INDIAN RIVER COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
September 14th, 2004 PACE-EH Special Report

Hurricane Francis tears through Wabasso
but community stands strong

Hurricane Francis brought catastrophic damages to Wabasso, yet it made the community come together and they actually set examples for other communities of how to join together and help each other. Wabasso was one of the most affected areas from Hurricane Francis. Homes were decimated, churches destroyed, and residents who were living in substandard houses found themselves with ceilings and walls caving in, mold, and generally uninhabitable conditions which required many to vacate their homes and find shelter elsewhere.

An amazing and uplifting result of Hurricane Francis was that people were forced to communicate with each other. Many residents did not have insurance and needed assistance with repairs to their homes, removal of fallen trees, finding food and shelter, and in many cases a place to live. They turned to the community for help and the people of Wabasso organized to help each other. After the hurricane, I went door-to-door to perform assessments of the extent of damage to each home in Wabasso. Many residents already had a neighbor or friend help them cut trees down or gather debris that littered their yards. Damaged roofs had been patched by the Wabasso Progressive Civic League or a few other of the skilled tradesmen who resided in the community who stepped forward to volunteer their services. Many elderly were stocked with water and ice and given hot meals by the local churches. Residents were coming together to ensure eachothers basic needs were being met and invoking selfless acts of kindness at a time when everyone had been negatively impacted by Francis and were still reeling from its aftermath.

When I found myself faced with serious damage to my home and a huge oak tree that was literally leaning on my roof, barely hanging on by its roots- it was members of the Wabasso community who rushed over to help me cut the tree. While my neighbors politely asked what damage I had sustained, not one volunteered to help. In fact, one offered to cut one of the fallen treesfor $300.00! I felt as though being involved in the PACE-EH assessment process for Wabasso for nine months and establishing a presence in the area has made me a member of their community and this was further exemplified by their actions of rushing to my aid when I needed them. My community was a stark disappointment in that they did not come together to solve problems; they simply called services from the yellow pages to solve their troubles. Having a sense of community, like in Wabasso, not only helped provide assistance immediately to those who needed it, but it also proved to be comforting to have others to lean on in times of need.

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
July 2004 PACE-EH Progress Report
for the
Wabasso Environmental Assessment

Date:         July 30, 2004

To:             Daniel Parker, MSP, GAL
                  Assistant Division Director, Division of Environmental Health

From:         Julianne Renk, Environmental Specialist

Through:     Cheryl L. Dunn, RS, Environmental Manager

During the month of July, the PACE process continued to produce life changing results for the people of Wabasso, FL. On July 1st, representatives from the Indian River County (IRC) Utilities Department and the IRC Sheriffs Department joined me in meeting Senator Mike Haridpolis at the Republican Headquarters in Vero Beach, FL. We planned to speak to him about the water project we drafted, which would supply water to Wabasso; however, everyone was so curious as to why we were there, that we ended up making a presentation to the entire group of about thirty people. This proved to be extremely beneficial because nobody there knew of the Wabasso community and the third world living conditions that exist within its boundaries. The Senator lent his support to the project and was appreciative to have been enlightened about Wabasso. I am becoming increasingly aware that exposing the fact that this community (Wabasso) exists in a county that is known for its affluence is a shock to many people. Once they learn of the living conditions in Wabasso, then the concern, compassion, and offers to help are extended.

A case in point is a gentleman who essentially donated twenty mobile homes to anyone in Wabasso who could use them. A developer bought the land that the mobile homes were on and needed to get rid of them. The developer pledged $10,000 to move them. So far, I have coordinated for three trailers to go to families who, quite frankly, had homes that were of condemnable stature. Some homes will have to be demolished which, during the month of July, through departmental collaboration, the homes have been inspected and permits to demolish have been issued. The first house came down on July 27th and was a huge event for Wabasso. Freeman Wiggs, who is 81 years old, had lived in the house for over thirty years and actually built the house with his own hands! The house was literally caving in so he moved into his inoperable car, where he has been living for almost three years now. He never had a bathroom or a well so the house came down and was removed in a time period of two hours. The demolishing services were donated and the press was there to cover the story and to promote the improvement of the housing situation that we have appropriately coined Project Hope.

Project Hope came to fruition during the month of July through a phone call from a contractor in Brevard County who read about the living conditions in Wabasso and the plight of the people who made up the community. She is affiliated with a network of over 500 volunteers who will visit Wabasso once a month to repair and rebuild peoples homes. The first thing they will do is to build Freeman Wiggs a home! Construction is anticipated to begin in September and the plans are being drafted this week. The volunteers will continue to visit Wabasso and work on homes with the intentions of continuing work as long as they can identify residents in need of help. I compiled a list of residents that will last them at least a year! Donations are coming in already for the project and I anticipate it to be a tremendous aid for the people of Wabasso that will truly give them HOPE for a better way of life.

