Issue link: https://blog.providence.org/i/1367431
31 alike). The barriers to access for these individuals included 1) fear (of mistreatment and/ or deportation) by accessing services at sites guarded by Federal employees or those who looked like a Federal employee, and 2) lack of spoken and/or written information in Spanish. There have been changes made by many agencies, including enhanced collaboration with CBOs that are trusted and used by this population to remedy the fear of accessing services, and the addition of high-quality Spanish translation in real-time and of printed materials to reach Spanish speakers with key information. According to the Sonoma Department of Hu- man Services, not all Spanish materials have been revised, and may not have been translated in a way that all Spanish speakers can understand. In order for the materials to be effective, revision and quality needs to be addressed County-wide. In terms of the recovery period, housing is a major challenge. There are efforts to reduce the costs of reconstruction through relaxation of certain regulations 20 , reduction of permitting costs, and some insurance reform advocacy. That said, some other costs of reconstruction are much harder to move the needle on. Many, if not all, local government, CBO, and philanthropic leaders would agree that affordable housing was an issue in Napa and Sonoma prior to the 2017 wildfires, and that the fires great- ly exacerbated the problem. The cost of rebuilding is exor- bitant, with the cost of square footage nearly doubling due to high materials and labor costs. Additionally, many indi- viduals who lost homes do not have sufficient insurance. According to the Director of Planning, Building, and Environmental Services in Napa, about 40-50% of individuals do not have enough insurance to rebuild. The issue is worse is Sonoma. There are efforts to address these costs in a number of ways. One example is to move those who are underemployed or those displaced by the fires into the rebuild work force to provide an income stimulus to those households as well as provide needed labor for the rebuild. It is a long-term challenge to address. Another challenge for the county is similar to what is likely experienced by CBO leaders and staff – burnout and fatigue. Disaster relief and recovery is hard work, and it was added on top of the usual difficult responsibilities. One leader indicated that initially, they were fueled by "organizing something new, helping those in need, but it was also exhausting to be putting in 12 to16 hour days". Additionally, several local government leaders indicated the challenge of budget constraints. In particular, a County Public Health leader shared, "at the state level, it's an ongoing chal- lenge to fund public health. But our governor just created a new position of Surgeon General who is a great champion of upstream investment". Generally, this has not been a time of investment or growth for the Counties, which means that much of the needed staff and sup- port for programs is coming slowly and uncertainly. Finally, a challenge, and maybe better, an opportunity for local government agencies is the implementation and assessment of the ORR Recovery and Resiliency Framework. "[We were fueled by] organizing something new, helping those in need, but it was also exhausting to be putting in 12 to16 hour days". 20 One tough barrier is the tight regulation that prevents development of agricultural land. "Napa County explores tensions between state housing mandates, ag preserve", May 6, 2019, Napa Valley Register. https://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/napa-county-explores-tensions-between-state-housing-mandates-ag-preserve/article_ea72de63-2a95-5fad-a852-d664f2ea07e5.html