This is the daily 2-1-1 summary on the Flint Water Response for Monday, February 29, 2016
GENERAL INFORMATION
- The Detroit Free Press distributed a special “Helping Flint” guide on Saturday, February 27. 100,000 copies were printed and will be made available throughout the city. The online version is available at http://www.freep.com/topic/dd70c126-0a52-4d8a-8426-dda6433050d7/fp-flint-water-guide.
- The Community Partners meetings will resume on Thursday March 3 from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm at Food Bank of Eastern Michigan at 2300 Lapeer Rd, Flint, MI 48503. Each of the six Recovery Workgroups will provide updates on their progress on Thursday. Workgroup meetings times are:
- Communications – Monday, February 29th, 3:30 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Church
- Recovery Resources – Tuesday, March 1st, 9:00 a.m. at the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan
- Physical Health – TBA
- Mental Health – TBA
- Education – Tuesday, March 1st, 8:30 a.m. at Special Services North on Pilgrim Rd
- Coordination & Advocacy – Tuesday, March 1st, 2:00 p.m., at the Red Cross
An updated (4/28) Community Partners Guide is attached to today’s update email. Please send any updates for workgroup meeting times and addresses for meeting locations to tpage@uwmich.org.
- REMINDER: The MDHHS lead and Legionella information line has suspended operation as of today, Monday February 29 due to low demand in recent weeks. 2-1-1 will refer calls with Legionella, lead and general health questions to the Genesee County Health Department. Callers with concerns about skin rashes can dial United Way 2-1-1 for more information.
CALL VOLUME
Call summary for the week of February 22-28
- 583 callers used the Flint Water prompt to reach a 2-1-1 agent. This is a decrease from 669 callers the previous week. Flint Water calls accounted for 8% of the 7205 calls to 2-1-1 last week. For context, the City of Flint is roughly 1% of the state’s population.
- 964 Genesee County residents called 2-1-1, down from 1095 a week ago.
- 780 referrals were provided, down from 826 the previous week. The average number of referrals per call (1.3) remained unchanged.
- The 85% of calls came from zip codes 48505 (25%) 48504 (22.6%), 48503 (21.7%) and 48506 (15.1%)
- The most common requests were for Bottled Drinking Water (267), Water Filters (94), and Tap Water Testing (91). There was a noticeable increase in requests for shower filters. Other leading requests for included Lead Testing (100), Home Repair (75, up from 64 the previous week), Water Quality Assurance (51), and Residential Recycling (57). The recycling calls were for information on how to dispose of empty water bottles.
- 6 calls were to donate or volunteer — 0.7% of Flint-related calls, down from 2% the previous week. It would be interesting to hear from the Volunteer Coordination Center if they are experiencing any change in the number of individual volunteers to help gauge if the decrease in calls for volunteer opportunities is affecting other response partners.
- There were 36 unmet needs, a significant decrease from 54 unmet needs the week before. The percentage of unmet dropped to 4.6%, from 8.1%.
- It appears that the spike in unmet needs during the week of February 15-21 was primarily related to the demand for shower filters following the distribution of this type of filter at Berston Field House on Tuesday, February 16.
SPECIAL NEEDS/REQUESTS
- The City of Flint Water Plant can no handle water sample pick-up/drop-off for homebound residents due to increasing demand. 2-1-1 is coordinating with the Water Plant to identify another option for serving these residents and will provide updates until we confirm a solution. In the meantime, please do not refer homebound callers to the Water Plant for assistance. Have them call 2-1-1.
- Related Issue: The form distributed with water testing sample bottles still states that samples must be returned to either City Hall or the Water Plant.
THIS NO LONGER CORRECT. WATER SAMPLE BOTTLES MAY BE RETURNED TO ANY OF THE FIRE STATION WATER RESOURCE DISTRIBUTION SITES.
RUMOR/SCAM CONTROL
- The Attorney General’s Office investigates reports of potential scams. These can be reported to the Charitable Trust Section at ct_email@michigan.gov. The AG has tips on how to avoid falling victim to con artists at http://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,4534,7-164-17337_20942-375279–,00.html.
UNRESOLVED
- From 2/23/16: Social workers are looking for volunteer opportunities: The National Association of Social Workers-MI Chapter has identified several hundred members who are looking to make their professional services available to Flint residents as volunteers. They have been working with canvassers with political campaigns who have identified residents with unmet needs. The canvassers passed the needs back to the coordinator who is dispatching volunteers to deliver basic goods and offer material and emotional support. The volunteers would like to coordinate more formally with the organized response efforts and is looking for a local contact to help identify residents seeking social assistance and support. Can SEOC or Michigan Community Service Commission provide a contact or lead?
- From 2/25/16: On the governor’s 2/25/16 Tele Town Hall, a resident asked what to do about water test results showing lead levels of 2 parts per billion in her home.
The response to the resident stated, “When water was from Detroit, 2 ppb was average. This is probably normal background level.”
A participant on the call asked 2-1-1 how does this statement align with other published information that no level of lead is safe. CAN DHHS/SEOC PROVIDE CLARIFICATION?
RESOLUTION: DHHS has provided the following clarification:
“While there is no ‘safe’ level of lead, the EPA Lead and Copper Rule sets 15 parts per billion as the actionable level of lead in water. While the water emergency remains DHHS continues to recommend that all residents, regardless of their water results, continue to use filtered and bottled water so that we can work to ensure the entire water system is safe.”
