214 Original Cases Now Down to 68 Active
December 31, 2022 - By Fire Case Manager Jill Harry - With the New Year, big changes are coming to the Alliance for Community Transformation’s (Alliance’s) Fire Case Manager program.
In mid-August 2022, Alliance hired 12 fire case managers. Along with Miwumati’s fire case manager and Mariposa County Health and Human Services Agency’s (HHSA’s) support team, they were quickly assigned 214 individual and family cases to help navigate through the fire recovery process.
A major part of the recovery process is debris removal. Mariposa County received funding to provide debris removal services to survivors at no cost to them. The County hired Tetra Tech to provide assessment, abatement, and planning. They hired the BOP Joint Venture and other contractors to scrape the soil to remove all debris, haul debris, remove hazardous trees, and perform erosion control work. This enormous program has been managed by Tetra Tech at the Debris Removal Operations Center (DROC) housed in the Darrah Schoolhouse.
There have been many moving pieces. The fire case managers provided great support to the survivors, letting them know what was going to happen when, getting their questions answered, and letting DROC know of special information specific to each case to keep in mind as they worked through their large list of properties. Debris removal operations are now wrapping up.
“The case manager feature is a Mariposa enhancement to the wildfire response that has returned remarkable results,” said DROC Manager Ray Ruminski. “The case managers have done truly awesome work serving the community. And the work by case managers is a huge help to the debris removal management team.”
In addition to helping with items related to debris removal, fire case managers have been working with each case to identify other needs and find ways to meet those needs given the options available.
At various times, this meant
- conveying information from a variety of County agencies to survivors and also getting survivors’ questions answered;
- helping to fill in paperwork for PG&E services, Temporary Housing Permits, and claim forms;
- providing names of well, electric, and other contractors to provide bids that fire case managers then brought to the Unmet Needs Council (UNC)* to request funding;
- making sure survivors were aware of all offers from Mariposa’s very generous organizations, from invitations to participate in Thanksgiving dinner pickup from Mariposa Safe Families, the Kops for Kids program, the gift of quilts from Mariposa Piece Makers, and so much more.
The efforts of Fire Case Managers have resulted in the original number of 214 cases dropping to 68 active cases today.
Given the smaller case load, most fire case managers will be transitioning out of the Alliance at the end of the year.
“I appreciate each and every case manager,” said Alliance Executive Director Alison Tudor. “Their work with the Oak Fire survivors has been phenomenal. I know that the survivors have felt their case managers’ support and guidance. This Oak Fire case manager crew has been such a pleasure to work with. Their dedication and initiative have been extremely valuable to our community.”
Fire case managers Tammi Richards and Adam Mclane will remain on the job. They will continue to work with all active cases, providing survivors with the necessary tools and resources to be successful as they take the next steps in the recovery and rebuilding process.
Richards and Mclane will also continue to communicate with all 214 cases through a regular newsletter containing pertinent information for as long as survivors would like.
While the drop in case load is encouraging, indicating that survivors have found their bearings in their new normal, the needs of the remaining 68 open cases are great. 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 are making decisions about end-of-year-giving and 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, and other partners from both within and outside the Mariposa community.
Source & photo: Alliance for Community Transformations
