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From YouTube: Disability Commission Advisory Board Meeting 6-25-18
Description
Disability Commission Advisory Board Meeting 6-25-18
A
The
open
meeting
law
requires
that
I
notify
the
public
that
this
meeting
is
being
recorded.
Therefore,
please
be
aware
that
an
audio
and
visual
recording
of
the
speak
of
this
meeting
is
being
made
and
broadcast
by
Boston
City
TV,
which
is
a
part
of
the
city
of
Boston
office
of
cable
communications
and
I
hand
it
over
to
Kyle
Richardson.
B
B
B
B
F
B
Minute
approved,
thank
you.
Next,
we
have
we're.
Gonna,
have
three
different
groups
present
on
on
different
topic
concerning
the
disability
community
at
the
end
of
each
presentation,
I
will
allow
members
of
the
audience
to
ask
questions
Pacific
to
that
presentation.
Only
if
you
have
any
question
regarding
the
city
of
Boston
access
or
the
disability
office
we'll
do
that
at
the
very
end
of
this
meeting.
So
first
we
have
little
Miller
from
the
city
of
Boston
who
talking
about
food
access.
H
Thank
you
so
much
for
having
me
again.
My
name
is
Liz
Miller
I
work
in
the
mayor's
office
of
food
access,
which
is
in
the
Health
and
Human
Services
cabinet,
I'm,
the
food
security
fellow
there,
and
so
just
a
little
background
on
our
office.
So
our
mission
is
to
improve
equitable
access
to
nutritious
food
with
respect
to
physical
accessibility.
H
H
Accessibility,
so
can
people
get
to
the
food
that
they
need
and
want
affordability?
Can
they
afford
the
food
that
they
need
and
want
and
cultural
appropriateness,
so
our
culturally
relevant
products
available,
and
so
this
is
a
relatively
new
mission
for
our
office.
We've
formerly
had
this
mission
for
about
two
years,
but
we're
still
sort
of
coming
into
our
own.
So
it's
a
very
exciting
time
for
us
right
now
and
I'm
gonna
be
using
the
term
food
insecurity
a
lot
throughout
my
presentation,
so
just
so
that
everybody
is
on
the
same
page.
H
H
But
before
we
got
to
that
point
and
when
we
made
our
mission
shift
a
couple
years
ago,
we
decided
we
really
needed
to
understand
what
the
current
state
of
food
insecurity
in
the
city
is.
So
we
set
out
to
do
listening
sessions
across
the
city.
We
did
11
listening
sessions,
we
spoke
to
almost
130
people,
we
hosted
the
sessions
and
a
number
of
languages.
H
We
worked
with
community
agencies
to
arrange
these,
and
we
really
wanted
to
hear
from
residents
the
experiences
that
they
have
accessing
food
and
the
barriers
that
they
encounter,
and
so
through
these
conversations,
a
couple
big
themes
came
out
of
the
participants
comments.
So,
first
and
foremost,
what
we
heard
was
food
is
expensive
and
taking
that
a
step,
further
healthy
food
is
expensive.
H
It
was,
it
was
just
kind
of
by
far
the
biggest
challenge
that
individuals
were
having
accessing
the
food
they
needed
one.
Secondly,
we
heard
a
lot
about
mobility
and
this
included
both
personal
mobility
as
well
as
kind
of
how,
like
the
intersection
between
or
I
kind
of
how
people
get
to
food,
so
public
transportation
being
a
barrier
for
people,
because
it's
inconvenient
or
it's
hard
to
take
your
groceries.
H
So
those
are
the
two
biggest
things
that
we
heard
in
our
sessions:
the
cost
of
food
and
the
ability
to
get
to
the
food
we
heard
from
parents.
We
heard
from
seniors
we
heard
from
immigrants
we
heard
from
everybody,
and
we
you
know
these
are
just
some
of
the
quotes
that
we
took
away
and
I.
Think
one
of
the
most
poignant
ones
for
me
is
that
the
one
sort
of
top
right
there,
a
mother
talking
about
how
one
of
her
challenges
is
that
her
daughter
doesn't
like
school
food.
H
It
doesn't
want
to
eat
school
food
and
for
her,
that's
a
really
big
problem,
because
she
can't
afford
to
send
her
daughter
to
school
with
a
meal
every
day,
and
so
they
would
sit
together
at
the
beginning
of
every
month.
Look
at
the
menu
because
it
gets
sent
every
month
and
choose
each
week
the
day
when
the
school
was
serving
the
thing
that
the
daughter
liked
least,
and
the
mother
said:
okay,
that's
the
day,
I'll
send
you
to
school
with
a
meal,
but
that's
the
only
day.
I
can
send
you
to
school
with
a
meal.
H
So
is
you
know
it's
just
very.
You
know
discouraging
stories
that
we
heard
from
from
a
lot
of
families,
so
we're
doing
these
neighborhood
assessments
now,
and
our
intention
is
to
really
understand
where
food
is
insecurity
is
most
prevalent
in
the
city.
You
know:
are
there
gaps
and
resources
and
services
that
are
creating
it
or
contributing
to
it?
H
Do
the
transportation
components
come
into
play
in
different
neighborhoods
who
is
experiencing
food
insecurity?
And
you
know
how
does
that
change
from
neighborhood
to
neighborhood?
And
you
know
what
are
there
are
so
many
different
factors
that
we
need
to
be
considering
when
we're
thinking
about
food
access
and
food
insecurity,
so
we're
in
the
process
of
doing
these
assessments
now,
unfortunately,
these
maps
are
really
small.
H
I
thought
they'd
be
big
enough,
but
I
was
wrong,
but
if
you
look
at
the
one
on
the
top
left,
this
is
just
a
glimpse
of
some
of
the
data
that
we've
been
looking
at.
There's
a
survey
in
Boston
called
the
Boston
behavioral
risk
factor,
surveillance
system
and
it
looks
at
a
number
of
health
indicators
and
there's
two
questions
on
there
about
food
access,
and
one
says
you
know
the
food
we
bought
just
didn't
last
and
we
didn't
have
enough
money
to
get
more.
H
That's
the
blue
bars
and
the
food
or
we
were
hungry
but
didn't
eat
because
we
couldn't
afford
enough
food,
that's
the
red
bars.
And
so,
if
you
look
at
the
top
the
left
hand
side,
you
can
see
it's
broken
down
by
a
number
of
factors,
and
so
the
first
bar
there
is,
for
example,
the
Hispanic
population
and
the
third
bar.
Is
the
white
population?
H
There's
huge
disparities
across
neighborhood,
so
the
bar
all
the
way
to
the
right
is
Mattapan
about
45%
of
residents
said
that
the
food
that
they
bought
just
didn't
last
then
they
didn't
have
money
to
get
more,
whereas
in
West
Roxbury
only
about
12%
said
that
so
we're
kind
of
looking
at
all
these
disparities
and
trying
to
understand
what's
going
on
and
what
we
can
do
to
address
it.
So
we
do
have
a
Boston
food
access
council
and
this
group
is
helping
us
to
think
through
strategies
to
tackle
food
access
in
the
city.
H
So
it's
a
group
of
leaders
from
a
number
of
nonprofits
and
and
some
city
agencies
as
well
and
right
now
they
are
working
through
a
strategy
document
that
they
developed
that
breaks
food
access
into
three
kind
of
three
kind
of
action
areas,
and
so
one
is
economic
development
and
community
wealth.
Building.
H
We're
also
looking
at
community
gardening
and
urban
agriculture
as
opportunities
for
community
building,
as
well
as
opportunities
for
individuals
to
grow
their
own
food
or
grow
food
for
their
neighbors
and
sell
it,
and
then
we're
looking
at
supporting
and
strengthening
the
safety
net
of
programs
that
include
snap.
That
includes
WIC,
that
includes
summer
meals
and
school
meals.
H
You
know
we'd
really
like
to
move
to
a
place
where
those
programs
aren't
necessary,
but
we're
a
long
way
from
that
and
we
can't
ignore
the
value
of
those
programs,
so
we're
looking
at
how
to
support
those
programs
through
that
council,
so
that
council
can
means
quarterly.
