As a member of the Haddam Board of Selectmen, I look forward to meeting with the Killingworth and Haddam Boards of Selectmen, and the Killingworth and Haddam Boards of Finance at Youth and Family Services of Haddam-Killingworth, Inc. office on Tuesday, April 3 at 7 p.m. to discuss our shared communities' needs.
YFS-HK will present to the elected officials, the public and the press the current state of YFS-HK, its services it provides to our two towns, and their need of our support so they can better serve our communities. YFS-HK has requested $95,000 from each of our two towns this budget season for the 2007-08 fiscal year.
As taxpayers, we need to listen and discuss how to best dispense town dollars where they are needed. YFS has demonstrated that they are feeling the frustrating effects of trying to serve our residents with counseling services and preventive programming with minimal staff and an inadequate budget.
Since 2002, I've attended YFS's monthly Prevention Council meetings as a concerned citizen and as Board of Selectmen liaison. (The Prevention Council is an arm of YFS, comprised of an average of twenty or so key stake-holders from our community--police, government officials, clergy, school administrators, students, counselors, social service professionals, and parents). I am fully aware of the collaborative efforts of YFS to involve all segments of our two communities to aid in the prevention of problems (addiction and negative drains on society), and promoting healthy asset-building activities in Haddam and Killingworth.
In the past two years, I've also witnessed a complete reorganization of their agency, of programming and fiscal prudence as YFS has come before the Board of Selectmen at budget time. During this time of rebuilding ,YFS has treaded lightly, almost timidly, as they've sought meager funding from our two towns.
But our communities' needs have grown in its need for intervention and is desiring healthy programming (Recently forty youth signed up to participate in Habitat for Humanity, under the guidance of YFS, but the already stretched staff is concerned about the ability to provide guidance for the group). YFS is speaking up for what they need to meet our needs.
As a parent with two teenagers, I am "in the trenches". I see and hear and experience what current families raising youth are seeing, hearing and experiencing.
I fear that if we do not support this agency at this critical time, its staff is likely to burn out. Both of our communities will lose the positive momentum we've gained. We need to be working in grateful partnership with YFS-HK and give them our full attention on April 3.
Sincerely,
Tanja B. Moriarty
Haddam Selectwoman, taxpayer, and parent