DACs: Meeting District Needs

Since November 10 Disaster Assistance Centres have served districts across Grand Cayman, providing information to the public on health and safety issues, including where to locate counseling services.

Visitors to each centre were asked to complete a registration form when requesting information or relief assistance and this data has resulted in some interesting insights into life post-Ivan.

• Of the 158 intakes surveyed 83.5% were heads of their respective households and most owned their own homes.
• George Town recorded the most visitors at 36.7%; West Bay and Bodden Town 24.7% and 22.8% and North Side 6.3%.
• 82.3% of intakes are living at the address they occupied before the hurricane, establishing that there has been little inter-district migration post-Ivan.
• Data shows that 40% of homes sustained major damage but are still habitable, while 33% of intakes reported that their dwellings are uninhabitable; 8% of the total reported their homes totally destroyed.
• Over half of the intakes had not applied for financial assistance before registering with the DAC and of those that chose to fill out applications for assistance, half applied to the National Recovery Fund Grant and nearly one quarter to the Government Housing Recovery Fund Grant and other sources such as Social Services, Chamber of Commerce and the Pension Fund.

Needs in the Home

While assessing needs of intakes, it was found that over half had at least one member of their family (4-person family) with a medical need. Of those with medical needs it was found that nearly 60% were covered by medical insurance.

Of greater concern: about 36% of those surveyed were struggling to provide adequate nutrition for their family. When asked to rate the stress level in their homes, half reported a rate of 6 or above with one quarter reporting in the critical range of 8 to 10. Those reporting high stress levels were given information on available counseling services and informed of the district Peer Support Groups which will begin in January.

When asked if there were any immediate needs in the home which they could not meet, most responded by citing the need for furniture and major appliances. Families with children reported the need for food, clothing and other school materials. Locating and purchasing building materials and services to repair the home were also of concern to most homeowners.