Friday January 15th Committee Meeting Notes

Attendees

Baillard, Pastor Jean Ronald
Batist, Pastor Ronald Jean
Blackburn, Gwen
Cheng, Richard LICSW
Daniel, Paul Rev. & Mrs.
Dern, Eileen
DiPietro, Christine
English, Meg
Hamilton, Renee C.
Laguerre, Pastor Pierre Eddy
Montina, Gretta
Philippe, Rev. Amos & Marie Jean
Pierre, Rev. Ronald Pierre and Immacula Pierre
Walsh, Jacqui

Agenda

Bank Account
Ground Response (Haiti)
Ground Response (Local Communities)
Website

Agenda Item/ Discussion/Actions/Next Steps

Bank Account
-Malden Councilor Gary Christenson and Pastor Pierre Laguerre (who used his church’s EIN) opened the Haitian Relief Fund account at Century Bank, 140 Ferry Street, Malden 02148—for this collaborative effort; one of their signatures is required on checks
-Tri-CAP’s Exec. Dir./Philip Bronder-Giroux will physically hold the checks and print out to vendors as directed by the Coordinating Cmte.; he will not be a signatory on the check
-Use of funds, which this Coordinating Cmte, will authorize, can include tickets for emergency relief team. Decisions to be made by consensus.
- -Contact agency for information, donations, press, etc. about the Tri-City Haitian Relief Task Force/Relief Fund is: c/o North Shore Rescue Mission, under the auspices of Pastor & Mrs. Daniel, 101 Pierce St., Malden 02148, 781.324.9777; 781.535.7781 (c)-Mrs. Daniel; 781.420.2844 (c)-Pastor Daniel
-Mission Statement/Tri-City Haitian Relief Task Force: To provide relief and services to the earthquake victims in Haiti and to coordinate the local response to the crisis.
(No funds will be made available for individuals wanting to travel to Haiti)
Ground Response (Haiti)
-Group, under leadership of Pastor Pierre, who annually go to Haiti with supplies and have established contacts (w/ Haitian Pastor Ronald), etc. are organizing an early-responders’ trip w/in the next couple of weeks to take medical and emergency supplies; 25 nurses have signed up to go
•Team will carry medical supplies in suitcases
•Will operate from a central base and spread through areas in Haiti outside the capital, returning at lunch and evenings to home base
-Trainings: non-medical team get First Aid training; all – get training on how to approach victims of catastrophic events and their families
-Identifying t-shirts: 3-City Haitian Relief, Massachusetts, USA
- Adventist church will also send medical teams and supplies to Haiti. Coordination with tri-city group will occur as is feasible
-Immacula Pierre and subgroup will list out medical supplies needed and forward to Heidi Porter/Dir., Everett Board of Health
-Heidi will contact Boards of Health in other cities to solicit their agreement to serve as drop off point for medical supplies that will eventually be transported to Haiti
- Pastor Laguerre stressed need for medical teams to train local Haitian residents to care for wounds & bandages so that care can continue after medical teams depart
Ground Response (Local Communities)
-A key focus: children and youth
-Cambridge Health Alliance and Hallmark Health are already providing counseling and support to staff and patients; willing to be more available to larger community as well
-Longer range concern: support of local families who will be taking in children and youth from relatives in Haiti by schools, daycare centers, etc.
-Public schools are being mobilized to provide space and counseling for students; Gwen Blackburn is contact person for Medford
- other local responses (vigils, community gatherings, etc) are encouraged. Please post on blog so that we can all support one another.
Website/Blog
-Set up by David D'Arcangelo who agreed to help maintain; will be place for people to easily update information about Haiti, relief efforts, etc.
-Neil Abraham/Altruistiq, Inc. volunteered to help with technology and will be contacted re this blog
-Development of flyer about various activities of the Tri-City Haitian Relief Task Force was suggested
-Collection and distribution of money from the Haitian Relief Fund at Century Bank will be posted here
-Post a link to: pictures of missing family/friends will be posted, so people who may have info can make it easily available