Delaware Announces Community Investment Recovery Fund for Delaware Nonprofits

Recovery Fund will provide funding for one-time capital projects in communities hard hit by COVID-19; Application for funding now available at de.gov/rescueplan

WILMINGTON, Del. — Governor John Carney and Lt. Governor Hall-Long on Thursday announced the Community Investment Recovery Fund, which will provide nonprofits with one-time funding to support major capital projects in Delaware communities hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The application for funding is available now at de.gov/rescueplan. Applications must be fully completed and submitted by November 30, 2021.

The Community Investment Recovery Fund is funded with $100 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). ARPA was championed in Congress by members of Delaware’s congressional delegation — Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester — and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11.

“The American Rescue Plan is about rebuilding from the COVID-19 pandemic, and coming out of this crisis stronger than before. That’s exactly what this Community Investment Recovery Fund will help us do,” said Governor Carney. “This Recovery Fund will help support community centers and other nonprofits that are seeking to rebuild and strengthen the communities they serve every day. I want to thank President Biden and members of Delaware’s congressional delegation for making these resources available.”

“We rely on our nonprofits to care for and serve Delawareans, especially our most vulnerable residents every day. This has been especially true throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long. “This ARPA investment will provide critical support for our non-profits and community organizations that have stepped up every day to ensure Delaware families have the services they need.”

“The pandemic’s impact on our economy is far reaching, and nonprofits that work to fill the needs of our community need additional support to continue their critical work,” said Sens. Carper, Coons and Congresswoman Blunt Rochester. “We commend Governor Carney for directing American Rescue Plan Act funds to help these organizations who are vital to strengthening our communities.”

Governor Carney, Lt. Governor Hall-Long, and members of Delaware’s federal delegation have recently announced several investments funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which meet the goals of the legislation by:

Building a stronger, more equitable economy in communities hit hard by COVID-19.
Providing immediate economic stabilization for impacted households and businesses.
Addressing systemic public health, public safety, and economic challenges.
Meeting pandemic response needs.

This week, Governor Carney announced plans to invest $26.4 million in affordable housing in Wilmington, $50 million for jobs training programs statewide, and $50 million to build a modern Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill in Smyrna.

In Bridgeville last month, Governor Carney announced a $110 million plan to provide universal wired broadband access for all Delaware homes and businesses. Delaware is aiming to become the first state to close every “last mile” with wired, high-speed broadband.

The Community Investment Recovery Fund announced on Thursday will provide support for major nonprofit capital projects statewide.

Visit de.gov/rescueplan to learn more about how the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) is helping in Delaware.

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UD and DEMA Partner to Support Long-Term Recovery

The University of Delaware and the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) have recently partnered on several new projects to aid the State of Delaware’s long-term recovery efforts from COVID-19. DEMA has provided support to the Institute of Public Administration at the Biden School, Delaware Sea Grant, and the Disaster Research Center to work on three initiatives related to community recovery. These projects reflect DEMA’s and the University of Delaware’s ongoing efforts to develop timely resources for Delaware’s communities to recover from the varied impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and a move to expand upon the University’s and DEMA’s capacity for direct coordination.

Recover Delaware

The Institute of Public Administration (IPA) has received funding from DEMA to support the University’s Recover Delaware program, which has focused on identifying community recovery needs and on developing timely resources and ongoing educational opportunities. In support of this initiative, IPA launched a new Recover Delaware Roundtable series on June 9, hosted by Troy Mix, IPA Associate Director. This roundtable series will provide updates on Delaware’s economic recovery, as well as discuss local priorities and opportunities for shaping and accelerating economic recovery across Delaware and its communities. The series also serves as a method to engage community leaders directly in conversations related to recovery resources, explore policy implications and provide ongoing educational opportunities. The next Recover Delaware Roundtable is Thursday, September 30, 2021, from 12:00pm to 1:30pm. To register click here: Recover Delaware Roundtable.

Troy Mix says, “The aim of this Round Table series and Recover Delaware is to incite conversations about future uncertainties, including scenarios that might impact your community, your government or your organization. We intend to work together with the greater community to share resources, understand local recovery needs, and develop the ability together as a statewide community to plan for and make investments in community resilience. We can then support implementation by providing a place where the University can assist with recovery planning, support going after grant funds, and developing policies and programs that are going to improve resiliency to those future shocks that might come down the pike.”

The series also complements ongoing work to develop a practical guidebook for community and economic resilience in Delaware, developed by IPA fellows Morgan Cohen and Collin Willard. This product is part of a long-term Recover Delaware initiative to synthesize data collected through Delaware local and State representatives, emergency management professionals, and Delaware community members. The guidebook will support future recovery initiatives by providing a centralized location for resources, best practices, and tools, as well as deeper-level analyses of recovery topics covered through the Round Table series.

The first Recover Delaware takeover edition of the DEMA Community Support and Recovery Task Force Newsletter was released as of June 10, as a part of an ongoing supplementary Recover Delaware Spotlight, which will be a monthly round-up of analysis, resources, and action opportunities for recovery and resilience planning in Delaware.