It's
not
up
here,
but
the
next
meeting
is
September
13th
and
it's
open
to
the
public
and
you
can
get
information
on
our
website,
which
is
Boston,
gov,
slash
food.
H
If
you're
interested
to
join
us
there,
one
of
the
programs
that
we're
very
excited
about
and
our
office
is
an
office,
a
program
called
boss.
Food
love-
and
this
is
really
addressing
that
school
food
challenge.
That
I
talked
about.
We
heard
from
parents
in
our
listening
sessions
consistently.
My
kids
don't
like
the
food
and
my
kids
don't
eat
the
food
and
it
doesn't
taste
good
and
it
doesn't
look
good,
it's
cold
in
the
middle
and
they
you
know
bite
into
it.
So
what
we're
trying
to
do?
H
H
So
that
coalition
work
is
the
biggest
piece
of
this
program
and
we'll
also
be
doing
a
plate
weigh
study
to
look
at
the
food
that
is
going
into
the
garbage
cans
in
the
schools,
because
what
we're
hearing
from
janitors
is
they
throw
away
entire
garbage
cans
full
of
food
every
lunch
period?
So
we're
very
excited
about
this
program.
It's
starting
in
September
I
have
some
little
quarter
page
handouts
here.
They
are
absurdly
difficult
to
read
and
I
apologize
for
that.
H
They
were
not
designed
to
be
a
quarter
page
printout,
but
this
is
how
they
were
printed,
so
I'm
gonna
put
them
there.
I,
don't
really
know
how
useful
they'll
be.
I'm.
Also
gonna
put
some
of
my
cards
up
there,
because
if
anybody
is
interested
in
attending
this
coalition,
if
you
or
somebody
you
know,
is
a
bps
parent
or
has
bps
children,
we
really
want
your
input.
So
I'll
put
these
up
front.
H
We're
also
doing
a
lot
of
work
in
our
office
around
summer
and
after-school
meals
for
children
again,
I'm,
just
really
thinking
about
that
safety
net
of
programs
so
summer
meals
are
USDA
sponsored
opportunity
to
get
food
when
school
lets
out,
because
a
lot
of
children
get
50%
of
their
calories
from
school
food
during
the
school
year
and
if
school
is
out
of
session,
there
needs
to
be
a
replacement
for
at
least
some
of
that.
So
we've
been
working
with
libraries
in
the
city
to
start
summer.
H
H
We
also
have
a
summer
meal
site
here
in
the
city
in
City,
Hall
I
should
say
we
will
be
working
in
a
number
of
farmers
markets
this
summer
and
we'll
also
have
some
summer
meal
sites
at
three
Boston
Housing
Authority
locations
that
survey
data
that
I
was
talking
about
previously
demonstrated
that
or
showed
that
residents
in
Boston.
How?
H
Our
goal
is
to
increase
capacity
of
our
community
partners
to
offer
these
resources,
so
we're
really
supporting
them
through
the
process.
We're
not
we're
not
providing
the
programs.
We
are
supporting
these
community
partners
to
provide
the
programs,
the
community
partners
who
really
work
in
the
community
and
and
know
their
neighbors.
So
it's
really
about
capacity
building
for
these
two
programs
and
we're
kind
of
helping
them
through
the
very
complicated
USDA
program
like
applying
getting
all
the
everything
in
place
that
they
need
in
order
to
even
offer
these
meals.
H
The
healthy
incentive
program
is
a
very
exciting.
It
sounds
like
looks
like
you
are
familiar
with
it.
It's
a
very
exciting
program
that
has
been
getting
a
lot
of
great
attention.
It's
a
dollar-for-dollar
snap
match,
so
the
state
received
3.4
million
dollars
from
the
USDA
to
offer
this
match,
and
snap
is
formally
known
as
food
stamps.
H
So
it's
a
dollar
for
dollar
match
on
fruits
and
vegetables,
purchased
at
farmer's
markets,
mobile
markets,
CSAs
and
farm
stands,
and
residents
or
individuals
can
receive
forty
sixty
or
eighty
dollars,
depending
on
their
household
size
and
they'll
receive
so
essentially
the
way
it
would
work
is,
let's
say
you
buy
ten
dollars
and
tomatoes.
You,
your
snap
card
gets
swiped
for
ten
dollars
comes
off
of
your
card
and
then
ten
dollars
goes
automatically
back
on
to.
H
That
money
can
be
used
to
buy
anything,
that's
snap
eligibles,
so
meat,
eggs,
bread,
cheese,
it's
very
exciting
program.
So
it's
a
state-administered
program,
but
our
office
supported
the
roll
out
of
it
in
the
city,
helping
farmers
get
set
up
with
the
technology
they
needed
to
offer
the
program
and
doing
outreach
as
well.
H
The
program
was
so
successful
that
what
was
supposed
to
be
a
three
year
program
ran
out
in
ten
months.
They
ran
out
of
money
in
ten
months.
It
was
a
big
deal.
Everybody
was
really
upset,
but
we
just
received
word
today
that
the
program
will
continue
on
past
June
of
this
year
and
what
will
happen
after
that
is
sorted,
we're
not
sure
they're
working
on
trying
to
get
it
institutionalized
into
the
state
budget,
but
what
it
meant
for
our
office.
H
Is
it
really
demonstrated
the
demand
for
fruits
and
vegetables,
because
you
know
there
are
voices
out
there
that
try
to
say
that
individuals
who
struggle
with
food
access
aren't
interested
in
eating
healthy
food,
and
this
program
plainly
demonstrates
that
that
is
not
true,
and
our
listening
sessions
demonstrated
that
that
was
not.
That
is
not
true.
So
while
it
was
a
bummer
that
they
ran
out
and
the
program
is
a
little
bit
on
rocky
footing
right
now-
it
is
an
exciting
demonstration
of
the
value
of
programs
like
that.
H
So
we're
excited
about
that
and
then
we
do
a
lot
of
other
work
with
farmers
markets
to
just
promote
them
in
the
city
as
places
where
residents
can
find
affordable,
locally
grown
produce.
There
are
a
lot
of
other
matching
programs
offered
in
farmers
markets
to
make
it
even
more
affordable.
So
this
is
really
just
a
promotional
campaign
that
our
office
does
to
support
local
agriculture
and
to
support
kind
of
the
economic
boost
that
farmers
markets
can
bring
to
different
neighborhoods.
H
H
The
farmers
market
schedule
for
the
city
for
this
year-
and
this
is
some
of
these-
are
potentially
going
to
change.
But
this
is
the
current
schedule,
so
you
can
find
an
updated
schedule
on
our
on
our
website
if
it
changes
but
I'll
share
that
up
front,
and
then
our
office
last
year
developed
this
very
beautiful
food
resource
list
and
map,
and
this
was
the
result
of
community
health
centers
saying
to
our
partners
at
the
Boston
Public
Health
Commission.
H
We
get
a
lot
of
resident
or
a
lot
of
patients
coming
to
us
saying
that
they
need
food
and
we
have
no
way
to
refer
them.
There's
not
really
a
good
referral
system
right
now.
A
lot
of
our
partners
are
working
on
that,
but
including
the
Greater
Boston
Food,
Bank
and
project
bread,
but
there's
not
really
a
good
formalized
way
to
refer
individuals
who
need
food
when
they
are
in
healthcare
settings
and
it's
clear
that
they
need
food.
So
this
map
was
developed
by
our
office
department
of
the
Jewett
department
of
innovation
and
technology.
H
So
we
offer
this
in
English,
Spanish,
Haitian,
Creole,
Vietnamese,
simplified
in
traditional
Chinese
and
Russian,
and
we're
working
on
version
2.0
right
now
that
will
have
updated
resources.
It
will
also
include
accessibility,
information
which
we
did
not
have
on
this
map,
which
was
an
oversight
on
our
part,
and
we
are
learning
how
to
make
all
of
our
products
more
accessible.
So
it
will
include
access
information
about
the
accessibility
of
the
various
locations
listed
on
there
and
we'll
also
have
it
in
Cape,
Verdean
Creole,
which
is
a
new
language,
but
I'll
leave
a
handful
of
these.
