First lady of Florida Casey DeSantis pledges support for Bay County after Hurricane Michael

News Herald (Panama City, FL)

March 01-- Mar. 1--LYNN HAVEN -- As Bay County continues to recover from Hurricane Michael, Florida's first lady Casey DeSantis visited Lynn Haven Elementary on Thursday to show support and hear from local leaders.

The first lady and her husband, Gov. Ron DeSantis, have made multiple trips to the area before and since DeSantis took office in January -- including the governor's visit to Mexico Beach on his first full day. Students welcomed DeSantis when she arrived with signs and hugs, and Mayor Margo Anderson proclaimed the day Casey DeSantis Day. DeSantis visited classrooms to chat with students and hear about what they were learning.

"Thank you so much for that wonderfully warm welcome when I first got here," said DeSantis. "The governor and I are here to support you. This isn't a forgotten storm. I've seen a lot of progress since I've been here but I know there's a lot more that needs to be done."

A roundtable listening discussion with local and state leaders -- who spoke about various needs and signs of progress -- took place on campus. County Manager Bob Majka said the level of state response has been "phenomenal."

"We have a fiduciary responsibility, after all this is over with, that we can continue to afford to live here," said Majka. "That's going to be a major challenge, certainly with $400 million in debris removal costs just for the county and another $50 million in emergency protective measures and emergency response.

"We certainly appreciate all the tools that are being put into the tool bag to expedite that funding but all that funding is reimbursable. We have to lay that capital out first. Any assistance we can get -- whether it's the county or municipalities -- to access the capital and pay those bills up front, we're not asking for a free handout. We're not asking for a giveaway," he said. "We certainly want to be responsible. We're a very conservative community and we pay our bills, but any of that assistance we can get upfront will help us reduce the financial impact on this community over the long term."

Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center Director Lori Allen said there has been an increased need for her agency to respond to children whose safety and well-being is affected. Additional mental health resources can help, said Allen.

"They're having a hard time processing what has happened. Adults have a hard time doing it, children even more," said Allen. "The capacity to house mental health professionals is certainly a challenge. Some of our largest providers in the area lost up to 40 percent of their workforce due to loss of housing."

Regional officials thanked DeSantis for coming and State Rep. Jay Trumbull, State Rep. Brad Drake and State Sen. George Gainer for their help with recovery.

Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz spoke about work being done on their end, including an update on what is being done to potentially alleviate a further housing crunch because of Spring Break.

"We just signed a letter yesterday requesting the increase for the TSA (temporary sheltering assistance) for the 30 days for Spring Break. I know there was some concern, obviously, with some of the disaster survivors that are currently receiving the temporary sheltering assistance that are in hotels with Spring Break coming -- which I know is extremely important to the community because of the dollars it brings," said Moskowitz. "But obviously we wanted to make sure folks that are still recovering are not displaced. We requested FEMA to increase the rates for what we're paying for the hotels so we can reduce any displacement that might take place."

After the listening session, DeSantis said there is "hope for the future and community."

"When you hear of companies who are around the globe wanting to invest in this community -- you hear of great people wanting to come here, to be employed by those companies, you see students who are bright and excited about the future being educated in this community -- I only see wonderful things going forward and I really see a new beginning for this area," said DeSantis. "I just want people to know I am committed, the governor is committed, to being here now and forever as long as it takes to make sure that you guys get back on your feet and you're whole."

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