Older Adults and Emergency Preparedness

Delaware Sea Grant has also received support for its recovery and resilience planning initiatives. Through this partnership, Delaware Sea Grant and DEMA, with the support of IPA, are working on community planning guidance and outreach strategies that are tailored specifically to the State’s needs. As adults over 65 years old comprise one of the fastest-growing demographics in Sussex County, this group is a large focus for the county and State’s ongoing resilience planning efforts.

A major product of this partnership is an online “hub,” developed as a one-stop resource for aiding outreach, emergency planning, recovery, and resilience. Danielle Swallow, Coastal Hazards Specialist for the Delaware Sea Grant, says ”we’ve got fast growing demographic in older adults, and they’re disproportionately impacted, as we saw during the pandemic, and that sets the context for what is the need… because there’s gaps out there in planning for this population. So we’re creating this hub which is a platform that’s going to be a one stop resource by consolidating the information into one place. The purpose is to aid planning, and that’s outreach as emergency response recovery, all of it, hopefully to help improve overall resilience”.

Julia O’Hanlon, IPA Policy Scientist and Nicole Minni, IPA Associate Policy Scientist, are also enhancing and expanding a prototype GIS mapping tool designed to help emergency managers and local officials better plan for the needs of older adults before, during, and after emergencies. Danielle Swallow, Julia O’Hanlon and Nicole Minni have a long history of working together on emergency response efforts for older adults and Sussex County, and view this as a long-term opportunity to expand upon their ongoing efforts to support emergency planning and the development of recovery tools for this population.

DRC It!: COVID-19 and Risk Communication

DEMA is also partnering with the Disaster Research Center (DRC) to work on the latest round of DRC It!, an educational initiative that works to make academic research more accessible to emergency management practitioners. Through this partnership, DRC researchers will work to consolidate peer-reviewed studies and literature about risk communication as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic into four products:

Topic Summary: A 2-5 page overview of the whole topic
Theme Summary: A 6-10 page detailed overview of each theme and specific findings from the literature
Animated Video: A 5-7 minute video providing a narrative of the findings
Bibliography: A list of 40-80 sources used to inform the project

These four products will be used by DEMA, along with other agencies to educate stakeholders about risk communication during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to inform future programs and policies. This resource, which will contain scientifically informed guidance for practitioners, will be made accessible on the University of Delaware website.

This work will be overseen by DRC Directors James Kendra and Tricia Wachtendorf, as well as Joseph Trainor, Core Faculty at the DRC. This project will also be supported by Rachel Slotter, a Disaster Science and Management Doctoral Student.

Follow Delaware Emergency Management Agency on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Contact: Jeff Sands, Delaware Emergency Management Agency, 302-659-2211.

Governor Carney Requests Presidential Disaster Declaration after Flooding Caused by Tropical Depression Ida

The Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) continues to conduct damage assessments

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Friday sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting a Major Disaster Declaration following flooding caused by Tropical Depression Ida. The Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) in conjunction with the City of Wilmington and other partners, have spent the previous two weeks surveying damage in neighborhoods affected by the storm, to support the request for federal assistance.

The following are excerpts from Governor Carney’s letter:

“Tropical Depression Ida interacted with a frontal system (and) produced 100-year rainfall returns in the Brandywine Creek basin. Heavy rains in Pennsylvania fell into Brandywine Creek, and flooding runoff flowed into Delaware on September 2, 2021.

“Flooding from heavy rainfall caused considerable damage to residential and commercial structures and vehicles in the areas of the eastern portion of the City of Wilmington, as well as pockets along the Brandywine Creek from Talleyville, DE, through Edgemoor, DE.

“The Brandywine Creek in Wilmington rose to 23.14 feet Thursday morning, breaking its previous record of 20.43 feet in 2014. Flooding in Wilmington stretched between I-495 and Market Street, with the most significant impact in a fifteen to twenty-block area along the creek. In the early morning hours of September 2, water rescues were conducted in the Riverside neighborhood, with 200 people evacuated from the floodwaters…

“The State of Delaware continues to assist residents with an additional focus on providing support to our most vulnerable populations during these unprecedented times.”

Click here to read Governor Carney’s full letter.

Click here to learn more about the resources available for those who were affected by the storm and ways to help.

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Governor Carney, City of Wilmington, and DEMA Announce Flood Assistance Programs

Resources announced following Recovery Resource Fair where agencies connected with more than 200 households

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney announced on Wednesday more than 200 households affected by last week’s storm found assistance at the Disaster Recovery Resource Fair hosted by the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), the City of Wilmington, and the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) at The Warehouse. Over 20 agencies and local partners were in attendance to ensure those affected by flooding had access to the resources they need.

Two additional resources were also announced to help Wilmington families with recovery efforts:

DEMA announced a new Flood Cleanup Assistance program that will provide cleanup services for qualifying households through the Milford Housing Development Corporation.
The City of Wilmington announced a toll-free Crisis Cleanup Hotline (1-844-965-1386) to serve as a clearinghouse for all the muck out, tear out, and water removal needs of those directly affected by the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

“Homeowners and renters along the Brandywine have faced significant challenges from the flooding last week, and that’s why we are all working to connect them with resources and help them through this difficult recovery process,” said Governor Carney. “We’re grateful for the local, state, and community partners across Delaware who are helping our neighbors in Wilmington, and for standing up these important resources that will help residents with cleanup efforts in the affected areas.”