H
We
are
running
low
on
English,
but
I'll
leave
the
few
that
I
have
and
I
have
a
couple
other
languages
that
I
can
leave
here.
If
anyone
wants
to
take
one
but
version,
2.0
will
be
ready
in
about
two
weeks
and
I'll
leave
my
card,
because
if
you
or
somebody
you
know,
works
at
a
place
that
might
want
to
distribute
these,
we
distributed
17,000
last
year
and
we're
still
getting
requests
for
more.
H
So
it
was
clearly
a
very
useful
resource
for
a
lot
of
people
and
we
distributed
it
and
distributed
it
almost
entirely
through
our
partner
organizations.
So
I'll
leave
my
card
in
case.
You
know
anybody
who
might
be
interested
in
that
and
then
finally,
our
office
does
do
some
advocacy
work
in
areas
that
are
relevant
to
our
work.
So
we
have
been
involved
in
some
advocacy
efforts
around
the
farm
bill
this
year,
which
is
not
looking
great
right
now.
H
The
House
bill
was
not
very
good
they're
trying
to
slash
a
lot
of
things
and
we've
been
trying
to
make
our
voice
at
our
voice
to
the
number
of
voices
that
are
trying
to
really
protect
and
expand
the
farm
bill.
There's
a
number
of
state
programs
we're
advocating
for
breakfast
in
the
classroom
is
a
big
one.
Really,
you
know.
A
lot
of
studies
have
shown
the
value
of
breakfast
in
the
classroom
for
academic
achievement
of
students.
So
we're
you
know
adding
our
voice
to
that
work.
H
The
healthy
incentive
program
that
I
mentioned,
and
then
we
are
working
on
on
the
city
level,
trying
to
ensure
that
Snap
is
available
with
all
vendors
at
all
farmers
markets
in
the
city
which
it
wasn't
previously
so
we're
you
know
dabbling
in
advocacy
where
we
can
but
we're
a
small
team.
So
it's
challenging
to
do
that,
work
for
us
and
that's
it,
and
that
was
a
lot
of
information,
so
I
apologize
if
you're
overwhelmed
but
I'm
happy
to
take
any
questions.
If
anybody
has
any
questions.
A
All
the
materials
that
was
his
talked
about
to
the
PowerPoint
and
a
couple
of
the
handouts
that
she
has
will
be
sent
out
to
you
after
this
meeting
or
tomorrow
morning,
I
apologize
that
we
didn't
get
that
stuff
out.
We
had
a
different
City
Department
planned
and
it
was
generously
offered
to
filling
in
that
last
minute,
which
is
why
we
don't
have
the
materials.
So
it
is
forthcoming,
I'm
sure.
G
I
H
We
have
worked
with
the
Boston
Public
Health
Commission
has
a
homeless
Bureau,
that's
not
the
appropriate
title,
but
I'm
blanking
on
the
name
of
it,
but
we've
communicated
with
them.
We've
distributed
this
map
through
them
they
received
several
thousand
copies
and
we've
talked
with
them
about
some
other
potential
partnerships
with
hospitals.
We
haven't
worked
with
hospitals
as
much
as
we've
worked
with
community
health
centers,
but
it's
a
great
suggestion
and
I
think
you
said
that's
at
Mass
General
Hospital,
so
we
could
try
to
connect
with
them
at
your
sue.
G
H
F
Yes,
I
have
a
question
as
well:
I'd
say
it
has
been
a
quite
a
while
since
I've
been
since
I've
had
:
called
school
lunches,
so
I'm
not
sure
what
now
the
process
first
goes
to
how
people
reach
out
to
parents.
Our
schools
work
I'm,
not
just
for
their
children,
but
do
you
have
like
an
action
plan,
or
do
you
have
like
a
process
to
reach
out
to
school,
for
showing
of
food
allergies?
For
instance,
school
lunches,
I
mean,
did
not
be
able
to
accommodate
student,
and
some
of
the
powers
are
on
snap.
F
H
So
the
we
work-
the
program
I
mentioned,
for
example,
we're
working
we're
partnering
with
Boston
Public,
Schools
food
and
nutrition
services
on
that
program.
So
they
are
the
ones
who
would
be
responsible
for
making
sure
that
they're
accommodating
allergies
and
I
know
that
they
have
systems
in
place
to
do
that.
But
what
I've
heard
is
from
some
parents
is
that
they're
not
they're
still
not
entirely
comfortable
like
for
children
with
very
severe
allergies.
For
example,
a
lot
of
the
parents
are
still
concerned
and
would
rather
send
their
child
with
their
own
homemade
meal.
H
So
I
do
think
that
that's
something
that
will
come
up
in
our
bus
food
love
coalition
meetings
is
sort
of
how
we
can
kind
of
strengthen
that
program
and
make
people.
You
know,
increase
confidence
in
that
I
know.
Food
and
nutrition
services
does
a
pretty
good
job
of
accommodating
for
those
allergies
and
they
think
they
have
a
process
for
knowing
who's
got
the
allergies
and
what
allergies
to
be
concerned
about.
But
but
we
have
heard
that
parents
aren't
totally
comfortable
with
the
process.
D
As
a
parent
of
a
middle
schooler
who
doesn't
go
to
Boston
Public
Schools,
who
goes
to
school
in
in
a
community
who,
who
in
theory
has
who
has
a
lot
of
resources,
it's
still
challenging
to
want
to
get
the
school
lunch,
so
I
I
hope
at
some
point
you
know
the
state
or
all
the
communities
can
come
together
and
figure
out.
How
can
we
make
all
of
our
meals?
You
know
advertising
for
every
community,
not
just
you.
D
H
H
You
know
they
haven't
made
leaps
and
bounds,
but
there
have
been
improvements
and
yet
still
a
lot
of
students
will
say
like
I,
don't
like
the
food
and
then
when
you
say
Oh
like
what,
what
don't
you
like,
they
say:
oh
I,
don't
ever
eat
it,
I've,
never
even
had
it
sort
of
like
how
do
you
know
you
don't
like
it?
If
you
never
had
it
so
I
think
there's
simultaneously
like
we
need
to
improve
it
and
think
about
how
to
improve
it.
H
H
E
J
H
K
I
K
They
were
available
for
elderly
residents
with
disabilities,
so
if
they
wanted
to
be
provided
with
lunches,
I
believe
now
it's
up
to
$3,
so
those
nutritional
they're
really
nutritious.
Not
always
there
like
school
lunches
they're,
not
always
this
appetizing
as
they
should
be,
but
they
are
nutritious
yeah.
H
Yes,
we
work
with.
Actually
this
map
includes
all
of
the
senior
dining
sites
across
the
city
that
are
that
are
sponsored
by
the
elderly,
Commission,
so
I
think
ethos
is
sponsored
by
the
elderly
Commission
on
that
I.
Don't
know
if
you're
from
I
think
so
yeah,
okay,
okay,
nice
yeah!
Thank
you
for
that.
Yeah
and
I
I'll
make
a
note
to
confirm
if
that's
on
there,
because
if
it's
not,
it
should
be.
L
Hi
Elizabeth
Dean
klauer
Back
Bay.
Thank
you
very
much
for
that
presentation
and
for
the
breadth
of
all
the
different
ways.
You're
helping
bridge
bridge.
This
need
I,
had
just
a
couple
quick
questions
that
program
in
the
schools
about
something
with
the
garbage
or
trying
to
salvage
the
food
that
was
uneaten.
L
It
sounds
great,
I
know
issues,
and
this
might
be
my
my
ignorance,
but
I
know
I've
heard
in
the
past
that
things
like
restaurants,
aren't
allowed
to
do
that
that
there
have
been
problems
with
lawsuits
or
they,
but
I
didn't
know
if
or
if
any
of
the
settings,
the
commercial
settings
that
just
as
we
know
that
there
are
things
even
within
supermarkets,
that
will
say
day-old,
bread
or
something
you
know
it
has
to
be
labeled
but
I
just
didn't
know.
Is
there
any
facet
of
that
to
do
with?
L
H
The
school
program
we're
not
actually
doing
anything
quite
in
that
space.
The
waist
component
that
I
mentioned
is
a
look
at.
