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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 08/10/2023 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2023 7:00 P.M., EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Community Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Greg Leeper (Chair), Shahram Missaghi, (Vice Chair), Sana Elassar, Philip Skeie, Asad Aliweyd, Samuel Griffin, John Urbanski, Susan Weaver, Zaheer Khan, Christine Kleckner, Jody Knight, Brenda Pfahnl, Kuhu Singh COMMISSION STAFF: Megan Yerks, Staff Liaison Julie Krull, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Leeper called the meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. Commission Members Griffin, Kleckner, and Pfahnl were absent. Khan attended virtually and Missaghi arrived during the staff report. II. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS There were no guests in attendance. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Skeie moved, seconded by Weaver, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 7-0. IV. APPROVAL OF THE JULY 13, 2023 MEETING MINUTES MOTION: Urbanski moved, seconded by Khan, to approve the minutes dated July 13, 2023. Motion carried 7-0. V. COMMUNITY PRESENTATION – SANA ELASSAR, EL PASO – THE PASSAGE Yerks said Commissioner Elassar will discuss her experience in El Paso. She also said Elassar shared this experience at the Human Library at PeopleFest. She shared that she was traveled twice during Covid to work unaccompanied minors arriving at the southern border. Unaccompanied minors have no legal status to be in the United Stated. Elassar said she was stationed at Fort Bliss in Texas in 2021. This is one of the largest sites that takes in unaccompanied minors and holds approximately 10,000 kids. At the time she was deployed, she was the only safety officer and at that time there were 7,000 kids there. The age range was from 13 to 17 years of age. Elassar pointed out that this site has been converted into an ORR Influx site as of June 2022. Elassar commented that most on the unaccompanied minors come from Guatemala, which is approximately 2,500 miles away. The percentage of the Guatemala minors are 48 percent. Minors HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES August 10, 2023 Page 2 of 5 that come from Mexico range from 2-3% of the population at Fort Bliss and most of the other minors are from South America, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. She shared that it is a perilous journey on foot and can take up to 31 plus days if there is no rest. Plus there are a lot of hazards this kids endure, such as, lower to higher elevations, which creates altitude sickness, gender based violence, human smuggling, rough terrain, bad weather, wildlife and heat exhaustion. Once the unaccompanied minors reach the border the Customs and Border Patrol (DHS/CBP) apprehends them and processes them and transfers them to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, ORR. This organization is charged under the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to care for minors. If the minors were younger than 13, they would be sent to a different unit, but they would not separate siblings. Girls and boys are housed in separate tents with 60-70% of the minors being boys. Most of the minors coming in were between 15-17 years of age. Their days were spent with 1 hour outside for recreational activities, otherwise they were in their tents. Each minor receives a hygiene bag with clothes and toiletries. The goal was to get the minors relocated as soon as possible, within 30-60 days. Elassar said she was stationed there for 30 days. VI. STAFF REPORT – MEGAN YERKS A. COMMUNITY NEWS There was no Community News B. CITY / OHCS NEWS 1. Citywide Open House: Saturday October 7 from 11 am – 2 pm Yerks said this will be the same structure as in the past years. The HRDC will have an outdoor table. She will look for volunteers at the September meeting. C. EPREI UPDATES 2. REAT – August Meeting and Council Update Yerks said she did a demographics presentation. The focus on the August meeting will be on professional development and cultural competency. The next City Council presentation is scheduled for the September 19th workshop. 