Minutes 08-26-2025-Business Meeting

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10 attend this meeting due to trauma. While $20,000 is appreciated, he said it won't fix the ongoing issue of housing vulnerable people in flood zones, and someone will die. He said lives are worth more than the current efforts. He said everyone lost their documentation and challenged commissioners to try getting a license without ID, birth certificate, or social security card, or getting a replacement social security card without documents or mental/emotional/physical capacity. He said volunteers are driving people to replace the documentation they need for jobs, housing, and DSS assistance. Kari Hamel emphasized the post-traumatic stress burden of being a natural disaster victim with near-death experiences and daily housing insecurity. She requested the Board direct the county manager and deputy manager to form a legal services team for individual legal assessments and action plans, hopefully pro bono. She asked for Orange County Health Department to enact a 24-month medical plan for all willing individuals covering physical and mental health. Regarding DSS case management, she wanted to hear what's happening now and after the meeting. The $20,000 won't last long enough - she asked the Board to remove the cap, meet all needs for 90 days, and schedule another meeting. Chair Bedford said $20,000 is to bridge the gap until the next meeting with state, which is scheduled for Thursday. She said it was initially thought that individuals who applied would get that initial check, so learning that it would take a month the Board wanted to make sure funds were available until then. She invited Lindsey Shewmaker, DSS Director forward to share some of the assistance those with case management are receiving and how those who are not connected can get in touch with DSS staff. Lindsey Shewmaker said staff have been doing case management since the initial shelter after the storm was opened. She said staff transitioned the shelter to hotels when return home wasn't possible. She said initial property management estimates of 4-6 weeks for repairs led to the current funding timeline, but the damage was more significant. She said it looks like that process will take a lot longer, and it is understandable that some people who were displaced don't want to go back. She said it is a time-consuming process to get people housed, and DSS helps with deposits, applications, transport, and securing personal documents. She said Deputy Manager Fenhagen attends weekly case staffings, discussing progress and action steps. She shared that today, the county is down to 17 hotel rooms that DSS is supporting, and Alliance Health is supporting 4 others. She said staff is out at the Comfort Inn 3-4 days a week. She said DSS staff have also worked with Animal Services to provide pet food, other pet needs. She encouraged anyone who is not connected with case managers to call DSS and say they were displaced by Tropical Storm Chantal. Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if there aren't enough units in the county that will accept the Housing Choice Vouchers, leading residents to flood-prone units like those at Camelot Village. Lindsey Shewmaker said she doesn't work in Housing, but that Camelot Village is attractive because it's affordable, on a bus line, and some residents who have been approved there had trouble getting approved at other units. Chair Bedford added that there aren't enough vouchers from the Federal government to meet the demand. She asked Sarah Pickhardt to come forward to talk about next steps from Emergency Service's standpoint. Sarah Pickhardt said there will be an after-action report that will examine what worked well in the response to Tropical Storm Chantal and what needs improvement. She said Chantal stressed every system, with 911 taking 8,000 calls in seven hours, exceeding Hurricane Florence records. She said they're working with vendor IEM to gather partner feedback for a comprehensive report focused on immediate response and initial recovery, with findings rolling into the Emergency Operations Plan update.