It
is
a
look
at
what's
being
wasted,
but
with
the
intention
to
adjust
the
menu,
so
less
is
being
wasted,
but
the
concept
you're
talking
about
is
frequently
called
food
rescue
so
taking
food
that
would
be
thrown
away
otherwise
and
and
repurposing
it
or
we.
H
You
know
giving
it
away
or
whatever
and
there's
something
called
the
bill:
Emerson
Good
Samaritan
Act,
which
protects
those
who
want
to
donate
food
from
assuming
they
do
so
in
good
faith
from
you
know.
If
somebody
were
to
get
sick
from
it,
it
protects
them
from
that
liability
and
I
know
a
lot
of
restaurants
and
a
lot
of
stores
are
starting
to
donate
food,
to
various
programs
that
will
repurpose
food
I.
H
You
know
why
can't
we
have
new
food?
Why
are
you
selling
us
old
food?
We
do
need
food,
but
we
want
fresh
food.
We
don't
want
old
food,
that's
expired,
and
so
they
had
to
make
some
adjustments
because
of
those
concerns
which
I
think
are
very
valid
concerns.
But
there
is
a
big
there's,
a
lot
of
space
for
tackling
food
waste
from
this
food
rescue
side
and
just
kind
of
varying
opinions
on
you
know
whether
or
not
it's
appropriate
and
how
to
do
it.
There
I
know
that
there
has
been
some
proposed
legislation.
H
I,
don't
think
it's
really
gone
anywhere
to
try
to
encourage
businesses
to
donate
more
food
through
various
incentives.
I,
don't
know
where
that
stands
here
in
Massachusetts,
but
it's
a
growing
movement
for
sure.
There's
a
lot
of
organizations
thinking
about
it.
There's
a
one
organization
that
you
can
go
to
a
restaurant
towards
the
end
of
the
night
and
get
the
burrito
that
they
would
normally
sell
for
$8
for
like
$2,
because
they're,
you
know,
gonna
throw
it
away
anyway.
H
H
H
M
B
N
Hello,
thank
you
so
much
for
having
me
here.
I'm
gonna
make
it
really
easy
on
you
guys
today.
My
name
is
also
Liz,
so
you
have
two
losses
here:
I'm
Liz,
Belfield
I'm,
the
program
manager
at
pal,
the
parent,
professional
advocacy
league.
Thank
you
so
much,
commissioner
and
commission
members
for
letting
me
talk
to
you
today
and
just
to
give
you
guys.
I
just
want
to
introduce
you
to
who
pail
is
and
what
pal
does
and
hopefully
just
foster
a
relationship
between
your
Commission,
the
public
and
our
organization.
So
pal
is
a
the
parent.
N
Professional
advocacy
league
is
a
statewide
nonprofit,
grassroots
that
helps
children,
youth,
young
adults
and
their
families
that
are
that
have
oops
sorry,
mental
emotional
and
behavioral
health
needs,
and
we
do
this
through
advocacy
education
and
partnership
and
I'll
kind
of
break
that
down
for
you
guys,
that's
our
mission
there
and
we
really
just
want
the
entire
state
of
Massachusetts,
especially
Boston,
of
course,
to
make
sure
the
children,
youth,
young
adults
and
family
members
are
getting
the
support
that
they
need
for
emotional
behavioral
mental
health
issues.
We
are
a
statewide
organization.
N
We
have
a
office
in
Boston
right
across
the
street
and
we
also
have
an
office
in
Worcester
and
we
are
a
non-profit
and
we're
family
driven
and
family
run.
So
what
that
means
is
that
more
than
half
of
our
staff
and
half
of
our
board
members
have
a
children,
youth
or
young
adult
with
emotional
behavioral
or
mental
health
needs.
N
We're
part
of
a
couple
of
different
Federation's
across
the
nation,
I'll
kind
of
go
into
that
a
little
bit
more,
but
I
really
just
want
to
talk
about
I,
don't
wanna
waste
too
much
of
your
time.
I
know
you
guys
have
a
long
agenda
here
today,
but
I
just
want
to
talk
about
what
we
do
right
now
in
the
country.
One
in
five
youth
aged
13
to
18
have
or
will
have
a
serious
mental
illness.
N
That's
pretty
high
rates,
especially
when
you
think
about
the
average
delay
between
the
onset
of
mental
health,
sips,
symptoms
and
intervention.
Right
now
is
8
to
10
years
so
8
to
10
years.
If
you
broke
your
arm
and
waited
8
years
for
treatment,
that
would
be
unheard
of,
but
right
now,
kids,
especially
kids,
but
youth,
young
adults
and
adults
are
waiting
eight
to
ten
years
before
intervention
and
consistent
access
to
services
and
I
know
if
any
coalition
or
Commission
in
Massachusetts
and
the
country
is
going
to
care
about
access
to
services.
N
It's
going
to
be
you
guys,
like
Liz,
was
talking
about
access
to
food.
Access
to
mental
health
services
is
so
vitally
important.
So
how
does
a
whole
bunch
of
things
I'm
gonna
blow
through
a
lot
of
these
really
quickly?
I
do
have
our
program
sheet
up
here,
for
you
guys,
I
didn't
bring
I
thought
I
had
more
with
me.
I
just
came
from
another
meeting,
another
presentation,
so
they
must
have
taken
more
than
I
thought,
so
I
can
definitely
bring
some
more
by
for
you
guys
and
all
of
our
handouts.
N
More
information
is
up
on
our
website
palnet,
but
pal
is
a
really
unique
organization
in
that
we
do
everything
from
one-on-one
peer
support.
Family
support
with
our
families
support
specialists
all
the
way
up
to
advocacy
at
the
Statehouse,
so
our
executive
director,
Lisa
Lambert
always
likes
to
say
that
when
you
look
at
pal
from
the
outside,
we
look
like
an
advocacy
organization.
When
you
look
at
POW
from
the
inside,
we
look
like
a
family
support
organization,
so
these
are
kind
of
our
two
main
things
that
we
do.
N
We
really
want,
at
the
end
of
the
day,
to
teach
parents
to
be
the
best
advocate
for
their
child,
because
children
belong
in
families,
belonging
communities
belong
in
the
state
of
Massachusetts,
and
if
the
parent
understands
the
resources
that
can
help
them
the
best,
then
they're
gonna
be
the
best
person
to
help
that
child.
So
training,
the
parent
and
teaching
them
to
be.
N
We
can
help
you
out
with
that
and
go
into
the
school
with
the
parents
and
help
navigate
that
system
that
sometimes
very
complex
and
again
that's
part
of
our
family
support
system,
I.
Think
of
it
because
I
just
love
our
family
support
specialists,
so
much
they're,
fantastic
I,
think
the
bread
and
butter
of
PAL
there
are
peer-to-peer
family
to
family.
You
sit
down
if
they
haven't
been
through
it
themselves.
They
know
somebody
who's
been
through
it
themselves.
N
So
it's
really
just
talking
to
a
friend
someone
that
not
only
understands
the
system
but
has
been
in
the
system.
We
have
support
groups
for
parents,
caregivers,
siblings,
grandparents,
there's
a
lot
of
families
out
there
that
are
grandparents
raising
grandchildren
and
it's
nice
to
have
that
peer-to-peer
educational
support
and
trainings
on
what
you're
going
through.
N
Unfortunately,
you
don't
get
this
manual
when
your
children
has
child,
has
a
mental
health,
emotional,
health
or
behavioral
health
issue,
all
of
a
sudden
you're
thrust
into
this
world,
where
this
is
your
reality,
and
you
have
no
idea
sometimes
how
to
navigate
the
system.
If
you
didn't
go
through
it
yourself,
so
talking
to
someone
who's
been
through
it
and
being
able
to
reach
out
to
another
parent,
whether
there
are
a
couple
steps
behind
you
or
a
couple
steps
ahead
of,
you
is
really
important.
N
Also,
our
family
support
specialists
are
bilingual
right
now
we
have
Spanish
Haitian,
Creole
French
and
we're
looking
on
I
think
we're
going
to
have
Arabic
soon,
so
we're
really
trying
to
reach
the
diverse
populations
that
Boston
has
our
youth
programming
out
of
our
Worcester
office.
