For more information on this project, contact Cheryl Dunn, Environmental Health Director, or Julianne Renk, PACE-EH Coordinator, at the Indian River County Health Department.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
September, 2004 PACE-EH Report
Date: October
8, 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
Subject:
September Wabasso PACE-EH Grant Update
Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne ripped through West Wabasso in
September, and mired the routine PACE-EH efforts that were taking place
in prior months. Two community meetings were cancelled due to the hurricanes.
Issues that had been identified by the community experienced setbacks
in terms of physical progress; for example, utility poles that streetlight
were to be placed on have been snapped in two in many cases and others are
leaning on homes or unstable. Perhaps the issue most impacted by the effects
of two hurricanes hitting West Wabasso is housing. Residents of the West
Wabasso community were living in substandard housing before the hurricanes
arrived and the forces from two hurricanes literally decimated the homes
in this community. Thus, the approach to improving housing in the had to
be modified to reflect the serious condition of not only lack of housing,
but rebuilding homes that were blown apart by the hurricanes.
In the recovery process which occurred after each hurricane, large amounts
of time were dedicated to assessing the communitys immediate needs for
survival. The community helped cut trees, pick up debris, check on elderly,
and cooking food to those who didnt have any. I went door-to-door to check
on residents and to identify their needs with officials from the Public
Health Service who were deployed to help in the hurricane recovery efforts.
After identifying needs within the community, we tried to help meet them
as they applied to public health. We administered larvicide for large areas
of standing water or pools, handed out MREs to those who needed food, helped
get water and ice to those who needed it, gave diapers, formula, wipes,
hand sanitizer, DEET, and in many cases we just listened to peoples troubles
and concerns. We also were equipped with information resources relating
to FEMA and the Red Cross, who both made visits to Wabasso, that we made
people aware of during our assessment.
The month of September was unique due the fact that Hurricane
Frances and Jeanne happened to deliver direct hits to West Wabasso. The
PACE-EH process was applied to identifying issues that resulted from the
hurricanes impact. Re-organization of this project as it applied to the
situation at hand was necessary due to the importance of focusing on the
immediate needs and issues created by the hurricanes. By doing door-to-door
assessments, we continued to identify needs and issues within the scope
of the PACE-EH process and if fact, it lent to the environmental assessment
which is ongoing since January 2004.
Past Indian River County Updates
August
and July, 2004
June,
2004
May,
2004
Media Coverage
The following files are provided in the Adobe Acrobat pdf format.
Files over 100 kb in size that may take longer to download and
view, have their file size listed.
October 18, 2004 -
Storms stall Wabasso help
September, 2004 -
PACE Progress Report
for the Wabasso Environmental Assessment (620 kb)
(From the Florida Journal of Environmental Health)
September 28, 2004 -
Storms run Wabasso family
out of own, borrowed homes
August 28, 2004 -
Families get new homes
August 11, 2004 - Draft Brochure,
Bringing Basic
Needs to a Forgotten Community (1.4 meg file)
July 30, 2004 -
Kindness rules in Wabasso (109 kb)
July 28, 2004 -
Teens team up to build
man's house
June 2, 2004 -
Indian River seeks aid
for water
May 26, 2004 -
Groups enlist residents
to help revive Wabasso
May 11, 2004 -
Wabasso may have to
wait a year for street lights to come on
May 9, 2004 -
Town hall meeting to
address Wabasso's needs
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