This is the daily 2-1-1 summary on the Flint Water Response for Monday, March 21, 2016
GENERAL INFORMATION
- The Flint Water Crisis Community Partners Workgroup met Thursday afternoon at 3:00 pm. Meeting minutes are attached to today’s email update. Key issues and actions are included in the relevant section of today’s update as noted below.
Community Partners Workgroup meeting times this week:- Communication Workgroup: Monday, March 21st, 3:30 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Church
- Coordination Workgroup: Tuesday, March 22nd, 2:00 p.m., American Red Cross
- Education Workgroup: Tuesday, March 22nd, 8:30 a.m., Special Services North (5075 Pilgrim Rd., 48507)
- Flint Community Resilience Group (FCRG) Mental Health Workgroup: TBA
– Sub-workgroups
– FCRG Data & Gap Analysis: Every Thursday, 1:30 p.m., Genesee Health System Board Room
– FCRG Planning & Coordination: Every other Wednesday (NEXT: March 23rd), 10:30 a.m., Genesee Health System Board Room
– FCRG Faith: TBA
– FCRG Stress Management: Every other Wednesday (NEXT: March 30th), 12:00 p.m., Genesee Health System 4th Floor Conference Room
– FCRG Outreach to Special & Vulnerable Populations: Meeting on-line, via e-mail (to become part of this workgroup, please e-mail rkeswick@genhs.org)
– FCRG Psychological First Aid (PFA): TBA (for more information, please e-mail nkirsch@genhs.org) - Physical Health Workgroup: TBA, Greater Flint Health Coalition (3rd Floor, Suite 301)
- Resource Recovery Workgroup: Tuesday, March 22nd, 9:00 a.m., Food Bank of Eastern Michigan
- Community Partners Meeting: Thursday, March 24th, 3:00 p.m., Food Bank of Eastern Michigan
- Michigan Chapter of VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster) is hosting weekly coordination calls every Wednesday, 4:00 p.m.
Conference Call-In Number: 641-715-3274 Access Code: 632713#- To learn more about Michigan VOAD, visit https://mivoad.communityos.org/cms/home.
- 2-1-1 met with SEOC and homebound delivery service partners on Friday to review the distribution process and improve coordination of service to residents who are homebound or have mobility limitations. The target date for implementing the new processes outlined below is April 1.
- 2-1-1 is moving forward to implement a common intake system and tracking system that will forward requests from 2-1-1 and the governor’s office to the resource distribution manager.
- 2-1-1 will implement a confirmation call process to verify residents have received their requested delivery within two business days.
- 2-1-1 will work with Red Cross to implement a notification process with residents who are scheduled for weekly water delivery to alert them in advance to expect a delivery and to share anticipated schedules so 2-1-1 can tell these residents when they can expect their next delivery.
- NBC News 25’s story on EPA’s decision to increase water sampling to determine bathing safety generated a substantial number of calls to 2-1-1 in the past 24 hours. The EPA and Water Defense, an activist organization that has expressed strong concerns about the safety of local water for bathing, have committed to sharing their testing data with each other. Full story at http://nbc25news.com/news/local/epa-to-do-more-water-sampling-in-flint-after-meetings-with-advocates-this-weekend .
CALL VOLUME
Call volume remains manageable with existing staffing levels. A summary of last week’s call data will be provided in tomorrow’s summary.
SPECIAL NEEDS/REQUESTS
- Dermatologist appointments for residents experiencing skin rashes have a high ‘no-show’ rate. As noted in the Community Workgroup minutes, United Way of Genesee County is willing to pay for rides to appointments. Residents needing ride assistance can contact 2-1-1 details.
- Water distribution will be moving from fire stations to 9 locations in city wards, as noted in the Community Workgroup minutes. One week after the new sites are operational, the fire station locations will transition out of water resource distribution.
- CAN SEOC PROVIDE 2-1-1 A TIMELINE FOR THE TRANSITION TO THE NEW DISTRIBUTION SITES, THEIR LOCATION AND HOURS OF OPERATION?
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 2/29/16: The City of Flint Water Plant can no longer 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.
From 3/8/16: CAN SEOC OR THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE PLEASE ASSIST WITH A RESPONSE TO THE FOLLOWING COMMUNITY REQUESTS:
- The Community Partners Communications Workgroup is asking for guidance from the State of Michigan on the following issues:
- What affects does heat/time have on the plastic water bottles?
- Regarding the side-effects of lead: On average how soon do symptoms appear?
- Who is testing the samples provided by residents? Is more than just lead and coper levels being tested? If so what is being tested?
- Will lead be passed on to recipients that received blood, organs or plasma from Flint donors?
- From 3/8/16:The Communications Workgroup requested a diagram or org chart of the crisis response mechanism and how all parties work together, including JIC, EOC, SECO, UCG,CHECC, ACE, CDC, EPA, DEQ, HHS, DHHS, FEMA.
- From 3/8/16:The Communications Workgroup requested coordination by state, federal and local governments on the distribution of information related to the Flint Water situation and the response, emphasizing the community doesn’t want multiple information documents for every department. They are asking for one consistent document on key issues and a mechanism to provide feedback to government entities prior to releasing information.