We
are
the
Massachusetts
based
Center
for
youth
move,
which
is
a
national
programming
for
that's
done
by
youth
for
youth
with
emotional,
mental
and
behavioral
health,
and
that
could
be
anything
from
peer
to
peer
support
groups.
They
just
had
a
prom
which
was
outstandingly
amazing.
N
They
do
a
lot
of
really
great
things
for
the
youth
and
young
adults,
because
a
lot
of
the
things
I
can
still
consider
myself
a
young
adult
I'm,
not
as
the
youth
constantly
tell
me
so
some
things
that
I
think
work
for
youth
and
young
adult
doesn't
because
I'm,
not
a
youth
or
young
adult,
so
making
sure
that
the
programming
makes
sense
for
them
even
language
use.
We
just
published
a
paper
about
co-occurring
mental
health
and
substance
use,
and
we
had
the
youth
look
over
the
language
use
language
that
I
used
and
they're
like
no.
N
No,
no,
we
don't
know
what
those
words
mean
and
if
we
want
this
to
be
accessible
to
the
youth
and
young
adults
of
Massachusetts,
then
they
need
to
have
a
say
in
it
and
you
know,
participate
in
every
aspect
of
the
their
engagement.
I'm
trainings
that
we
do.
We
do
trainings
for
families
that
are
free.
N
Right
now,
unfortunately,
I've
got
a
pretty
terrible
statistic
at
Mi,
saying
that
sixty-five
percent
of
boys
and
75
percent
of
girls
in
juvenile
detention
have
at
least
one
mental
health
issue.
So
our
detention
centers
are
full
of
children
with
mental
emotional
and
behavioral
health
systems
in
the
juvenile
justice
system,
and
is
that
the
best
place
for
them?
Maybe
not?
N
We
really
need
to
work
on
diverting
youth
with
mental
emotional
behavioral
health
systems
out
of
the
juvenile
justice
system,
making
sure
that
school
to
Prison
Pipeline
isn't
full
of
these
kids
that
really
just
need
extra
care
and
services
rather
than
jail
cell.
So
right
now
we
have
our
Family
Support
Specialists,
going
into
the
courts
with
the
families
talking
to
the
judge
talking
to
the
probation
officers,
letting
them
know
what
other
services
are
available.
N
N
They
hear
what's
going
on
with
our
families
every
day
and
then
they
bring
up
those
issues
with
us
and
we
try
to
figure
out
a
way
to
quantify
that
information
and
put
it
into
a
language,
that's
accessible
to
a
lot
of
different
people,
whether
that's
infographics,
whether
that's
pictures,
whether
that's
posters,
whether
that's,
we
just
did
a
bunch
of
bookmarks
for
children's
mental
health
week
to
get
that
information
out
there.
We
I
just
finished
a
survey
on
culture
care
and
challenges.
N
The
mental
health
community
really
likes
to
think
that
they're
very
inclusive
of
different,
diverse
communities
and
our
families
that
are
Hispanic
and
african-american
and
very
multinational,
tell
us
that's
not
the
case
and
if
you're
an
african-american
family
going
into
the
ER
with
a
child
with
mental
health
issues,
you
don't
get
looked
in
the
eye.
You
don't
get
offered
a
glass
of
water,
you
don't
get
offered
a
seat,
and
that
was
really
stunning
for
our
mental
health
providers.
That
think
that
they're
doing
a
really
great
job
to
here.
N
Doing
we
just
did
videos
that
are
going
to
be
coming
out
soon
and
we
did
them
in
several
languages
with
closed
captioning.
So,
whether
it's
you
know
in
print
form
or
in
audio
form,
at
our
monthly
meetings,
we,
where
we
have
ASL
translators
all
the
time.
We
really
just
try
to
get
that
message
out
to
the
community
that
we're
working
with,
and
that
brings
me
into
outreach.
We
have
a
multicultural
outreach
team
they're
based
in
Boston
right
now.
N
They
are
fantastic
individuals
that
just
go
out
into
the
community
because
we
know
so
many
times
why
we
get
a
crazy
amount
of
phone
calls
calling
us
for
help
with
their
child.
It's
a
provider
calling
help
with
the
family,
there's
so
many
people
that
just
don't
know
where
to
go
and
can't
get
to
us
or
don't
know
about
us.
N
N
We
do
at
Pal
is
co-occurring,
so
it's
public
hearings,
I've
wrote
up
here,
substance
use
and
mental
health.
It
because
that's
what
we
just
did
our
report
on
71%
of
youth
and
young
adults
with
substance
use
order
disorders
also
experiencing
also
experience
a
co-occurring
mental
health
issue.
So
right
now,
these
two.
N
Different
issues
are
completely
separated
that
substance
uses
in
public
health
and
mental
health
is
in
the
Department
of
Mental
Health,
and
it's
completely
isolated,
and
we
know
these
two
issues
are
they
affect
each
other
and
that
there's
correlations
between
them
and
to
try
to
treat
these
two
issues
separately,
like
they're
in
a
vacuum
just
doesn't
make
sense.
It's
increases.
Cost
of
care
increases
the
burden
on
a
family
to
try
to
like
coordinate.
N
Like
it's
stigmatized
like
it's
something
else
like
it,
doesn't
impact
how
you
move
around
and
how
you
eat
and
how
you
interact
with
people
just
doesn't
make
sense
so
really
just
trying
to
break
the
stigma
around
it
make
sure
that
people
can
talk
about
it
and
that
everybody
that
needs
access
to
it
has
access
to
it.
So
I
shouldn't
be
Justin
in
its
own
little
bubble.
N
Mental
health
should
be,
you
know,
should
be
in
schools
and
should
be
in
hospitals
and
should
be
in
faith-based
centers,
and
it
should
be
community-based
services
in
hospitals
and
in
schools
and
in
faith-based
centers
and
you're
in
your
home,
and
the
last
thing
that
we're
doing
is
what
oh
there
we
go.
We
just
did
our
videos
on
they'll
be
up
this
week.
N
They
were
a
big
help,
is
transition-age
support,
so
when
your
child's
transitioning-
and
we
call
that
you
know
anything
from
12
to
26
when
they're
transitioning
out
of
your
home,
that
is
completely
and
utterly
terrifying,
but
when
they
have
always
had
mental
emotion
or
behavioral
health
special
needs
and
they're
transitioning
out
of
your
home.
That's
like
absolutely
mind-boggling
for
some
of
these
parents
to
come
up
with
a
plan
to
transition
them
into
adult
services.
So
we're
hearing
that
a
lot
right
now
that
our
parents
need
more
help
around
transition
age
services.
N
So
that's
what
the
videos
are
about.
There
me
talking
about
tips,
things
that
our
parents
say
are
tried-and-true
about
transitioning
your
child
to
adult
bees
services
and
what
you
need
to
know
and
what
helps
our
parents
and
our
executive
director
had
this
really
great
line.
She's
like
what
I,
what
I
did
doesn't
always
help
every
parent,
but
what
I
did
might
help
one
parent
and
if
I
can
help
one
parent,
then
I
can
help
one
parent
but
Powell's
really
trying
to
help
a
lot
of
parents.
N
So
hopefully
we
get
our
videos
out
and
that
we
help
parents
navigate
the
system
through
these
videos
and
information
that
we
have
in
support
groups.
So
I
know
that's
a
lot.
That's
why
it's
really
hard
to
tell
people
what
Pal
does
because
I'm
like
it's
a
little
bit
of
everything,
but
it's
not
everything.
It's
just
exactly
what
we
need,
but
at
the
end
of
the
day,
I
want
to
leave
you
with
a
couple
of
things.
Pal
is
free.
We
don't
ask
for
insurance,
we
don't
it's
not
a
requirement.
N
There
is
no
eligibility
about
for
our
services.
If
we
can't
help
you
out
like
we
don't
have
in,
we
don't
do
therapy
in
house.
We
don't
do
lawyers
in
house,
but
we're
partnered
with
people
that
do
that.
We're
partnered
with
law
organizations
and
therapy
groups,
and
we
can
get
you
into
those
services
and
we
know
people
and
we
can
pull
some
some
cords
and
we're
free
service
and
that's
why
we're
free,
because
we
just
think
that
everybody
should
at
least
have
all
the
information
we
don't
ask.
