Thank you for another great meeting on March 25!
CARE Chief Amy Barden had a lot to say about crisis response.
CARE (Community Assisted Response and Engagement) is the third public safety department after SPD and SFD and takes all 911 emergency calls to determine what should be the first response. Most of the calls referred to the CARE team of crisis responders are related to substance abuse, especially fentanyl, which has been the leading cause of death of people 18 to 40 for the past five years. She talked about substance and mental health treatment and the need for societal reforms, how CARE does outreach and connection to services, and how call diversion can improve the response times for Priority 1 calls where there is a threat to life. The CARE program can ultimately improve public safety overall.
Santos Moreno, Outreach Coordinator for Rep. Jayapal, provided the latest updates.
Santos announced 3 Bad Things and 3 Good Things from the past week. The Bad: 1. Cuts to SSA staff and field offices preventing getting services in person. 2. Expelling legal immigrants to foreign prisons with zero due process. 3. EPA axed key climate rules so that Big Oil can make a buck. The Good: 1. Judges blocked the DOGE cuts of USAID as unconstitutional and blocked the ban on transgender service in the military. 2. Chief Justice Roberts rebuked the administration for targeting justices for impeachment. 3. We had a Town Hall in Ballard with a full house of 250 people.
Announcements:
Local Impacts of Funding Cuts: Julian had news from Woodland Park Zoo: At the Board of Directors meeting today, we found out that the grant for tree kangaroo conservation efforts was through USAID and it is now gone. There will be lots of hard conversations about local institutions that are having funding cut. When you see local things that are important to you, make it known. Ask for protection. Tim: What can we dor for advocacy? Tell the zoo not to lay off their exhibits department.
Democracy Vouchers: Caroline: In April the Democracy Voucher Program folks will be here. There might be a ballot initiative for funding in August. Advocate for that, call your CM, Dan Strauss. Joel: Just tell me (Joel Raphael from Strauss office).
FNC Solstice: Colleen: Does anyone want to help with the FNC Solstice Event? FNC would like to have a booth, or a float or something.
Walks for Comp Plan Input: Want to take a walk of proposed neighborhood centers with Dan Strauss? (Contact his office)
Please remember to submit your annual dues to be an official FNC member!
Board Business:
We discussed Membership tracking, changes to the website, having meetings at local businesses and maybe switching back to Mondays, possible business perks for members, ideas for May and June speakers, issues with FNC tax filings, and Democracy Vouchers. Aly motioned to approve up to $200 for tax filing fees, seconded and approved. Motion to approve February minutes, seconded and approved. Brandon Schimko, having attended two Board Business meetings, was confirmed to fill a Board vacancy. He wants to put his Marketing background to use in service to FNC.
Detailed minutes of past meetings can be found here!