DEMA’s Flood Assistance Program is an effort funded by the state’s EmergencyManagement Resilience Fund. Cleanup services by DEMA in coordination with the Milford Housing Development Corporation may include:

Mucking
Removal of damaged drywall
Moisture control of affected areas
Minor structural repairs
Insurance deductible assistance

“This was a life-altering event for many Wilmington residents, and we know that they are hurting and need assistance. We are working to bring all available resources to bear including local, state, federal, volunteer, and non-profit partners, to help address immediate needs and begin long term recovery,” said AJ Schall, Director of the Delaware Emergency Management Agency. “The Milford Housing Development Corporation was a fantastic partner assisting with recovery efforts following Tropical Storm Isaias last summer. We are pleased to be able to partner with them again to assist the survivors from last week’s flooding with cleanup to start them on the path to recovery.”

Residents should apply for DEMA’s Flood Assistance Program by calling: 1-844-413-0038. Eligibility for this program includes those living in single households earning less than $52,000 per year, with a higher limit for families. Individuals will also need to show proof of residency in the area outlined here: Along the East side of Northeast Boulevard to 17th Street, from 17th to Bowers, from Bowers to E. 12th Street, from E. 12th Street to Pullman and from Pullman to Northeast Boulevard.

Click here to view a map of the eligible areas.

Mayor Mike Purzycki and the City of Wilmington’s emergency management team also announced a toll-free Crisis Cleanup Hotline number to serve as a clearinghouse for all the muck out, tear out, and water removal needs of those directly affected by the storm. Residents needing assistance can call 1-844-965-1386 to be connected with local volunteer groups that may assist with:

Cutting fallen trees
Removing drywall, flooring and appliances
Tarping roofs
Mold mitigation

In partnership with the Delaware Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (DEVOAD), these services are performed by volunteers and will be provided at no cost to the resident. Service is not guaranteed, and resources are limited. After providing your information to the Hotline, residents may be contacted by a representative from a participating organization who will determine if they are able to provide assistance.

“It’s a difficult task to pull lives and properties back together again following natural and unexpected disasters,” said City of Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki. “The past several days have tested the ability of the community and government to come together as quickly as possible to assist affected residents and businesses. We have a great deal of work to do, but the City and State are committed to the tasks and challenges ahead.”

The Crisis Cleanup Hotline will remain open with extended hours until Friday, October 1, 2021, though residents can call and leave a message at any time and a volunteer will return the call as soon as possible.

This hotline does not provide help with social services such as food, clothing, and shelter. For food assistance or other social services, please contact the Social Services Call Center: 302-571-4900. Deaf or Hearing-Impaired individuals can call 7-1-1 and give the Customer Service Call Center number. Residents should continue to call 9-1-1 in an emergency.

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DHSS Sponsors Recovery Events to Raise Awareness of Support for People Living with Mental, Substance Use Disorders

NEW CASTLE (Sept. 2, 2020) – Recognizing September as National Recovery Month, Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) Secretary Molly Magarik acknowledged the importance of meeting the needs of Delawareans with mental and substance use disorders, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic is difficult for all of us emotionally, but none more so than Delawareans struggling with addiction, mental illness or both,” Magarik said. “And with such public health measures as social distancing in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we know treatment referrals for individuals with behavioral health issues can be more difficult to access, their recovery plans can be altered, and the actual treatment and recovery supports can look very different than what people are used to receiving. Still, we know that prevention works, treatment is effective, and people do live a long, quality life in recovery. DHSS can provide Delawareans with the resources they need.”

Recovery Month is a national observance sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The celebration raises awareness of mental and substance use disorders, celebrates individuals in long-term recovery, and acknowledges the work of prevention, treatment, and recovery support services.

To promote the widespread national observance, DHSS’s Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH) is sponsoring Recovery Month events. These events support people in recovery and draw attention to critical prevention, treatment, and recovery support services in Delaware. The events, when scheduled, will be added to an online calendar here: https://bit.ly/3fiMnaI

Recognizing the benefit of having trained professionals available to listen and connect Delawareans to care, DSAMH is also promoting the new Delaware Hope Line. The Hope Line is a confidential phone line staffed by a diverse group of professionals dedicated to helping Delawareans cope with stress and meet their behavioral health needs during the coronavirus pandemic. Delawareans can call 1-833-9-HOPEDE (1-833-946-7333). This service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Hope Line specialists provide a variety of resources and information, including behavioral health treatment options available, regardless of insurance or ability to pay.

“DSAMH is here to help Delawareans with behavioral health needs during these extraordinary times,” said Alexis Teitelbaum, DSAMH’s acting director. “Recovery Month offers a chance to celebrate with those in recovery and recognize the dedicated work of our behavioral health care providers throughout the state. There are resources available, and we want to ensure those who are suffering know that help is here.”

For more information, visit, www.HelpIsHereDE.com.