Any
questions
about
documentation
were
not
a
government
agency.
N
We
accept
government
funds
from
DMH
and
DPS,
but
that
gives
us
a
little
bit
more
flexibility.
We
don't
do
mandatory
reporting
or
anything
like
that.
We
really
put
the
family
and
child
first
and
that's
really
important
to
us.
So
that's.
Why
we're
not
a
provider
ourselves?
We
just
work
with
providers.
N
We're
bilingual,
like
I,
said:
English
Spanish,
Haitian,
Creole
French
we're
working
on
getting
more
we're,
always
looking
for
more
translators
and
we
work
with
a
community
of
translators.
Like
I
said,
we
have
a
statewide
monthly
meeting,
that's
free
in
Framingham,
the
second
Tuesday
of
every
month,
and
we
always
have
ASL
interpreters
there.
N
And
it
does
sound
simple
saying
that
children
live
in
families
live
in
communities.
But
it
means
that's
what
I
like
I
said.
It
means
community-based
resources
and
supporting
families
in
your
own
community
and
treatment
options
that
are
culturally
and
linguistically
applicable
for
everybody
and
family
engagement
and
family
involvement.
Family
driven
we're
not
just
some
higher-ups.
That
think
that
we
have
all
the
answers.
N
The
families
have
all
the
answers
and
we're
here
to
make
sure
that
all
of
our
programming
is
guided
by
that
family
voice,
that
parent
voice,
that
grandparent
voice,
that
sibling
voice
and
it's
tailored
to
the
community.
So
I
have
a
couple
of
slides
about
our
youth
move,
which
is
just
really
awesome,
but
it's
based
out
in
Worcester,
and
that
is
all
I've
got
for
you
guys
today.
N
N
Yeah
we
work
with
ADHD
a
DD,
bipolar,
schizophrenia,
anxiety,
social
anxiety,
there's.
If
it's
under,
we
used
to
just
say
mental
health,
and
we
say
mental
behavior,
health
and
now
we
say
mental
emotional,
behavioral
II,
if
you
think
it
falls
under
there
than
soda
way,
and
if
you
need
access
to
services,
then
for
your
or
your
guys.
Thank
you.
B
Anybody
else
from
the
Commission
just
a
quick
comment.
I
was
glad
to
hear
you.
You
mentioned
access
to
language
many
times.
I
was
glad
to
hear
you.
Pacifically
mentioned
the
deaf
and
hard
of
hearing
community
because
they
struggle
with
access
to
mental
health
services
because
of
their
lack
of
access
to
the
English
language.
So
I
hope
that
that
something
you
continue
absolutely.
N
We
use
closed
captioning
on
everything
that
we
do
visually
and
at
every
meeting
we
have
some
great
connections
to
the
ASL
community
and
translators
at
everything
that
we
do
because
again
we
hear
from
so
many
different
communities
that
half
the
battle
is
getting
access
to
the
information
they're
able
to
make
the
decisions
for
their
child
if
they
have
access
to
the
information.
But
if
your
first
language
is
Spanish
or
Arabic
or
French
or
if
you're
you
know
ASL
or
if
that's
your
language,
then
you
can't
get
the
information
to
make
the
best
decisions.
N
B
L
Thank
you
for
your
presentation
and
the
importance
of
cultural
competency
or
the.
If
we
know
in
the
disability
am
area
that
mental
health
issues,
psychiatric
issues
etc.
I'm
have
a
stigma
that,
in
certain
societies
it's
even
in
a
more
difficult
place.
I
was
just
curious
for
something
like
Vietnamese,
which
was
mentioned
in
the
prior
presentation
about
one
of
the
groups.
That's
a
recognized
need
for
what,
as
of
language
translation
issue,
I
was
wondering
if
that
one
of
the
ones
that
you've
listed
but
ones
that
aren't
I,
don't
know.
L
If
that's
something,
that's
how
that's
that's
one
question
and
then
given
that,
in
addition
to
what
was
the
terminology
of
two
diagnoses
at
once,
co-occurring
that
often
I
know
that
a
child
might
have
something
like
perhaps
say
autism,
but
there
could
be
something
else
and
again
trying
to
get
them.
The
services
so
I
think
what's
happening,
is
is
very
important,
but
I
think
there
are
certain
communities,
particularly
either
based
on
language
or
the
IEP
s.
That
also
have
to
be
in
place
by
a
certain
age,
nine
or
whatever.
L
N
Thank
you
so
much
yes,
so
the
asian-american
community
has
been
especially
difficult
for
our
mental
health
professionals.
Just
because
this
stigma
there
in
their
communities,
tends
to
be
stronger
than
in
other
communities
and
that's
saying
so
much
because
stigma
is
strong
everywhere,
the
they
there
was
recently
a
Mental
Health
Forum.
It
was
the
Asian
American
Mental
Health
Forum
held
at
the
University
of
Massachusetts,
and
that
was
really
wonderful
to
hear
Asian
American
individuals
within
their
own
community,
saying
to
other
community
members.
N
We
need
to
talk
about
mental
health,
so
absolutely
access
to
language,
we're
working
with
community
leaders
in
the
asian-american
community
because
they
already
have
access
to
those
communities
and
those
members
and
trying
to
get
the
information
out.
That
way.
We
were
originally
trying
for
like
someone
like
me
to
go
into
that
community
and
they
were
shutting
down
so
we're
using
the
community
members
now
to
get
that
information
out
in
their
languages.
Absolutely
the
Vietnamese
population.
N
Absolutely
I
gave
out
a
bunch
of
our
cultural
care
and
challenges
surveys
to
my
contact
at
a
Vietnamese
community
center,
and
they
said.
Oh,
we
can't
fill
this
out.
Our
children
don't
have
mental
health
issues.
I
said
we've,
given
you
information
about
a
DD
and
ADHD
and
by
pollen
they're
like
no.
No,
no,
but
that's
not
mental
health
I'm,
like
so
the
terminology.
How
we
talk
about
it.
What
those
words
are
it's
just.
N
So
mental
health
is
not
it's
something
that's
in
every
community
that
we
need
to
make
sure
that
mental
health
issues
when
you're
talking
about
certain
things,
there's
also
mental
health
support
there
as
well,
especially
for
kids,
children,
young
adults,
because
the
sooner
that
we
address
these
issues,
the
sooner
they
can
get
help
and
that's
really
what
it
comes
down
to.
We
don't
want
that
eight
to
ten
year
gap
anymore.
We
want
to
get
children
help
when
they
need
to
get
help.
D
B
O
Thank
you
so
I'm
Catherine
Quigley
I'm,
the
deputy
director
of
strategic
planning
for
system-wide
accessibility
with
me
tonight,
is
assistant
general
manager,
Laura
brows
throat
board
all
right
who
will
be
giving
them
presentation
tonight
and
then
I'll.
We
will
both
be
available
for
questions.
Okay,.
P
Thanks
Catherine,
all
right,
can
everybody
hear
me
all
right?
Okay,
so
we're
here
tonight
to
talk
to
you
about
a
major
initiative.
That's
been
going
on
at
the
MBTA
for
about
a
year
and
a
half
two
years
now
that
we're
very
excited
to
provide
an
update
on,
and
that
is
what
we're
calling
our
plan
for
accessible
transit
infrastructure
with
the
affectionate
acronym
of
patty,
all
right,
so
Ferb
we're
gonna.
P
First
touch
on
the
overview
of
work
we've
completed
today,
I'm
gonna
talk
about
how
we're
beginning
to
think
about
setting
priorities
between
modes
so
between
bus,
subway
and
commuter
rail,
and
then
think
about
our
setting
priorities
within
modes
and
then
share
with
you.
Some
thoughts
on
our
initial
long-term
recommendations,
short
and
long
term
recommendations
and
then
open
it
up
for
your
feedback,
all
right.
So
one
of
the
first
things
we
did
a
couple
of
years
ago.
As
part
of
this
thinking
about
setting
long
term
priorities
was
to
establish
like
customer
engagements
groups,
specifically
for
patty.
