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Record of Proceedings

Rockville Human Services Advisory Commission Meeting - September 2, 2026

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, September 2, 2026
BodyRockville, Maryland
SessionMeeting Portal
DateWednesday, September 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:39:19

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:06

I'll share my screen.

0:09

I'm down the street, Bill.

0:10

So if you're like, oh, I need someone to join me, I would have joined in.

0:14

But uh I'm down the street at uh at um Julius West.

0:20

Okay.

0:21

But uh you can head home if you if you're able to safely.

Unassigned speaker

0:26

All

Speaker 2

0:27

right, can you all see my screen?

Speaker 1

0:29

Yes, ma'am.

Speaker 2

0:30

I can.

Speaker 1

0:33

Well, I don't want to waste uh I want to make sure we're on time here.

0:37

I want to thank everyone for joining.

0:39

Today is October 15th.

0:42

So this is our October meeting.

0:44

Thank you everyone for joining.

0:46

We have uh we have uh uh a pretty light agenda today to kind

Unassigned speaker

0:51

of

Speaker 1

0:51

help us move through what we want to get done, which is to hit um

Unassigned speaker

0:55

uh

Speaker 1

0:56

needs assessment recommendation and review.

0:58

But first we're gonna call the meeting to order.

1:01

I think we have enough people to uh have a quorum.

1:05

So I call the meeting to order at 63.

1:09

The first order of business is to see how everyone's doing.

1:13

Uh I I'm sorry it's not in here, but how is everyone doing?

1:16

Is there anyone that's got anything they want to share?

1:20

We haven't seen Dr.

1:21

Jessica in a while, and and Dr.

1:23

Ravi.

1:23

So welcome back.

1:25

Hope you had a good summer.

Speaker 3

1:30

Yeah, thank you, Ricky.

1:31

I'm doing well.

1:32

Thank you.

1:33

Sorry, I couldn't join the last meeting.

Speaker 4

1:39

Same here.

1:40

My dog is doing a little better now, so now I'm

Unassigned speaker

1:42

here.

Speaker 1

1:44

That's good to hear.

1:45

Thank you very much.

1:47

Well, uh uh during the summer months, we took uh a month off.

1:52

Our I I think our renewed focus is to make sure that each month we are uh investigating something unique, something nice that would help our citizens, and then uh aim to report back to the mayor and council.

2:06

I want to uh while I'm on in uh in for this year.

2:09

I want to make sure that we focus in on uh adding value to the mayor and council by giving them some kind of insight from whatever we discuss.

2:18

So right now I'm hoping that we can take a look at the needs assessment, see what in info we can glean from it.

2:25

Maybe we can affect.

2:27

I know we're closing the the uh needs, the grants is closed now, right?

2:32

Elsa, is that right?

2:34

The grant cycle is closed for this year.

Speaker 5

2:37

Yes, we're gonna start up.

2:38

We're starting up soon the grant cycle for FY27 though.

2:42

But yeah, the cycle is closed and they're actually issuing the first quarter of payments right now.

Speaker 1

2:47

Yep.

2:48

So they already put out the request for people to sit on the panels.

2:51

If you guys are still interested, I I don't know if that's still open, but uh please respond to that email to get yourself on a panel so you can help decide where money uh should go.

3:04

Uh so that's community forum, unless anybody else anything else to add.

Speaker 6

3:09

I just want to add just a little sidebar.

3:12

I would love to serve on a panel, but I was told that I'm unable to because I am a service recipient.

3:21

But uh I'm sure that we have members of the commission if you choose to serve, who will do an excellent job.

Speaker 1

3:38

If I'm selected as one of the members, I'm gonna touch base with you and see what matters to you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement██████████████████████████████████34%
Public Health██████████████14%
Public Engagement██████████████14%
Youth Programs█████████9%
Civic Engagement███████7%
Budget Equity Analysis██████6%
Procedural█████5%
Human Services███3%
Procurement███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Rockville Human Services Advisory Commission Meeting - September 2, 2026

The Rockville Human Services Advisory Commission (HSAC) held its September meeting on September 2, 2026, chaired by Ricky. The meeting focused on reviewing the city's Human Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis, community program updates, and planning future actions. Key decisions included rejecting a proposal to create additional reference documents for grant review panels and setting future meeting topics.

Approval of Minutes

  • The minutes from the previous meeting (September 2026) were approved unanimously by voice vote after a motion by Deborah and second by Nancy.

