Date/Time: 2/23/23 5pm EST

In Attendance:

Alexandra Nyman, President

Erin Ranta, Vice President

Kate Vitela, Secretary

Christy Primmer, Treasurer

Joseph Sewell, Regional Manager, Recovery Centers of America

Agenda:

1. Evaluate and revise the scholarship application for potential recipients to determine level of need & potentially secure treatment at Recovery Centers of America.

2. Introduce new member roles/job duties:

a. Kate Vitela- Secretary (keep roles documented, maintain meeting minutes)

b. Christy Primmer- Treasurer (budget report, finances, oversee financial bodies)

Minutes:

Insurance:

1. Liability insurance for nonprofit organizations has now been obtained.

a. Effective: 2/21/23

2. Cost is $250/year.

3. Access to the insurance portal is now available.

4. Quotes provided to the president.

a. Subcategories include:

i. Liquor Liability

ii. Social Service Professionals – for online meetings

iii. 817 Improper sexual conduct liability

b. Umbrella Coverage:

i. General liability for venues for gala and fashion show

ii. Social Service Professional liability

iii. Board of Directors/Officers

iv. Transportation Coverage – NA

v. Terrorism Coverage – NA

c. It was noted that RCA will be transporting patients physically to and from their facilities and will not be a duty of the board members.

5. Smart Recovery Meeting Format Discussion

a. Discussed with Erin, Alexandra & Kate

i. Smart Recovery training is needed for all parties to host meetings in the future.

ii. Facebook group progress review

i. Noted members are mostly in early recovery.

ii. Substance use varies between alcohol, meth, and prescription meds.

iii. Members are open/willing to discuss any addiction issues regardless of their utilization history.

iv. Sober stories being shared frequently.

v. Questions coming in regarding “Sober Curiosity.”

vi. Most Facebook members wanted an open forum meeting and were familiar with AA/NA

vii. Facebook Group has around 5,000 members

iii. Poll for group meetings provided to members.

iv. Members of Facebook group will be provided with scholarship information soon.

6. Venue Deposit for Break Free Fashion Show 9/22

a. Venue deposit was not reimbursed in September 2022

i. An available legal aid reviewed the deposit agreement. Their view was that it was a security deposit in “good faith.”

ii. It appears that the deposit is being unreasonably held.

b. Alexandra attempted to probe business associate at venue, and he responded that he

believed Break Free was using the money for future deposits despite no stated agreement outlined that.

i. Venue owner associated has seemingly “spent the money.”

c. Question to the group was asked by president, Alexandra regarding seeking further legal action through the Voluntary Legal Association. (VLA)

i. Christy voiced her concern of lawyers taking on pro-bono work facing barriers

e.g., financial, or other overlapping legal loopholes. (i.e., conflict of interest)

ii. Decision was made amongst the board to wait and evaluate further outcomes.

i. A timeline for resolution provided would be best case scenario.

ii. Alexandra will organize documentation from the discovery of interactions, invoices, banking records etc. showing money exchanged and show dates.

7. Break Free Discrimination, Harassment & Retaliation Policy

a. Reviewed by Alexandra for the board to vote unanimously on.

i. Information on how to report incidents in the states of NY and NJ, i.e. law enforcement etc. was discussed as a possible amendment to the policy in the future. (For incidents which occur at a live event)

ii. In cases of an occurrence where people need to report something in an online meeting their local state laws would apply.

b. Terms of discrimination policy were described in detail and examples provided.

c. The group decided that the policy was very thorough and complete. All parties were

covered, and the language was determined to be adequate.

8. Scholarship Intake Form

a. The form was reviewed in its entirety and analyzed for amendments.

b. The form was determined to be a bit long and condensed for maximum utilization.

c. Agreement amongst the group was unanimous that the form should gather as much information as possible yet also be brief and concise.

d. All members agreed that recipient's motivation for treatment and commitment to stay for

the duration of 30 days to complete treatment was also important.

e. Break Free website hosts the scholarship application and is downloadable.

i. Scholarship applications will be promoted through Break Free Facebook group and other web-based advertisement avenues.

ii. Candidates will be chosen based on financial need and urgency.

iii. Applicants will be reviewed by the board and turned over to RCA for further evaluation each month end.

i. Joshua Sewell will analyze bed availability at RCA regarding inpatient status and assist to fill open beds with scholarship recipients.

iv. The outpatient Realization Center at RCA will allow scholarship for only 120 days if the candidate does not have insurance.

i. Scholarship will not cover prescription medications.

v. RCA will assess motivation for treatment and further screen candidate’s financial resources etc.

vi. Exclusionary criteria for candidates will be determined by RCA.

i. Medication assisted treatment questions were added to the scholarship form as possible exclusionary criteria. Methadone maintenance or detox is not feasible at RCA due to licensing issues.

ii. Other exclusionary criteria may involve non-English speaking candidates due to RCA treatment restraints.

vii. RCA will plan for discharge after 30 days is completed.

f. Potential other facilities for scholarship program:

i. Ascendent Detox, NYC

9. Upcoming Board Meetings

a. Next meeting is 3/23/23.