The Orange County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 26 approved a budget amendment to transfer up to $20,000 from the county's social justice reserve to the Department of Social Services to extend temporary housing or help establish new housing for residents displaced by Tropical Storm Chantal.

The move, approved 6-0, is presented by county staff as a short-term "bridge" while state Individual Assistance decisions and federal administrative processes proceed. County Manager Mirren told the board the $20,000 is intended to pay for short-term needs such as application fees, security deposits and essential household items.

Why it matters: County staff and community organizers said displaced residents face immediate needs while individual assistance checks and Small Business Administration services are being processed. Lindsay Shoemaker, director of Social Services, told the board staff have been providing case management for residents in hotel rooms and that the number of county-supported hotel rooms fluctuates; on Aug. 22 the county was supporting 20 hotel rooms for displaced households. Shoemaker said the county expects some state individual assistance to assume hotel costs starting Aug. 30, but that individual assistance payments to households may take at least 30 days to arrive.

Board members and dozens of residents who spoke during public comment described multi-week waits for apartments, documentation lost in floods, and special needs such as mobility and medical care that complicate relocation. Several community groups urged the county to direct money to residents directly, not only to landlords or hotels, and to fund additional case management and legal support to replace lost identification and obtain benefits.

"I need a roof over my head," Pam Wright told the board, describing flood damage at her home and saying she had lost almost everything. "Stop treating us different. We all was in the flood. We all lost everything."

Triangle Tenant Union, Triangle Mutual Aid and other community advocates told the board that the $20,000 is insufficient to meet needs without additional case management and help replacing documents needed for housing applications. Devon Gilmore, who volunteers with relief efforts at Camelot Village, described residents with trauma and some who lost essential medical items in the flood.

County staff said other local funding exists: donations to the community giving fund totaled about $83,462, and the recovery group of town and county representatives planned to meet to distribute donated funds. The county also reported $130,000 would remain in the social justice reserve after the $20,000 transfer. The county manager and staff said the donation committee would meet on Thursday and that the county would return to the board Sept. 4 with updates and any needed further funding requests.

Formal action: Commissioner Earl Fowler moved the budget amendment to transfer up to $20,000; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously, 6-0. The staff recommendation language authorizes a budget amendment to move up to $20,000 from the social justice reserve to DSS for temporary housing extension or new housing-related costs.

What the county says it will do next: Staff said they will continue case management at the hotel sites, coordinate with the town of Chapel Hill (which has been funding additional rooms), work with the state on impending Individual Assistance coverage, and push donated community funds through the recovery committee. Residents were advised to call Social Services at (919) 245-2800 to register for casework if they have not already done so.

Ending note: Commissioners said the $20,000 transfer was intended strictly as a short-term bridge pending state and federal steps and the recovery committee's decisions; staff and community groups urged ongoing board oversight and additional funds if the situation requires further action.