Community Services Report

  • Elsa provided an update on city programs: National Recovery Month concluded with a lunch-and-learn with Tree of Hope, which offers free resources including anonymous support groups and 24-hour overdose assistance.
  • Holiday drive preparations: The city aims to serve over 900 families for Thanksgiving meals and up to 1,500 children for December gift-giving. Volunteer opportunities and an Amazon wish list are available.
  • RockKids programs: Social-emotional learning and academic support are emphasized. A new mentor training program and merged middle school soccer teams were introduced.
  • Counseling program: One counselor left; current caseload is 24 with a single staff member. Additional support is needed.
  • Linkages to Learning: Expanded after-school programming to four days a week, including STEM, arts, and dance.
  • Housing programs: Increased calls for REAP (emergency assistance) and MPDU inquiries. A second cycle of Bank on Rockville financial empowerment classes started in October. The FY25 grant cycle closed, with panels starting for FY27.
  • Elsa noted that the city anticipated increased housing needs due to economic conditions and increased holiday drive numbers from 700 to 900+ families.

Human Needs Assessment Review

  • Sarah presented key challenges and potential solutions from the Human Needs Assessment (conducted by Health Management Associates). Areas covered included:
    • City-County Partnerships: Better alignment with county services, creation of a joint advisory board.
    • System Navigation & Care Coordination: Need for case management, transportation, financial literacy, and streamlined information.
    • Behavioral Health & Substance Use: Gaps in crisis services, residential treatment beds, and workforce shortages.
    • Housing: Need for more affordable units (30-80% AMI), pre-eviction services, and granny unit matching programs.
    • Aging: Need for adult day programs and better coordination with county aging services.
    • At-Risk Youth & Teens: Need for more school resource officers and community-based wraparound services.

Discussion on Next Steps

  • Members discussed how to use the needs assessment to inform grant-making. Ricky suggested creating a one-page synthesis for the mayor and council. Sarah and others cautioned against duplicating the council's already-received report. A motion was made and seconded to not create additional references for the grant review panel; the motion passed without dissent.
  • Several members emphasized HSAC's unique role in recommending funding allocation (Deborah) and the need to advocate for ongoing priorities like housing and case management (Rima, Nancy).
  • Elsa agreed to follow up with the new collective impact manager about incorporating the needs assessment into future RFPs and panel training. The timeline for RFP drafting is around July; HSAC can suggest language earlier.
  • Discussion on county coordination: Nancy noted past difficulties engaging the county council but highlighted the role of Nonprofit Montgomery as a potential advocacy partner. Elsa confirmed continued collaboration with Nonprofit Montgomery.
  • Members raised the need to avoid conflict of interest given some members apply for grants.

Key Outcomes

  • The commission voted not to create additional reference documents for grant review panels (motion by Deborah, second by Nancy; passed).
  • Future speakers: Rima will invite Friendship Bench from DC; Ricky will invite Tree of Hope to present outcomes. The new collective impact manager will attend the November meeting for introductions.
  • Elsa will share volunteer links and Amazon wish list for the holiday drive.
  • The next meeting is scheduled for November 19, 2026 (third week of November).

Meeting Transcript

I'll share my screen. I'm down the street, Bill. So if you're like, oh, I need someone to join me, I would have joined in. But uh I'm down the street at uh at um Julius West. Okay. But uh you can head home if you if you're able to safely. All right, can you all see my screen? Yes, ma'am. I can. Well, I don't want to waste uh I want to make sure we're on time here. I want to thank everyone for joining. Today is October 15th. So this is our October meeting. Thank you everyone for joining. We have uh we have uh uh a pretty light agenda today to kind of help us move through what we want to get done, which is to hit um uh needs assessment recommendation and review. But first we're gonna call the meeting to order. I think we have enough people to uh have a quorum. So I call the meeting to order at 63. The first order of business is to see how everyone's doing. Uh I I'm sorry it's not in here, but how is everyone doing? Is there anyone that's got anything they want to share? We haven't seen Dr. Jessica in a while, and and Dr. Ravi. So welcome back. Hope you had a good summer. Yeah, thank you, Ricky. I'm doing well. Thank you. Sorry, I couldn't join the last meeting. Same here. My dog is doing a little better now, so now I'm here. That's good to hear. Thank you very much. Well, uh uh during the summer months, we took uh a month off. Our I I think our renewed focus is to make sure that each month we are uh investigating something unique, something nice that would help our citizens, and then uh aim to report back to the mayor and council. I want to uh while I'm on in uh in for this year. I want to make sure that we focus in on uh adding value to the mayor and council by giving them some kind of insight from whatever we discuss. So right now I'm hoping that we can take a look at the needs assessment, see what in info we can glean from it. Maybe we can affect. I know we're closing the the uh needs, the grants is closed now, right? Elsa, is that right? The grant cycle is closed for this year. Yes, we're gonna start up.

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