Social justice committee forms in wake of grant
By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer
Published on December 11, 2009
A social justice committee made up of town employees that has been meeting for two months is the latest outgrowth of a grant aimed at improving the quality and access to health care for all residents.
Barbara Love, a consultant to the Health Department, told the Select Board this week that the goal of the three-year grant is to figure out ways to improve public practices so that differential health outcomes are moderated.
Health outcomes, Love said, are too often defined by social strata.
The initiative is being paid for by a three-year social justice grant, totaling $300,000, from the Kellogg Foundation. Amherst was selected to participate in the study by the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
Leslie Saulsberry, Health Department's educator and social justice coordinator, said the first year of the project was spent on planning and the second looked at internal structures of town government, which led to the creation of the social justice committee.
"That's the internal piece of the work we've been doing," Saulsberry said.
The focus over the next year will be on the public aspect, Saulsberry said. There have already been 10 external group discussions and community dialogues, and the showing of "Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?" at the Amherst Cinema in May.
The next event will be what is called "Digital Storytelling," during which the Health Department will be working with a professor of public health at the University of Massachusetts to interview residents and record their stories.
Town Manager Larry Shaffer said about $140,000 of the grant remains to be spent. The project is important, he said, because it's obvious that not all groups who live in Amherst have equal access to all public services.
New Planning Board member
The Planning Board is back to full strength following the appointment of Robert Crowner, a Town Meeting member, to the remaining open position.
A long-time volunteer, including being a current member of the Public Works Committee, Shaffer said Crowner, of Spaulding Street, has a deep understanding of the community.
"I think he'll be a great participant on the Planning Board," Shaffer said.
Crowner's term will run until June 30, 2012.
Lincoln Avenue
A traffic study related to the temporary barriers installed on Lincoln and Sunset avenues in September, which prevented people from directly accessing the UMass campus, is still a ways off.
Department of Public Works Superintendent Guilford Mooring said this week that he is waiting for traffic counts from UMass officials before the study can be done.
These numbers will be merged with information the DPW has collected, included observations from police and feedback from the public. Until all information and statistics are compiled, Mooring said no recommendations can be made.
Meetings
Monday: Select Board, 6:30 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall
Wednesday: Puffer's Pond Committee and; Zoning Subcommittee forum, 5 p.m., and Planning Board, 7 p.m., both at Town Room, Town Hall.
Thursday: Budget Coordinating Group, 11:30 a.m., and Zoning Board of Appeals, 7:30 p.m., both at First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall; Recycling and Refuse Management Committee, 4:30 p.m., meeting room, Department of Public Works; Cultural Council, 6 p.m., Jones Library; CPA Committee, 7 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall; Finance Committee, 7 p.m., Glass Room, Bangs Community Center; Amherst School Committee, 7 p.m., high school library; Human Rights Commission, 7 p.m., Bangs Community Center.