3. Equity and Inclusion Survey Yerks said the surveys have closed with 565 responses. D. HRDC NEWS Yerks shared with the Commission that Missaghi announced his resignation as he is moving out of Eden Prairie. The vice chair position will remain vacant until the next commissioner appointment. Upcoming Social Media Posts HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES August 10, 2023 Page 3 of 5 1. Rosh Hashanah Outreach Begins: 8/16/2023 Materials Due: 9/5/2023 Posted: 9/15/2023 2. National Disability Employment Awareness Month Outreach Begins: 9/1/2023 Materials Due: 9/21/2023 Posted: 10/1/2023 3. Indigenous Peoples Day Outreach Begins: 9/9/2023 Materials Due: 9/29/2023 Posted: 10/9/2023 E. UPCOMING MEETINGS OR OPPORTUNITIES 1. Eden Prairie Schools – All Staff Kick Off Yerks said this is a Wellness Fair for the school staff and could be a tabling opportunity for the Commission. It will be held on August 29th from 11am-12pm. There will be approximately 1,200 staff in attendance and the gym will be filled with informational booths to help employees understand opportunities for themselves and their families. It is also an opportunity for the HRDC to attract adult and student commissioners, share school related activities; such as social media posts, Words in Action, Human Rights Awards, PeopleFest, etc. Yerks asked for volunteers and there was none so it was decided the Commission would not participate in this event. F. COMMISSIONER UPDATES Commission Reminders 1. September Meeting • The next cohort of student commissioners will attend • No community presentation • Equity Inclusion Survey will be ready to share • Review Work Plan Survey – the results will come out in August. In November the 2024 Work Plan will be discussed and finalized in December for presentation in January 2. October Meeting • This will be a joint meeting with HPC at the City Center on Monday, October 16 at 7:00 pm. There will be a student meet and greet beforehand VII. OLD BUSINESS HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES August 10, 2023 Page 4 of 5 A. POP UP SPASH PADS: NESBITT AND EDENVALE Chair Leeper asked for an update from the Commissioners that attended these events. Weaver attended the Edenvale splash pad event and said it was good but felt not as many attended as last year. Knight attended both events and said it would be nice if they were both spread out a bit. She reported that the beads and wheel were both a great hit. Chair Leeper asked about the crowds. Yerks said they were both well attended. Skeie said parking seemed to be an issue at Edenvale and that people were parking on the side of the road. Knight commented there was not a sidewalk for people to walk on. Khan suggested there should be more activities for the 6-12 year olds. He also said some of the kids were asking if the candy was gelatin free and he suggested in the future if we could look at ingredients before handing them out. B. PEOPLFEST DEBRIEF Chair Leeper asked for feedback from the attendees at this event. Khan said, in regards to the questions on the wheel, he thoughts kids did not know about Native Americans and commented that just shows the gap that is taking place. Yerks showed a video of the highlights from PeopleFest. Yerks commented that approximately 1500 people attended the PeopleFest Party. Elassar said there was more of a diverse crowd this year than last year. Chair Leeper thanked Yerks for all her hard work and also to the Commissioners who attended; which were Knight, Khan and Elassar. Chair Leeper asked what the Commissioners thought of the performances. Knight said she heard people say they were enjoying them and it seemed like a lot of the people were staying for all of the performances. Chair Leeper asked about the tabling and impressions on variety. Knight suggested to get more people to check out books it would be a good idea to change locations. Yerks said the HRDC table was hidden somewhat by other booths and that the flow of the food trucks had changed. She also commented that she felt the people that did participate in this event enjoyed it. Weaver said she felt bad when some of the human books did not get checked out. Urbanski said it would be nice to have a tracking system in place to see who was checking out what books, ethnicity wise. Elassar suggested having an HRDC focus on the books for next year. VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. FOLLOW UP: ADVOCATING FOR FAMILIES WITH SPECIAL NEEDS Yerks passed out three packets of materials; a copy of the letter that was discussed at the last meeting. This was brought to the debrief meeting and Jay Lotthammer responded with bullet points. The second item were the sheets on Therapeutic Recreation and Adaptive Services. The third piece of information was in regards to sensory events and this was displayed on the overhead. Yerks asked Skeie what he would like to see happen with the letter. Skeie said he would like time to read the material and then to discuss it with Susan. Yerks asked all of the Commissioners to read the materials. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES August 10, 2023 Page 5 of 5 IX. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS C. EPREI: EMERGENCY RESPONSE/COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE D. EP REI: RECRUITING, HIRING AND RETENTION/DEVELOPING FUTURE LEADERS E. FACILITY AND PROGRAM ACCESSIBILITY AND CULTURE/CONNECTION TO COMMUNITY F. ONE EP X. UPCOMING MEETINGS A. SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 XI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Skeie moved, seconded by Missaghi, to adjourn the Human Rights & Diversity Commission meeting. Motion carried 8-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:01 p.m.