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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
December, 2005 PACE EH Report

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

From:          Julianne Renk Price, Environmental Specialist

Through:     Cheryl L. Dunn, RS, Environmental Manager

Subject:      December 2005 Wabasso PACE EH Grant Update

Throughout December 2005, three significant happenings occurred that pertained to the PACE process in Wabasso. On December 5th, a Wabasso Community Meeting was held and the focus for the meeting was on the water project. The consultants for the water project, which will install county water lines throughout the neighborhood and to resident’s homes, were at the meeting along with county staff to answer questions and help residents fill out paperwork. It was announced that construction for the $825,000 project will begin in a few months. The community meeting went well and many residents were able to get direct answers pertaining to the project.

The second notable event this month was the installation of sidewalks in Wabasso. Sidewalks were identified as an issue in the PACE environmental assessment, so through a partnership between Chronic Disease Program and Environmental Health, combined with the award of a Closing the Gap grant for $25,000, the issue has been “solved.” The project cost $43,000; however, the county picked up the remaining cost to make the project become a reality. The community is excited about the improvement to the neighborhood and with the recent addition of streetlights, which were another identified issue “solved,” the appearance of this forgotten community is truly improving.

The third event which occurred this month was incredibly spectacular and involved Santa Claus. Project Hope was created in 2004 when they read about Wabasso in newspaper articles related to PACE EH activities. Once the group visited Wabasso, they resolved to build homes for residents and have been working to do so ever since then. For Christmas, they made giving trees at local churches and bought at least ten families wrapped presents and gift cards to Winn-Dixie for Christmas dinners. The Project Hope contractor’s husband dressed up as Santa Claus and Detective Teddy Floyd of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Department secured the departments PT Cruiser vehicle to transport us on Christmas Eve to deliver all the presents. Many children had nothing for Christmas, so the combination of getting to see Santa Claus and receiving presents was nothing short of miraculous to them.

Looking over the entire year of 2005, there have been great achievements with the PACE EH program in Wabasso. Agency partnerships have strengthened and I can attribute most of the actual improvements to collaborations with departments such as the Indian River County Sheriff’s Department, the Utilities Department, the Community Development Department, the County Commissioners, the Public Works Department, and the County Administrator. Without such partnerships, little progress can be achieved. Working together to solve issues identified by the Wabasso community via the PACE process, we have succeeded in drastically improving the quality of life for the residents of Wabasso.

October, 2005

September, 2005

August, 2005

July, 2005

May, 2005

April, 2005

March, 2005

February, 2005

January, 2005

December, 2004

November, 2004

October, 2004

September, 2004

July and August, 2004

June, 2004

May, 2004

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.

February 18, 2006 - West Wabasso finds success in long quest for county water

January 23, 2006 - Gospel Fest to raise money for hurricane repairs in Wabasso

December, 2005 - In My Opinion: West Wabasso Assessment Project Update (From the Florida Journal of Environmental Health)

October 10, 2005 - West Wabasso residents rejoice over water project

October 7, 2005 - West Wabasso to get county water

September 20, 2005 - Indian River County replaces septic tanks for 10 families in west Wabasso

July 8, 2005 - Indian River health officials receive national award

June, 2005 - Spring 2005 PACE Progress Report for the Wabasso Environmental Assessment (380 kb) (From the Florida Journal of Environmental Health)

June 17, 2005 - World Changers group fixes homes in West Wabasso

June 15, 2005 - Impoverished area to get waterlines

June 12, 2005 - World Changers redo Wabasso

May 1, 2005 - Water System on its way to Wabasso

December 25, 2004 - Woman's work aids west Wabasso residents

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