Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819; ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — Jan. 7, 2016
(DALLAS) — On Dec. 26, tornadoes hit three counties in North Texas, including several cities in the Dallas area. Left in the wake of those storms were damaged or destroyed homes, schools and businesses, and 11 people died, including El Centro College student Petra Ruiz Porras, a mother of four whose car was struck on an area interstate in Garland, along with several other vehicles.
Members of the Dallas County Community College District family — including students, faculty and staff — are involved in helping families and businesses affected by the natural disaster. Those outreach efforts include a storm relief resolution approved by the DCCCD board of trustees on Tuesday, Jan. 5, during its regular monthly meeting. The resolution offers free seminars and programs for home and business owners; tax relief for property owners in the affected areas; and other services that may be needed to help with clean-up and rebuilding efforts.
Specifically, the trustees — through the resolution — agreed to set aside an initial outlay of $250,000 to help people affected by the storms by providing free programs on how to cope with different aspects of dealing with the storm’s aftermath as well as free job training to fill jobs that are generated to help communities rebuild.
The resolution also allows reappraisal of the storm-affected area in Dallas County so that property owners are not assessed with a value higher than their new property value.
Dr. Joe May, DCCCD’s chancellor, outlined the resolution to board members during the meeting this week.
May told them, “What we are proposing to do is to authorize seminars, classes and other services that may be needed to assist with clean-up efforts, help with rebuilding, and notify and advise homeowners about how to access services as well as deal with FEMA, insurance entities and others.”
Eastfield College will take the lead in these efforts, and all seven of the system’s colleges will help. Each college already offers continuing education classes and services, so their relief efforts will be part of ongoing operations.
In a recent letter to Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, May outlined DCCCD’s tornado relief plan to provide services to those in need.
“DCCCD will offer a number of free seminars to help victims of the storms get through this difficult time,” said May.
Dates and times for seminars will be announced, and topics may include:
- Navigating insurance following a natural disaster
- Identifying and working with a reputable contractor
- Learning about benefits that are available through FEMA and other federal disaster assistance programs (once the area has been designated as a disaster area)
- Signing up for job training
- Managing change and crisis
DCCCD also is asking area mayors in the county for help identifying facilities that the district’s colleges can use for training and seminars as well as help with community outreach and recruitment efforts to reach participants who need job training.
Eastfield College is the lead training provider for DCCCD’s tornado relief efforts as well. With the support of other DCCCD colleges, EFC will offer free, fast-track training to individuals who need employment during the rebuilding process and also for those individuals who suffered damage to their residence. For details, visit the tornado relief website at eastfieldcollege.edu/tornadorelief.
DCCCD also is working with construction companies in the area to place job training participants into full-time employment opportunities as the rebuilding process begins. Starting wages may be up to $15 per hour. Students will be able to finish most of the individual courses in less than a week.
Courses, which will be offered in English and Spanish, will include:
- OSHA 10 construction safety training
- Construction tools and techniques
- Residential and light commercial blueprint reading
- Building remodeling
- Basic masonry
- Basic concrete work
- Roof systems
- Wall systems
- Other courses as the need arises
Since the holiday storms hit, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake, DCCCD students, faculty and staff have donated thousands of dollars to the relief effort, collected food and clothing, and volunteered as members of a large clean-up effort. (Some of those DCCCD volunteers themselves were affected by the tornadoes.)
In Garland, for example, DCCCD representatives are assisting storm victims at the Granger Recreation Center, located at 1310 W. Avenue F, where they will continue to serve as long as the center remains open to help storm survivors.
“I am very proud of what our folks are doing, both individually and collectively, to help meet the needs of these families and communities,” said May.
The district will announce seminars, as well as storm-related free job training opportunities, as soon as they are scheduled. For general information, visit the storm relief website at eastfieldcollege.edu/tornadorelief or send an email to 4tornadorelief@dcccd.edu.
Interested individuals also can contact Judith Dumont, acting executive dean of workforce, corporate and continuing education at Eastfield College, 972-860-7026, jdumont@dcccd.edu; Dr. Jean Conway, president of Eastfield College, 214-860-7001, jconway@dcccd.edu; and Mark Hays, DCCCD’s vice chancellor for workforce and economic development, 214-378-1821, mhays@dcccd.edu.
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