2-1-1 Update Flint Water Response for Wednesday, March 22, 2016

This is the daily 2-1-1 summary on the Flint Water Response for Wednesday, March 23, 2016

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Independent report commissioned by Gov. Snyder finds state officials primarily to blame for Flint water crisis. The commission reviewed documents and interviewed 60 officials, finding, “The Flint water crisis is a story of government failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction, and environmental injustice.” The commission outlined three goals for the report:
  1. Clarify and simplify the narrative regarding the roles of the parties involved, and assign accountability clearly and unambiguously.
  2. Highlight the causes for the failures of government that precipitated the crisis and suggest measures to prevent such failures in the future.
  3. Prescribe recommendations to care for the Flint community and to use the lessons of Flint’s experience to better safeguard Michigan residents.
• Full report available at: michigan.gov/documents/snyder/FWATF_FINAL_REPORT_21March2016_517805_7.pdf
• News coverage at The Guardian: theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/23/flint-water-crisis-taskforce-michigan-governor and MLIVE: www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2016/03/state_responsible_for_flint_wa.html
• Governor Snyder held a Tele Town Hall with Flint residents at 6 pm today. Issues addressed on the call included:
• The Flint Water Crisis Community Partners Meeting: Thursday, March 24^th, 3:00 p.m., Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, 2300 Lapeer Rd, Flint, MI 48503

CALL VOLUME
Call summary for the week of March 14-20

Calls from Flint and Genesee County residents increased after two weeks of decline, a potential indicator that were are reaching a plateau in the need for assistance.

• 528 callers used the Flint Water prompt to reach a 2-1-1 agent. This is a decrease from 618 callers the previous week, but very close to the volume from two weeks ago.  Flint Water calls accounted for 8.7% of the 7100 calls to 2-1-1 last week.
• A total of 921 Genesee County residents (including Flint residents)called 2-1-1, up from 833 calls a week ago.
• 660 referrals were provided, up from 588 the previous week. The average number of referrals reverted to the average 1.3 referrals per caller that has prevailed since 2-1-1 began tracking Flint calls in early January following a one week drop to roughly 0.95 last week.
  • 36% of calls were for drinking water, followed by water filters (10%) and lead poisoning screening (9.5%) were the most common referrals requested.
  • 7 calls were for water heater replacement.
  • There were no calls seeking to donate or volunteer – this is the first time since 2-1-1 began tracking Flint calls that no callers sought information on donations or volunteering.
• There were 18 unmet needs, the lowest number recorded since 2-1-1 began tracking Flint calls.

SPECIAL NEEDS/REQUESTS
No special needs or requests were reported today.

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 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.
• From 3/22: 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?