County Emergency Manager Travis Tomkins does a great job in his position, and keeps the board on top of issues of importance that relate to weather issues and natural disasters. In the wake of this past week's bitter cold, the county worked together with community partners and the faith-based community to help citizens find shelter from the cold. Tompkins sent a recap of this work to the board and staff, and it is great to be able to report this good news of teamwork. From Tompkins' email:
"Leadership,
I wanted to take a minute and let you know about some of the
things that happened with our cold weather event this past week and weekend. As
you all know we had an extended cold weather event with temperatures dropping
into the teens. Waterfront Rescue Mission had already stepped up at the end of
last year to coordinate with other shelters and open as a cold weather shelter
to anyone including women and children. They worked with REAP to house women
and children but sheltered anyone that needed it. They were also the warming
center all day for the entire event. Essentially, they were open to anyone
24hrs a day.
My Fathers Vinyard, a church located on HWY 29 just past the
interstate for the first time opened for cold weather sheltering. They opened
their doors to anyone and had 73 people at their facility on Saturday night. I
found out on Sunday evening of last week that the church was opening for
sheltering, and then called Rodrigues Kimbrough on Monday to ask for ECAT
transportation between the church and Waterfront. Director Kimbrough
coordinated everything within just a few hours. The next day we had transportation
between overnight sheltering and the designated warming center at Waterfront
for the entire week and weekend. I can’t thank Director Kimbrough enough for
this and many other times that ECAT has stepped up to help Emergency
Management.
There were a few individuals that put out misleading
information on social media, but that was quickly addressed. EM will be hosting
and after action review regarding the cold weather event sometime later this
week.
This event showcases the collaboration and cooperation of
our local government and community partners. My thanks to Waterfront Rescue
Mission, REAP, My Fathers Vinyard, and ECAT. There were many other individuals
and businesses that assisted as well. It truly takes a village, and the village
stepped up.
Respectfully,
Travis D. Tompkins
Escambia County, Emergency
Manager"
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