SAN DIEGO–Vice Chairman and Fifth District Supervisor Bill Horn, along with the Office of Emergency Services (OES), the San Diego/Imperial County Red Cross, and the San Diego Fire Chiefs Association announced the release of a new resource guide to assist people to recovering from the devastation of losing their home or business.
The Red Guide to Recovery is a pocket-sized 184-page resource handbook for disaster survivors to help victims cope with the loss and put them back on their feet to rebuild. The booklet is the idea of San Diegan Sean Scott who presented a working copy to Supervisor Horn several months ago.
“When Sean came to my office and showed us the prototype for the Red Guide,” said Horn, “I knew we had to help him get the guide into the hands of firefighters and people who had lost their home to disaster.”
The step-by-step resource guides victims in rebuilding. It contains phone numbers and information for emergency shelter, rental tips, and insurance adjusters, chemical clean up, land clearance, building contractors, trauma intervention and grief counseling. In short, it provides everything needed in the restoration process. The booklet will be given on the scene by firefighters to people who have lost their home to fire or other disasters.
The County Office of Emergency Services funded $75,000 through a state grant and the San Diego/Imperial County Red Cross contributed $20,000.
Supervisor Horn will ask his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors to approve a $40,000 Neighborhood Reinvestment Grant that will pay to translate the Red Guide into Spanish and cover the costs to print 2,000 copies.
“Census surveys show that almost 281,000 people in San Diego County who speak Spanish at home say they don’t speak or read English ‘very well,’” said Horn. “They represent nearly 10% of our County’s population so we need to make sure we have available guides for them.”
“The Red Guide to Recovery is an example of a private person who had a calling to help others,” said Horn. “I want to thank Sean Scott and Michelle DeWitt along with our OES Director Ron Lane and Leslie Luke, and Augie Ghio of the San Diego Fire Chiefs Association. It was my privilege to help Mr. Scott move through the process of working with government to form a lasting partnership that has further enhanced our commitment to public safety and the public good.”
For more information on the guide, visit http://www.theredguidetorecovery.com/ or email info@TheRedGuidetoRecovery.com.
