EH Home About Us Communities Radiation Medicine Water Sewage Programs Newsroom Data

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
June, 2006 PACE EH Report

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

From:          Julianne Price, Environmental Specialist

Through:     Cheryl L. Dunn, RS, Environmental Manager

Subject:     June 2006 Wabasso PACE Grant Update

PACE Progress Report for the Wabasso Environmental Assessment

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” –Thomas Edison Lack of affordable housing was an issue identified in the initial Wabasso PACE Assessment and one which we have had trouble executing an action plan to remedy. The Steering Committee developed an initial plan that included a contractor and fund raising, but the contractor’s commitment dissolved and we had to revamp our plan. Fortunately, Regatta Construction rose to the occasion and is building a house for a family in 24 hours on August 26th. The foundation is being poured ahead of time so that the expected 400 subcontractors will be able to assemble the house in one day. Two other residents who were most in need, have received grants from the county to build new homes, also. It truly takes commitment and perseverance to solve issues when action plans go awry; however, the organization of the community and commitment from the steering committee has certainly helped to see that another solution was possible. Instead of giving up, we have all worked together to change the plan of action until a solution was found.

The community meeting on June 5th was well attended and the contractors for the water project which construction is to begin this month were present to introduce themselves and answer questions. Staff from the county utilities were also in attendance for support and informational purposes. Many announcements were given such as the completion of the septic grant and news of eleven proposed developments located within a one mile of West Wabasso. Detective Teddy Floyd and I have been making a concerted effort to attend the Indian River County Planning Technical Review Committee meetings to give input and comment on proposed developments. We have seen positive results already and intend to continue participating in this function, not only for PACE relevant issues, but so that we may work to improve the overall link between planning and public health.

A large amount of time this month was dedicated to organizing the Wabasso Health Assessment which will serve to quantify the PACE efforts in the Wabasso community over the past 2 ½ years. Door-to-door tactics and an event on Aug. 19th will be involved to allow residents to fill out survey. We have developed a database to be able to quantify our results. Gift cards to Winn-Dixie will be given to those who complete the survey as incentives and the assessment process will end with a “community celebration” on Aug. 19th which will also serve to try to capture those who we were not able to reach going door-to-door. Everyone seems very excited about the survey and we are anxious to compile the results. “The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

May, 2006

April, 2006

March, 2006

January/February, 2006

December, 2005

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.

May 6, 2006 - County: West Wabasso Will Say Goodbye to 'Brown Water'

April 13, 2006 - West Wabasso's long road to county water about to end

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