Two weeks ago, I shared information on vacancies on Town committees and boards. There’s another one to add to that list.
Southborough Youth and Family Services asked me to put out a call for a volunteer to serve on their oversight board, the Southborough Youth Commission.
For those not fully familiar with the Commission’s work, it relates to more than just community youth. They support the mission of SYFS, which is “to provide compassionate and equitable behavioral health and social services to Southborough residents”.
All resident-applicants* will be considered, but they are promoting stronger consideration of candidates with one or more of the following:
- experience in the mental health/ behavioral health field
- experience in social services and public assistance
- experience in prevention and early intervention in mental health and/or substance use
- the ability to relate to and communicate the perspective of underserved populations
It’s worth noting that the final bullet is a new addition since they advertised a vacancy last year.
The announcement notes:
Candidates should demonstrate a sensitivity to all persons, regardless of faith, economic status, disability, culture, race, age, gender, sexual orientation, and human condition.
Here are other important details from the announcement:
The Youth Commission meets once per month. Board members are expected to attend monthly meetings and to respond on a timely basis to emails and texts from the town department. Additionally, board members assist the SYFS Director with tasks related to the department’s operations and programs. . .
Southborough Youth Commission’s responsibilities include:
- To advise and support Southborough Youth and Family Services programming
- To advise the Director of Southborough Youth and Family Services in matters of staffing and other organizational decisions
- To support Southborough Youth and Family Services outreach in the community
- To advise and support the Director of Southborough Youth and Family Services in preparation of the annual Youth and Family Services budget, and other Youth and Family Services expenses
- To collaborate with Southborough Youth and Family Services and the Friends of the Southborough Youth Commission and support their fundraising efforts
The Southborough Youth Commission supports Southborough Youth and Family Services in providing low-cost or no-cost services to the Southborough Community in:
1. Mental health support for all Southborough residents
2. Need-based emergency financial assistance services
3. Outreach programs in the schools and community for improved mental health
4. Community-wide goals for the wellbeing of residents of Southborough. . .Interested candidates should contact the Youth Commission’s chair, Lauren Richey, at lrichey@southboroughma.com and complete the Town of Southborough’s Volunteer Form [here.]
You can learn more about SYFS’ full range of services here. You can learn more about the Commission (including agendas and minutes of past meetings) here.
To watch some of SYC’s recent meetings, click here.
Reminder, there are several other committees that still have openings, including the Community Exploratory Committee being created this summer. To read about those volunteer opportunities, click here.
*The announcement notes that to serve, you must be a resident of Southborough. Under Town bylaws, that’s true for all of our committees and boards. (The exception is ex-officio members on some committees, who are often Town employees. Those members serve in a non-voting, advisory capacity.)
(raised hands cropped from public domain image by Karen Arnold)
