TATT Chat, April 16, 2020

Terence noted that people have expressed gratitude for Ten at the Top and what we’re doing to bring people together.

Dean talked about our continued focus on information awareness through the COVID-19 repository, the UpstateVibe365 newsletter, and social media.
Sharon talked about the guest posts in the UpstateVibe365 newsletter—trying to get a variety of perspectives in those posts, across the upstate and different sectors.

The group that focuses on connecting the disconnected is working on trying to find out what people don’t know and connecting them to the resources they need.
Weekly virtual meetings continue; click here for information about past meetings

Ann talked through slides that she presented, elaborating on the information she gave in her guest post from this morning’s newsletter.
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) is bringing a new group of people—the self-employed and those in the gig economy—to the UWB, because they are not normally eligible for unemployment. Those people may not receive payment until late April, she said.

After a strong start in January and February where there were increases in airline travel out of GSP, March was down by 42%, and by April there were single digit passenger loads, with 20 daily departures
Nationally, traffic is down by 97%; future bookings down almost 100%
Air cargo is still doing well
View his presentation here

City, county, nonprofits, and other municipalities are all working well together
Homeless population has been provided with showering and handwashing stations
Rent, mortgage, and utilities assistance are a priority to keep people in their homes
Relationships and partnerships are key

A small business that normally makes takeout containers made cardboard (food-grade, which can be sprayed and wiped down between uses) origami masks, and the FD and PD set up a drive-through mask giveaway, giving away more than 10,000 masks in 3 days
Echoed the sentiments of others, that groups are working well together to support the community

News from Greenwood: Angelle LaBorde, President & CEO of the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce, has announced she is leaving to go to Lexington; Heather wanted to express appreciating for all of the things Angelle has done for Greenwood County
Regarding COVID-19, they are in the transition from response to recovery, with the Community Foundation, United Way providing human services, and on the business side, providing technical assistance to help businesses stay afloat
Focus on mental and behavioral health
Filming success stories for social media

Healthcare is not exempt from financial difficulty
70% decrease in elective care, 500% increase in expenses
It’s the surge more than the virus itself that’s causing the impact—so preparing for the surges is key
Expanding virtual visits
What does healthcare look like after COVID-19?
Shout out to partners—in particular, Joey Avery of Laurens County 911 Communications

F3 tornado that went through Seneca did tremendous damage to the county’s largest employer, Borg Warner
Great community support, now dealing with tornado damage as well as COVID-19

8:30 a.m. huddle call every day except for Easter Sunday with all county departments and utilities, municipalities, and nonprofits allows everyone to be on the same page
Workers who are deemed “non-essential” stay on payroll, shift to doing volunteer work for Meals on Wheels and other nonprofits

Very proud of community collaboration
Chamber of Commerce and OneSpartanburg have created a “Back the Burg” campaign to give financial support to small businesses, which has already raised nearly $100,000
Another initiative to support restaurants is corporate catering to bring in lunches, and 25 companies have signed up so far