P
So
we
can
be
into
roughly
a
12th
person
external
engagement
committee
that
meets
every
four
to
five
months
to
weigh
in
on
our
work
and
our
decisions
to
date
to
make
sure
that,
ultimately,
our
decisions
reflect
the
community's
desires.
So,
at
the
end
of
this,
when
we're
saying
that
we've
got
this
20
year
plan,
we
know
that
it's
backed
up
by
the
people
that
really
are
gonna
benefit
benefit
from
and
that's
our
users
with
disabilities.
P
I
P
The
barriers
that
we
found
within
our
bus
stops
I,
don't
think
any
of
this
will
surprise.
Sir
average
rider.
We
found
a
tremendous
amount
of
issues
we
found
just
over
two
hundred
stops
where
we
called
them
critically
and
accessible.
These
are
stops
where
anybody
who
uses
will
mobility
wear
is
unable
to
step
up
on
a
curb
would
have
no
other
choice
but
to
board
or
exit
at
street
level,
because
there
was
either
no
curb
ramp
or
no
means
of
accessing
in
the
area
where
the
bus
pulled
us.
P
So
I'll
tell
you
more
about
that
in
the
second.
In
addition
to
those
critical
stops,
we
identified
about
an
additional
900
that
we'd
marked
as
high-priority
stops
and
those
are
stops
where
there
are
at
least
two
significant
barriers
to
accessibility
from
either
a
wacky
cross
slope
to
super
narrow
landing
pad.
There
are
at
least
two
issues
within
the
stop
that
made
it
really
difficult
in
our
opinion,
to
access
to
stop
safely.
I
want
to
point
out
one
thing
here:
that's
important
to
know
about
our
bus
surveys.
P
P
So
we
in
terms
of
subway,
we,
we
certainly
already
had
a
handle
on
which
stops
were
fundamentally
and
accessible.
We
only
have
three
or
four
underground
stations
that
are
not
accessible
today,
which
is
great,
but
we
actually
have
about
30
green
lines.
Surface
level
stops
that
are
not
accessible,
so
we
knew
that
going
into
the
into
the
surveys.
P
But
what
we
found
when
we
looked
at
our
quote
unquote
accessible
surveys
was
that
there
were
a
number
of
issues
even
within
our
accessible
stations,
so
issues
regarding
sidewalks
or
door
force
or
the
height
of
call
boxes,
the
quality
of
ramps.
We
were
able
to
catalogue
a
lot
of
his
shoes
that
potentially
are
barriers
for
our
riders
within
our
accessible
system,
and
the
same
goes
for
our
commuter
rail
commuter
round
stops.
We
identified
a
lot
of
issues
with
detectable
warnings,
ramps
mini
high
platforms
and
canopies.
P
So
when
we're
looking
at
all
these
barriers,
sort
of
the
next
step
is
to
think
about.
Well,
where
are
we
gonna
start?
Should
we
start
just
what
bus
should
we
go
to
commuter?
Rail
is
subway
the
most
important,
so
what
we
did
was
we
started
based
on
feedback
from
our
community
working
group.
We
really
took
a
look
out.
Well,
where
is
our
ridership?
Let
that
be
one
of
the
main
drivers
and
what
you'll
see
between
these
pie
charts
is
that
our
bus
network
really
is
phone
of
the
tea.
P
Sort
of
the
core
red
orange
blue
and
green
bus
is
important
for
everybody
to
a
lesser
extent,
for
the
general
ridership
and
computer
rail,
especially
for
people
with
disability.
Is
you
sort
of
the
least
utilized
load,
so
that
gave
us
reason
to
start
really
thinking
about
making
sure
that
we
focus?
We
we
put
a
healthy
amount
of
attention
on
our
bus
network.
P
So
looking
at
these
bus
stops,
we
thought
about
re
well,
how
are
we
gonna
prioritize
within
these
7,000
stops,
and
actually
this
ended
up
being
relatively
easy,
because,
like
I
mentioned,
we
were
able
to
score
stops
based
on
the
number
of
serious
barrier
barriers
within
within
each
stop.
So
again
we
had
just
over
200
stops
we
deemed
as
critical
those
that
really
needs
to
be
dealt
with
as
soon
as
possible.
P
Just
over
900
that
are
a
high
priority.
I
could
have
stopped
that
we
said
we're
medium
level
priority,
so
those
are
PSAPs
where
somewhere
between
the
Jason
crossing
and
didn't
yeah,
the
second
bus
stop
sign.
There
was
at
least
one
significant
barrier
and
that
I
had
full
of
stops.
We
thought
we're
in
great
shape.
C
P
P
Alright,
so
the
other
way
we're
thinking
about
prioritizing
bus
stops,
he's
looking
at
key
corridors
so
outside
of
the
paddy
initiative,
our
bus
operations
and
service
planning
departments
are
looking
at
exploring
other
ways
of
improving
bus
service.
So
I
don't
know
if
you
all
have
heard
about
this.
This
new
sort
of
interest
in
doing
bus,
dedicated
bus
lanes,
there's
one
that
was
just
piloted
in
Roslindale
people-
are
really
excited
about.
P
It
makes
the
bus
service
travel
much
more
quickly,
so
the
T
is
looking
at
really
high
ridership
corridors
and
thinking
about
things
they
can
do
to
improve
improve
service
along
those
corridors
to
make
service
faster,
more
efficient,
more
accessible.
So
one
way
we're
also
thinking
about
prioritizing
what
stops
to
fix.
First,
he's
really
looking
along
those
corridors
in
coordinating
improvements
with
our
colleagues
in
bus
operations
and
service
planning.
P
Alright,
so
we're
gonna
hop
away
for
Bob
from
bus
for
one
second
talk
about
stations
now
how
we
think
about
station
priorities,
whether
it's
on
the
subway
or
whether
it's
commuter
rail.
So
luckily
there
are
a
lot
fewer
stations
than
there
are
bus,
stops
and
they're
far
much
farther
apart.
Obviously,
so
they
serve
distinct
neighborhoods.
P
So
we
had
on
some
of
our
data
data.
Focused
colleagues
pull
a
bunch
of
different
metrics
for
us,
so
we
started
just
by
asking
what
stations
get
the
most
ridership.
Then
we
asked
what
stations
have
the
most
highest
density
of
seniors
and
people
with
disabilities
living
a
near
by
then.
We
asked,
if
show
us
the
ride,
data
and
near
that
station.
Are
there
lots
of
ride,
pickups
or
drop-offs
there
with
the
thought
that,
if
that
station
became
accessible,
maybe
folks
would
use
that
station
instead
of
feeling
they
needed
to
rely
on
the
ride?
P
We
also
really
wanted
to
make
sure
we
were
not
prioritizing
investments
in
particular
neighborhoods.
So
we
said
we
really
want
to
keep
an
eye
on
prioritizing
stations
in
minor
of
minority
neighborhoods,
and
then
we
also
wanted
to
give
sort
of
a
negative
score
to
station
say
if
there
was
another
great
accessible
option
right
next
door.
P
So
we
created
this
sort
of
master
excel
chart
with
all
of
this
data
and
were
able
to
put
in
different
weights
for
each
category,
but
we
played
around
this
with
our
advisory
committee
and
basically
came
up
with
a
weighting
system
that
gives
us
a
rough
sense
of
what
our
priorities
could
be.
This
is
not
in
any
way
a
scientific
formula
that
is
always
gonna
yield.
P
P
So
with
that
in
mind,
some
of
the
ranking
of
those
Green
Line
stations
isn't
as
critical
because
a
bunch
of
them
would
just
be
swept
up
in
that
effort
same
with
certain.
The
same
goes
for
certain
parts
of
commuter
rail.
Where
there's
talk
about
doing
some
major
track
reconfigurations
on
certain
lines,
and
if
that
happened,
we
would
bring
those
platforms
into
compliance.
So
we're
gonna
have
recommendations
on
top
tier
investments,
but
ultimately
the
investments
may
end
up
really
getting
tied
into
the
other
major
initiatives.
P
And
then
this
is
just
sort
of
a
snapshot
of
kind
of
how
we're
thinking
about
the
20
years
right
now
and
we're
plugging
in
some
specific
projects
as
we
speak.
