welcome
●
Vision
and Mission
●
Intros
●
Group
Agreements
○
Respect each other; aim for kindness
○
Respect each other's time; aim for
brevity
○
Respect the agenda; aim for unity
○
Own your words, actions, and reactions;
aim for peace
●
How
to become a member
○
Chat
Sarah or email sarah@eastphillips.org with your email address and physical address (to verify you
live in East Phillips)
○
All
members are allowed to vote on EPIC decisions and motions
●
Agenda
Approval, NWS, LD, Approved
Minutes Approval, NWS, LD,
Approved
●
Announcements
o
Next
Board Meeting will be: Saturday,
February 5 from10am-11am online (link to join is at eastphillips.org)
▪
Board
Meetings are open to the public
o
Next
Community Meeting will be: Thursday, February 10 from 6:30-7:30 online (link to
join is at eastphillips.org) and tentatively at East Phillips Park (depending
on COVID)
▪
The topic will be: Hi Lake opportunity
for public space
▪
We will be trying a hybrid model - in
person and online. Location is to be determined
o
EPIC
has a housing program! 0% interest! Fix up your home or buy a new home in East
Phillips – Check your email for the brochure or go to: mncee.org/east-phillips:
Programs for East Phillips Residents | Center
for Energy and Environment (mncee.org)
o
If
you smell a foul odor around Smith foundry or Bituminous Roadways call 311 to
report
▪
Write
down your incident number
o
Annual
Meeting - save the date: March 26 2022
▪
Those
up for re-election: Laura Dale, Nikolas Winter-Simat, David Ingold, Karen Townsend
▪
Know
a neighbor who might be interested in running for the EPIC board?
●
Direct
them to eastphillips.org to learn more and for the nomination form, or have
them reach out to Sarah (sarah@eastphillips.org or (612)
354-6802)
▪
Interested
in being a part of the planning team for the March 26 Annual Meeting?
●
Chat
Sarah that you are interested and provide a way for her to contact you
o
EPIC
is beginning a strategic planning process
▪
The
community will be involved in the process at various stages, including towards
the beginning to generate specific proposals and ideas, as well as medium and short term goals via community
meetings and a google form. As well as towards the end to solicit neighbor
feedback on the proposed medium and short-term goals
▪
The
bulk of the work will be done by the Vision Committee who will consist of the
Vision Department of the board, as well as other interested board members and
community members
●
This
Committee will roughly consist of 6 hours of meetings between February and June
2022
▪
Interested?
●
Chat Sarah that you are interested and provide
a way for her to contact you
o
Are
you interested in responding to community emergencies? Join a 12-session
training program to gain certified skills in first aid, violence prevention,
crisis response, and emergency planning! This opportunity is for people
identifying as: Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latine, Pacific Islander, and Arab,
and Mixed / Multiracial.
o
Monthly
financial report
▪
Find
here
▪
Or
on eastphillips.org
6:53 Feature Presentation//Community Discussion
topic:
●
Southside
Harm Reduction Information share on Overdose Prevention Sites by Kor Pace and
Gracie Hallberg-Cain
●
Overdose
Prevention Sites include:
○
Drug
checking, preventative care, infectious disease testing, wound care, referrals
to various services (treatment options, housing etc)
●
Overdose
deaths are up 30% statewide from 2019 to 2020
○
East
Phillips sees one of the highest rates of overdose deaths
○
Native
Americans are 7 times as likely to die of an overdose from their white
counterparts
○
Hennepin
County is currently in an HIV outbreak
■
69%
are BIPOC
●
OPS
have been found to
○
Reduce
ambulance rides, emergency visits
○
Particpants
who utilize OPS are more likely to access treatment
○
At
Insight in Vancouver there have been 6,440 overdose interventions with zero
deaths
○
Helps
to destigmatize healthcare because health professionals are onsite and provide
care
●
New
York has opened two sanctioned overdose prevention sites - the first in the U.S.
●
Southside
Harm Reductions Services is working on building a coalition
●
Read more on the resources from the presentation here
●
A
more detailed presentation will be held on February 9th at 6pm
7:00 Questions
for presenter
●
Who
is helping to run the Overdose Prevention Site in New York
○
Onpoint
NYC is helping to run it
○
Medical
professionals support Overdose Prevention Sites
■
Keeping
people alive is the first step
○
Many
unsanctioned Overdose Prevention Sites in the U.S.
7:15 Updates//Report
from Action Committee - Overdose Prevention Site Group
●
Overdose
Prevention Site Group formed out of the September EPIC community meeting as a
continuation of a discussion about safety and drug use in East Phillips
○
The
group has been meeting twice a month since September
■
Interested
in joining these meetings?
■
Meet
the first and third Tuesday of each month at 4:30 - link to join at
eastphillips.org
●
Next
meeting is Tuesday, January 18 at 4:30
○
The
group is interested in being a working group of EPIC
■
And
have access to EPIC resources (staff time, printing, interpretation)
■
Would
like to invite EPIC to be a partner in this work
■
Also
be somewhat independent so not all decisions go through EPIC (not all neighbors
are likely to support an OPS and this may lead to difficulties down the road)
●
Discuss
how EPIC wants to be involved in the work this group is doing (i.e. volunteers,
outreach/doorknocking, potential support with funding?)
○
Community
member shared that it makes sense for group to working group of EPIC
■
Give
the group a bit more umph
○
Community
member excited to see where it goes and likes the working group idea
■
Appreciates
that people are working on this, haven’t been able to attend but have been
keeping up on it via email/online
7:34 Adjourn