Other significant events in July included the July 19th community meeting and the steering committee meeting on July 12th. Both meetings were extremely productive and positive. Once again, the tone for the meetings has completely changed from negative, angry outcries to applause and cries of joy relating to the recent improvements taking place in the community. On July 6th, I teamed with Teddy Floyd from the IRC Sheriff Department to do a radio show about Wabasso and the PACE-EH initiative. The majority of my time this month was allocated towards distributing easements and collecting them for the Wabasso water project. Please see the following regarding PACE-EH steps for further progress notes.

Demonstration of PACE-EH Methodology
in the
Planning Process in Wabasso, FL:

Task 1: Determine community capacity to undertake the assessment.

Action: The IRCHD has pledged its support for undertaking this project. Key community leaders have expressed interest in initiating a process to evaluate and improve their community and evidence of partnerships between IRC officials and members of the Wabasso community have been solidified.
Outcome: This task has been completed.

Task 2: Define and characterize the community.

Action: Establish contact with the Wabasso community to effectively and accurately characterize the community. Select from key leaders such as church ministers, civic leagues, schools, and the Daisy Hope Center to gain knowledge of these characteristics. Acquire information from IRC officials regarding physical definitions of this specific community.
Outcome: Contact with community members was established and each members input was gathered to form a mosaic that represents the character of the Wabasso community. Specific information pertaining to the demographics of the community was obtained through the IRC Community Development Dept. and was further narrowed down to the specific area of Wabasso mentioned for this PACE-EH grant.

Task 3: Assemble a community-based environmental health assessment team

Action: Generate suggestions from community residents as to who they would like to have take part in a steering committee. Identify key leaders with diverse backgrounds who would be willing to take part in the steering committee. Ensure that a variety of community leaders are represented and also extend invitations to government officials, residents, church leaders, and special interest groups.
Outcome: After receiving many suggestions from the community as to who should sit on the steering committee, a list was compiled of desirable candidates. Formal letters were sent out to 18 of these individuals on March 10th inviting them to join the steering committee. Fifteen have accepted and meetings have been scheduled.

Task 4: Define the goals, objectives, and scope of the assessment

Action: Collaborate with health officials to establish goals, objectives, and scope of assessment. Ensure that all involved parties are on the same page as far as the intended effects and understanding of the assessment.
Outcome: This task has been completed and documented accordingly.

Task 5: Generate a list of community-specific environmental health issues

Action: Develop a survey as a tool to identify community issues that would be distributed to each member of the community. Make all possible efforts to get each community members input so as to ensure accurate representation of the communitys issues and concerns over specific environmental health issues. Involve community in gathering this input and include them in the distribution of the survey.
Outcome: On Feb. 23rd, a draft of the environmental assessment survey was distributed to members of the community who attended the community meeting. They were asked to suggest any changes or improvements and return them before the next meeting. At the next meeting, the final draft of the survey was distributed to all attendees and the intentions were stated that the survey would also be conducted door-to-door to ensure maximum participation. The survey includes over fifteen community-specific environmental health issues.

Task 6: Analyze issues with a systems framework

Action: Utilize the steering committee to invoke their broadly applicable skills so that they may analyze each issue. Using the environmental assessment survey results, evaluate each issues validity and consider how each issue impact quality of life.
Outcome: This task has been addressed and completed through the continuous meetings with the steering committee.

Task 7: Identify locally appropriate indicators

Action:

Outcome:

Task 8: Select standards against which local status can be approved

Action:

Outcome:

Task 9: Create issue profiles

Action: Take issues that were identified by the community and expand and investigate information as it pertains specifically to the Wabasso community. Contact county officials to gain knowledge on what has occurred in the past pertaining to each issue and what actions occurred in the past with regards to each specific issue.
Outcome: This task has been completed and documented accordingly.

Task 10: Rank issues

Action: Using the survey results, quantify the top five issues and rank them accordingly to highest number of responses. Use an excel spreadsheet to show the results of how community members ranked the issues.
Outcome: Survey results were tabulated and the list of ranked issues was considered among community leaders and the steering committee. Some issues were included under major issue such as safety to avoid duplication.

Task 11: Set priorities for action

Action: Present all quantitative and qualitative evidence regarding community issues, suggested solutions, and current status to the steering committee. At the first meeting, identify actions and prioritize according to the need of the action.
Outcome: During the second steering committee meeting, this task was completed. Four issues were identified as top priorities. These issues were discussed in great detail and identified as priorities for which immediate action is required.

Task 12: Develop action plan(s)

Action: Once the actions have been prioritized by the steering committee, an action plan must be developed. The steering committee must brainstorm and identify resources to carry through with the action plan. This should be completed by the second meeting of the steering committee (June 2004). Establish a timeline and encourage creative problem solving.
Outcome: At the June 7th steering committee meeting, plans for action were created for the top five ranked issues. The committee brainstormed and created feasible solutions that can be applied to each issue. At the third steering committee, a timeline to carry out these action was created.

Task 13: Evaluate progress and plan for the future

Action: During each steering committee meeting and community meetings, update attendees on where we started and the progress that we have made since the initial starting point of the PACE-EH initiative. Secure a vision for the future by developing a plan that includes input from community members and leaders. Develop a time line for accomplishments and incorporate future plans and goals into the timeline.
Outcome: