Town of Fairfield News
3/25/2014 - Disaster Recovery Group Performing Sandy Needs Assessment
First Selectman Mike Tetreau announced today that CT Rises, a statewide long-term recovery organization, is sponsoring a volunteer team from World Renew that is opening a temporary five-day Walk-in-Center at the Fairfield Senior Center, 100 Mona Terrace, to assess unmet Storm Sandy-related needs. A CT Rises volunteer from the Red Cross or from another affiliated organization will also be available at the Walk-in-Center.
After needs assessments are compiled, they will be referred to a disaster case manager who will help residents find possible resources for their unmet needs.
The Walk-in-Center will be open from Tuesday, March 25 to Saturday, March 29, 2014. On Tuesday and Thursday, hours are 11 am to 7 pm; on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, hours are 10 am to 6 pm. Residents can either walk into the Senior Center or call 2-1-1, the toll-free information referral service operated by United Way of Connecticut to make an appointment.
CT Rises/World Renew will share space with the existing Intake Center at the Fairfield Senior Center which is shutting down on March 31, 2014. However, the State Intake Center will still be accepting new applications for the Storm Sandy Community Development Block Grant –Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation and Rebuilding (OORR) Program
and applicants will continue to have access to the call center phone number (866-272-1976),
online website/application (http://sandyctapplication.com and http://www.ct.gov/doh/cwp/view.asp?a=4513&Q=530630, and if needed mobile units.
First Selectman Tetreau said, “I encourage anyone affected by Storm Sandy to visit or call this Walk-In-Center. I also stress to our residents that they can still apply to the Fairfield Storm Sandy Relief Fund.”
The Fairfield Storm Sandy Relief Fund is still accepting applications for assistance from those with unmet needs. To obtain an application, residents can contact Brenda Lobdell at blobdell@operationhopect.org or 292-5588, ext. 234. To date, a little over $200,000 has been approved by the Fairfield Storm Sandy Relief Fund Committee for Fairfield Residents, since Storm Sandy.
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World Renew volunteers are commonly referred to as the ‘Green Shirts’, a reference to the uniform the teams wear as a means of being easily identifiable within communities. The Green Shirts are experts in assessing and quantifying disaster-related property damage. Their objective is to provide Sandy survivors with unresolved storm damage to their homes access to a needs assessment team who can quantify necessary repair costs. The World Renew visit is the culmination of many months of coordination between the many volunteer organizations involved in CT Rises.
CT Rises is a non-profit and faith-based organization offering disaster recovery resources in the
form of money, manpower and materials. Participating organizations include: American Red
Cross Connecticut, Church World Service, City of Bridgeport, City of Norwalk, CT Department of
Emergency Management, CT Food Bank, CT VOAD, CT State Independent Living Council,
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Habitat for Humanity, Home Front, Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Helping Hands), Modern Scribe Marketing, LLC,
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Salvation Army - Southern NE Division, Small Business
Administration, State of Connecticut, Team Rubicon, Town of Fairfield, City of Milford, United
Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, New York Annual Conference, United Way of
Connecticut, World Renew.
CT Rises understands disaster recovery is long-term endeavor that requires a multifaceted
community-based approach to be successful.
The mission of CT Rises is to:
• Identify disaster caused unmet needs of individuals and families
• Identify available resources from voluntary organizations
• Coordinate delivery of resources to address identified needs
• Identify and support projects to mitigate damage to individuals and property from future
disasters
*Information on World Renew and CT Rises was taken from a CT Rises Press Release.