County, state and federal government working on post-hurricane recovery

From Orange County Commissioner Bryan Nelson

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, all of Orange County, the State of Florida, and even the Federal Government are working hard to help return our beautiful state and its communities back to normal.

Curbside debris removal for Orange County began last week. Given the significant amount of yard debris throughout the County, residents should be aware that it could be several days before yard debris is picked up in their community. County contractors cannot enter private gated communities to remove debris except in the circumstance that the debris presents an immediate threat to safety and/or severe damage. For these communities, an authorized community representative should contact 311 to arrange for permission for the community’s contractor to drop off debris at a designated Citizen Drop-Off Site. Alternatively, the community representative can arrange for a County debris contractor to meet the community’s contractor at or near the entrance of the gated community to accept debris. If residents within a community do not own the property, such as a trailer park, the community must arrange for their own debris removal. Residents who wish to remove debris off of their property sooner may take debris to one of 11 designated Citizen Drop-Off Sites in Orange County. Some local sites include the following: Fort Christmas Park, 1300 Fort Christmas Rd.; Northwest Water Reclamation Facility, 701 W McCormick Rd.; and Zellwood Maintenance Unit, 3500 Golden Gem Rd. These sites are open from 7 AM-7PM Monday through Sunday. Residents will need to bring proof of their Orange County address to gain access and are only permitted to bring vegetative debris (tree limbs, branches, and other organic debris). Regardless of the option they choose for debris removal, residents are asked to separate vegetative debris from storm-related debris, such as shingles and fencing; for curbside pickup, construction debris will be removed separately. Failure to separate these different types of debris will result in neither being collected. In addition, household garbage should not be mixed with storm or construction debris. If residents have questions or would like more information on debris removal, they should visit www.ocfl.net/debris, or contact the Public Works Department at (407) 836-3111.

Orange County Commissioner Bryan Nelson

If residents are in need of food and/or water, they can contact Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida at (407) 295-1066 to receive assistance in locating an emergency food pantry nearby. Residents can also find an updated list of food pantries at www.feedhopenow.org/disaster. Some local food pantries include the following: Shabach Church, 1403 S Highland Ave, (407) 445-1230, Mondays 3-5 PM and Sundays 8:30-9 AM weekly; Sheeler Oaks SDA, 1822 Sheeler Ave, (407) 925-3598, every other Wednesday 5-6 PM; and UCF Knights Helping Knights Pantry. Residents in need of water and/or ice can also find distributions from local businesses, churches and other residents at http://www.facebook.com/freeiceandwater. Orange County asks that residents who are planning on returning extra supplies purchased in preparation for Hurricane Irma, such as nonperishable food items, to consider donating them to shelters, food pantries, and other charities. Furthermore, residents are asked to continue to conserve their water use by limiting the use of washing machines and dishwashers and taking short showers. Ultimately, cooperation from the County will help crews who are working hard to keep the sanitary sewer system flowing. Lastly, residents who do not have their power restored yet and need to use Wi-Fi can visit all of the Orange County Library locations during regular operating hours.

On the state and federal levels, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam announced on Monday, September 18^th, that the U.S. Department of Agriculture accepted a request to allow all students in 48 counties subject to a FEMA Major Disaster Declaration access to free school meals through the National School Lunch Program. These changes are in effect from September 18^th-October 20^th, and additional counties could be added to the waiver. For more information on these changes and the list of counties that fall under the waiver, citizens can go on the department’s website at www.freshfromflorida.com, contact the department at 1-800-504-6609, or email at infoFNW@FreshFromFlorida.com. Additionally, the state, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provided $133 million this week in Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for current food stamp recipients in areas most severely impacted by Hurricane Irma; this effort will help current recipients that lost food destroyed due to the hurricane or power outages. Current recipients were given 40% of the amount of their regular September benefits amount; the benefits were loaded into each Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) account and can be used in USDA retailers. Furthermore, Department of Children and Families (DCF) has submitted a request to activate Disaster SNAP (also referred to as Food for Florida), a program that offers emergency food benefits to victims of hurricanes and other types of disasters that are not already receiving assistance under the Food Stamp Program, in counties approved for FEMA for Individual Assistance. Where this program is not currently active in Florida, DCF is working with the federal government to activate this program in eligible counties. Floridians interested in this program are directed to check the Florida Department of Children and Families website at http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/programs/access/fff/ for updates and more information.

Heart of Florida United Way offers referrals for various community resources, such as emergency food pantries and financial assistance. Residents can contact this organization at 211. Additionally, Florida Blue, in partnership with New Directions Behavioral Health, is offering emotional support to individuals and their families affected by Hurricane Irma. The companies are providing access to trained behavioral health counselors via a 24-hour, toll-free helpline at 800-843-6514. This service is available to anyone in Florida at no cost, does not require insurance, provides access to referrals to community resources, and is available to English-speaking and Spanish-speaking individuals.

Boy Scouts of America has put teams together for yard work and clearing debris. The teams began their cleanup assistance on Sunday. Interested residents who are in need of assistance should contact Fred Hawkins, Jr. at fhaw@osceola.org, and place “Boy Scouts” on the subject of the email. Residents who are interested in volunteering to help clean up in the community may participate in the cleanup of Wekiva Springs State Park for National Public Lands Day on Saturday, September 30^th; residents can go to the following link for more information: https://www.floridastateparks.org/park-events/Wekiva-springs.

On the federal level, people interested in donating or volunteering to help Floridians can call 800-FL-HELP-1 or visit volunteerflorida.org. Additionally, residents and businesses in need of housing-related and other types of expenses can apply for federal disaster assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or call 800-621-FEMA (3362) (711 or Video Relay Service Available) or 800-462-7585. Applicants should have the following information ready when registering: Social Security number; address of the damaged residence; information for insurance coverage; telephone number; mailing address; bank account and routing numbers for the direct deposit of funds; and financial information.

Florida workers and businesses that have been affected by Hurricane Irma are directed to learn more, locate resources, and apply for recovery assistance by visiting www.floridajobs.org. Through this resource, workers and businesses can learn more about how to apply for the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program, Disaster Unemployment Assistance, Disaster Dislocated Worker Program, and can find additional resources related to the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

If residents are looking for more resources and information on recovery from Hurricane Irma in Orange County, they should visit the County’s Irma Recovery website at http://www.ocfl.net/EmergencySafety/HurricaneIrmaRecovery.aspx, and community recovery resources can be found at http://www.ocfl.net/EmergencySafety/Resources.aspx.

As more resources become available at all levels of government, we will actively keep you informed.