So
we
know
that
in
the
neck
first,
five
years,
starting
than
fiscal
19,
our
major
goal
is
to
take
all
of
the
low-hanging
fruit.
That's
gonna
have
a
big
impact
on
customers.
P
P
So
again,
so
sort
of
where
do
we
go
from
here?
We
are
within
the
next
three
months,
going
to
be
kind
of
pulling
together
all
of
our
project
level
recommendations.
So,
instead
of
just
saying
we're,
gonna
handle
her
along
to
the
low-hanging
fruit.
We're
gonna
actually
lay
out
recommendations
for
what
that
is,
and
we're
gonna
tackle,
try
and
tackle
that
through
your
from
one
through
ten
and
then
we're
gonna
put
that
out
to
the
public,
get
some
feedback
on
that
and
then
really
work
to
just
get
those
investments
get
those
investments
funded
and
underway.
P
We
already
have
a
significant
amount
of
funding
earmarked
for
bus,
stop
improvements
and
station
improvements,
so
we're
we're
really
ready
to
go
for
year.
One.
We
just
need
to
make
some
final
decisions
on
priorities,
so
I
think
Kathryn
and
I
really
just
want
to
use
tonight
as
an
opportunity
from
our
ridership
in
city
leadership.
What
we
used
to
be
thinking
about
any
concerns
how
you
might
wanna
leverage
data
we
already
have
to
work
together.
Things
like
that.
C
H
O
F
F
It's
the
traffic
is
crazy
and
I.
Remember:
I
was
trying
to
get
on
the
train
to
get
off
the
train
and
I
was
actually
having
heavy
cloud
with
me
and
I
said:
I
was
talked
to
the
driver,
I
can't
get
out,
I
just
stopped
it
and
no,
you
have
to
take
a
bus
stand
and
I
was
kind
MBTA
and
he
said
you
have
to
use
the
bus
to
get
on
to
go
wherever
you
need
to
and
I
just
thought.
F
Okay,
if
I'm
having
this
problem
with
my
cart
but
others
who
ever
use
a
wheelchair
I
mean.
Haven't
we
had
the
same
issue
so
I
haven't
told
you
how
it's
going
to
what
it's
going
to
have
because
the
bus
the
bus
can
go.
The
buses
only
goes
to
a
certain
point:
I
was
traffic,
there's
a
curb
card,
but
even
that
is
impossible
to
pass
because.
C
I
F
You
want
to
get
you
know,
you
have
to
actually
go
to
become
a
movie
circle,
I
mean
so
I
learned
the
hard
way
and
I
just
want
to
mention
that,
and
my
question
is
I
also
so
you
were
looking
at.
Do
you
were
mentioning
the
commuter
rail
I
I
just
see,
there's
only
5%
major
users
used
to
come
here.
Where
is
their
reason,
for
that
like
this
I
mean
the
right
doesn't?
Is
it
because
people
use
the
ride
or
why.
I
C
P
P
I
P
P
Technology,
that's
available
on
bus
and
subway
does
not
work
the
same
way
on
commuter
rail.
So,
as
many
people
know,
when
you
get
on
commuter
rail,
they
still
punch
your
ticket.
It
feels
like
you're
in
a
different
era.
So
there's
a
lot
less
accuracy
to
the
data.
There's
a
lot
of
estimates
so
9
that
doesn't
apply
just
a
disability
ridership.
It
applies
all
ridership
on
commuter
rail.
It's
sort
of
it's
just,
not
perfect.
That's
an
estimate,
there's
lots
of
different
ways.
P
P
P
B
K
K
It's
really
great
that
it's
near
hospitals,
because
I
feel
like
I'm,
taking
my
life
in
my
hands,
so
that
would
definitely
need
improvements
and
also,
as
far
as
recording
the
commuter
rail
ridership
for
people
with
disabilities,
I
actually
have
a
ride.
Id.
That
was
a
pilot
program.
Nobody
knows
how
to
record
that,
because
it's
similar
to
the
tap
pass.
This
was
a
pilot
program.
It's
supposed
to
be
a
half
fare
and
sometimes
people
charge
me
a
half
fare.
Sometimes
people
don't
bother
to
charge
me.
K
Okay,
cuz,
sometimes
they
charge
me
half.
Sometimes
they
don't
bother.
So
nobody,
some
people
just
said.
Oh,
we
just
don't
even
know
what
to
do
with
that.
Oh
no
I,
usually
just
go
as
far
as
Stoughton
and
at
different
stops.
They
told
me
to
get
on
the
platform
or
stay
on
the
ground.
So
if
I
stay
on
the
ground,
its
Toth
and
they
wave
at
me
and
say
you
missed
it
and
I
have
to
wait
two
hours
from
the
next
rain.
Maybe
you
can
follow
up.
L
P
L
P
P
We
know
a
number
of
folks
that
use
it
today
and
it
is
a
great
option
other
than
paratransit,
because
paratransit
travels
as
far
as
within
three-quarters
of
a
mile
of
the
closest
bus
stop
and
the
T
doesn't
have
any
bus
stops
near
Worcester,
so
some
of
our
commuter
rail
stations
would
be
the
most
direct
way
to
get
out
there
for
those
folks
that
really
have
no
other
choice
but
to
use
paratransit.
It
certainly
is
possible
to
transfer
from
the
t's
ride
service
to
like
Worcester
RTA's
paratransit
service,
but
it
does
take
some
coordination.
B
B
Next,
the
interim
chairs
report
and
I'm
gonna
keep
a
very
brief
in
the
interest
of
time,
just
to
say
that
the
legislature
has
about
one
month
left
of
formal
session
and
it's
still
not
too
late
to
contact
your
legislator.
If
you
have
any
concerns,
for
instance,
the
budget
for
next
fiscal
year
is
still
not
out
and
there's
a
2
million
dollar
difference
between
the
House
and
Senate
budget
for
the
mass
Commission
for
the
blind.
There's
an
8
million
dollar
difference
between
the
House
and
Senate
for
the
rapid
transit
of
you
know
for
public
transportation.
B
So
it's
not
too
late
to
contact
your
legislator.
If
you
have
any
concerns,
there
were
only
in
session
for
about
four
more
weeks
and
then
they're
out
of
session
until
January,
because
it's
an
election
year
there's
also
the
architectural
access
I,
don't
believe
those
have
been
reported
out
of
committee.
Yet
so
it
if
you
have
any
concerns,
please
get
in
touch
with
your
legislator
over
the
next
few
days,
especially
concern
for
any
disability
related
matters.
You
have
questions
or
concerns
about.
C
You
Carl,
the
only
thing
I
want
to
report
is
that
our
ad
a
day
celebration
is
coming
up
about
a
month.
Actually,
a
month
from
this
week
it's
July
24th,
it's
Tuesday
from
12:00
to
2:00,
and
we
welcome
everybody
to
attend.
It's
a
on
City
Hall,
plaza,
it's
a
free
event
for
families
and
individuals
with
disabilities.
We
have
food
and
information
tables.
It's
a
lot
of
fun.
You
can
network,
you
can
meet
old
friends,
get
a
nice
t-shirt
with
a
design
from
our
talented
staff.
So
we
we
welcome
everybody
to
come
to
a
DA
day.
E
B
B
C
J
I
just
want
to
report
on
the
great
tool
that
we
develop
recently,
our
City
Hall
plaza
accessibility,
checklist
and
it
is
enable
us
to
communicate
with
the
event
planners
effectively
and
to
have
all
the
information
in
one
place
and
to
flag
potential
issues.
So
we're
we're
very
happy
with
the
results
so
far
and
that's
it
for
me
any
questions.
C
The
checklist
was
the
presentation
that
Sarah
gave
last
meeting
so
like
patricia
said
just
to
follow
up.
It's
been
very
helpful
for
us.
Everyone
who
applies
to
hold
an
event
on
City
Hall
plaza
fills
out
the
checklist,
so
we
get
to
see
if
there
are
stairs
if
there
are
narrow
aisles
if
they
have
wheelchair
accessible
seating
at
any
food
areas.
If
they
have
a
program
if
they'll
have
ASL,
so
it's
been
super
helpful
and
the
whole
city
has
embraced
it.