Shelter Island Health & Wellness Committee to seek funding increase

The newly created Health & Wellness Committee, which opted to become an official Town committee this year, will re-up for a second year, but seek a bigger budget than the $200 allocated for this year.

Members say they aren’t looking to bust the budget, but based on activities this first year, members have been laying out money for advertising events and waiting repayment.

To ensure money will be available, at their Sept. 12 meeting they ultimately decided to ask for $1,500 to cover the cost of advertisements for four events plus the cost of a mailed survey to the public to help assess the social and health needs of Islanders.

Among the programs offered this year were a discussion marking World Brain Day and the Vigil of Hope. The group anticipates making changes to both programs to keep them fresh and effective.

During a discussion about whether a social worker could serve both the Town and school, Deputy Supervisor Meg Larsen, who is a liaison to the committee, said while school officials were open to the possibility, scheduling would be a problem since many appointments for those seeking assistance from social worker Alexandra Hakim are available on weekends, and the school operates on weekdays. To avoid overtime costs, other ways are being explored.

Ms. Hakim, who has been working part time, said she’s not receiving standard pay for the 16 hours she puts in each week, and is paid less than what the Town’s previous social worker received.

She will be pleased to know the Town has identified a private place for Ms. Hakim to meet with clients. There were “a few glitches” in working out the space, but they have been overcome.

Ms. Hakim must be supervised by a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has a Licensed Master of Social Work degree from a Council on Social Work Education Program. Ms. Hakim possesses a Licensed Master’s Degree in Social Work and must put in a designated number of hours of supervision and pass an exam administered by an Association of Social Work Board. The Town is paying the cost of supervision, Ms. Larsen said.

“Overall, we are working to make the position a more defined and consistent position,” Ms. Larsen said. “There are a lot of technical requirements that we are trying to make sure we are meeting,” she said.