214 Active Cases Now Down to 78
December 16, 2022 - By Fire Case Manager Jill Harry - Soon after being hired in mid-August 2022, the Alliance for Community Transformation’s 12 Fire Case Managers and Miwumati’s single Fire Case Manager found themselves supporting 214 individuals and families impacted by the Oak Fire. Additionally, Mariposa County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) provides fire case management to a handful of fire survivors.
Great progress has been made towards recovery for a number of survivors. Fire Case Managers have been working with each case individually to identify needs and find ways to meet those needs given the options available.
Coordinating with HHSA, other Mariposa County departments, the Unmet Needs Council*, and partner organizations both within and outside the Mariposa community, the Fire Case Managers have been able to help survivors solve for a number of issues, including:
- Getting appliances, heaters, beds and bedding, other furniture, clothing and more donated to them;
- Helping with moving costs, including at times when survivors were extremely vulnerable, with security deposits and a month of rent;
- Arranging for debris removal for items that were burned, but did not fit into the County’s debris removal programs;
- Fixing wells, electrical systems, and other infrastructure at no cost to survivors;
- Securing trailers to use as temporary housing for some survivors;
- Helping with paperwork and walking survivors through the debris removal process to the County’s final sign-off on their property;
- And so much more.
All these efforts have resulted in the original number of 214 cases dropping to 78 active cases, with an additional two dozen or so inactive cases still receiving information via email when it is pertinent to them.
Most recently, a major focus of the case managers has been on the 25 cases receiving trailers to use as temporary housing from Mariposa County, plus the handful of cases who were able to secure donated trailers from elsewhere. The goal is to have these survivors back on their properties by the end of the year.
Case managers are making sure the required paperwork for Temporary Housing Permits is in and that properties are ready, which means they are through the debris removal process, have received the final sign off from the County, and have working electrical, water, and septic systems. Only then will trailers be delivered to properties and set up. At the same time, case managers are attending to the needs of their other clients.
Most everything about the recovery process is expensive. From the beginning, the Mariposa community has been extremely generous in fundraising efforts and donating to the organizations in the Unmet Needs Council supporting Oak Fire survivors. Throughout, the Unmet Needs Council has prioritized helping those with the greatest needs. The money that has been donated to date has allowed the Council to help about 20% of all who were impacted.
While much progress has been made over the past four months and the number of active cases has decreased tremendously, there is more to be done. The change in weather and the completion of the debris removal process has also made some survivors aware of needs they hadn’t been thinking about before.
Additional funding is necessary to help survivors through the winter months and with the basic infrastructure of water, electricity, and septic required to start the rebuilding process.
If you would like to donate, you can do so through the Alliance at www.givebutter.com/Oakfire or by mailing checks made out to the Alliance, PO Box 2075, Mariposa, CA 95338. The Alliance is 501(c)3 organization and your donations are tax deductible. Thank you for your continued generosity.
*The Unmet Needs Council consists of Mariposa Community Foundation, Mariposa-Yosemite Rotary, Alliance for Community Transformations, Mariposa Safe Families, Mariposa County Chamber of Commerce, the Methodist Church, Miwumati, and other partners from both within and outside the Mariposa community.
Source & photo: Alliance for Community Transformations
