►
Description
Mayor John McCann speaks with Sandy Gillis of The Deep Well Project on Hilton Head Island.
A
Thank
you
good
afternoon.
Everybody
I'm
here
today
with
San
Diego's,
the
executive
director
of
deep.
Well,
it's
a
big
treat
for
us,
because
you
hear
so
much
about
them
and
I've
heard
so
much
about
Sandy.
That
I've
been
looking
forward
to
this
for
a
long
time.
Let
me
read
you
some
background
on
them
before
we
get
into
the
discussion.
Deep
well
has
been
helping
the
neighbors
of
Hilton
Head
Island
since
1973.
A
a
long
long
time.
The
organization
was
founded
by
Charlotte
as
a
service
to
the
local
community
who
had
suffered
illness
such
as
a
result
of
drinking
contaminated
water
from
shallow
Wells
over
the
decades.
Other
needs
involved,
given
an
immediate
hand
through
those
that
need
a
hand,
so
they'd
be
able
to
help
themselves.
A
I
must
say
I'm
very
impressed
by
the
work
that
they
do.
I'm
very
impressed
by
Sandy.
I
want
to
thank
you
for
providing
assistance
to
the
chimney
Cole
residents
and
the
displacement
they
faced.
Let's
talk
about
displacement
and
housing
and
homelessness
on
the
island
is
homelessness.
A
big
problem
here.
B
It
is
definitely
a
problem
when
you
talk
about
the
numbers
and
the
volumes.
You
know,
obviously
we're
not
going
to
have
the
numbers
that
a
large
Urban
setting
is
going
to
have,
but
we
do
have
it
and
it's
really
driven
by
by
affordable
housing
and
the
cost
of
housing
too
many
people
here,
just
live
paycheck
to
paycheck
and
all
they
need
is
one
little
thing
to
put
them
in
a
tailspin
when
too
much
of
their
income
is
tied
up
in
housing.
B
It's
hard
to
imagine,
but
literally
one
little
thing:
the
car
breaks
down
they're
late
for
work.
They
get
written
up
at
work,
they
lose
their
job
and
suddenly
they're
facing
eviction
or
foreclosure.
It
can
happen
just
that
quickly,
but
there
certainly
are
homeless
people
here
on
our
Island.
They
hide
really
well,
but
they
are
here
we
just
before
you
came
in
today.
A
It's
amazing:
we
live
in
paradise
and
we
all
consider
this
paradise.
Yet
we
have
homeless
people,
we
have
hungry
people,
we
have
crime
issues
in
some
area
and
we
don't
talk
about
it
enough.
That's
why
I
think
today's
interview
is
very
very
important
that
we
get
it
out
there.
We
live
in
Paradise,
but
Paradise
has
its
problems
too.
That
have
to
be
addressed,
and
that's
one
of
the
advantages
I
haven't
deep
well
here
is
to
help
address
those
problems
along
the
way.
Depot's
concerns
go
further
than
the
food.
B
We
we
do.
We
really
food
is
probably
one
of
the
most
obvious
things
we
do
and
the
pantry
is
open
five
days
a
week
to
help
people,
but
we
do
a
lot
of
things
around
this
shelter
issue.
You
know
the
the
needs
of
the
community
certainly
evolves
over
time,
just
as
it
has
here
at
deep
well
and
the
hottest
button
issues
that
we
do
have
right
now
relate
to
housing
and
it
could
be
help
with
a
utility
bill.
There's
no
water
in
the
home.
B
The
power
is
off
in
the
home
could
be
an
emergency
rent
or
mortgage
payment.
We
saw
the
highest
volumes
of
those
services
that
we've
ever
seen
in
our
50-year
history
in
the
early
days
of
covid,
when
no
one
could
work,
and
then
we
do
a
really
unique
program
here
in
housing
called
livable
housing.
It's
really
cool,
because
I
can't
believe
the
volunteers
who
help
us
with
it
do
it.
We've
got
got
three
different
teams
of
volunteers,
men
and
women.
Some
are
really
skilled
and
gifted
with
home
repairs
and
carpentry
and
drills.
B
Some
not
so
skilled,
but
they've
got
a
lot
of
enthusiasm
and
they
go
out
and
they
make
really
critical
repairs
on
people's
homes.
South
Carolina,
interestingly,
has
one
of
the
highest
numbers
of
home
ownership
in
the
United
States,
but
it
also
has
one
of
the
lowest
levels
of
the
quality
of
those
homes.
So
we
have
a
lot
of
people
here
on
Hilton
Head,
as
well
as
in
neighboring
communities,
they're
living
in
a
home
they
own,
but
the
home,
is
in
such
bad
shape.
B
It's
honestly,
not
even
you
know
safe
for
them
to
be
there,
so
our
team
of
livable
housing,
guys
we
go
and
do
what
we
can.
We
do
Outsource
work
things
like
things
like
roofs,
electrical
work
that
needs
to
be
done
to
code.
Plumbing
work,
anybody
out
there
that
would
could
help
with
electrical
and
plumbing
work.
We
would
welcome
them
to
our
livable
housing
team,
because
there's
a
lot
of
people
living
in
houses
out
there
that
just
aren't
safe.
B
A
B
A
B
A
B
There's
a
lot
of
diversity,
even
within
that
you
know
you
can
talk
about
Latinos
Or
Hispanic,
but
we
have
people
from
Mexico.
We
have
people
from
South
America.
We
have
people
from
Puerto
Rico.
We
have
lots
of
Caribbean,
it's
it's!
So
it's
it's!
A
beautiful,
beautiful,
Melting,
Pot
that
we
have
here
and.
A
B
A
great
question,
so
I
I
was
serving
as
a
volunteer
on
the
board
of
directors
here
at
deep
well
about
10
years
ago
and
after
being
on
the
board
for
five
years.
The
executive
director
at
that
time
was
an
amazing
woman
named
Betsy
Dowdy,
well
Betsy
kept
telling
us
on
the
board
when
I
turned
70
I'm
retiring.
B
So
you
people
better
get
busy
finding
my
replacement-
and
you
know
I
thought
about
that
and
I
thought
about
that
and
I
thought
about
my
career
and
what
I
had
done
and
I
was
really
ready
to
do
something
different,
but
maybe
be
able
to
use
the
market
knowledge
I
had
from
having
been
here
a
long
time
and
I
put
my
hat
in
the
ring.
There
was
a
lot
of
competition
for
the
job
there
were
it
was.
B
There
were
Regional
applicants,
there
were
National
applicants
and
I
was
tickled
to
death
when
I
got
the
call
and
got
the
offer.
I've
now
been
the
director
for
five
years,
but
my
I
will
always
be
eternally
grateful
to
to
Betsy
Dowdy.
She
made
that
transition
going
from
a
volunteer
to
a
staff,
member,
so
comfortable
and
so
easy
and
and
so
productive.
B
B
B
So
it's
kind
of
an
interesting
thing
when
you
think
about
how
do
you
decide
what
services
you're
going
to
offer
about
nine?
Ten
years
ago,
the
school
district
decided
they
were
going
to
make
school
uniforms
mandatory
for
all
of
the
public
school
kids.
Well,
we
had
a
bunch
of
people
start
coming,
calling
us
and
crashing
at
our
door.
Saying
I've
got
five
kids
I
can't
afford
to
go
out
and
buy
brand
new
uniforms
with
collared
shirts.
For
them,
can
you
help
and
that's
how
that
School
Readiness
program
was
birthed?
B
We
have
a
wonderful
grant
that
helps
us
pay
for
the
cost
of
that,
but
we
provide
every
low-income
family
on
Hilton
Head
that
calls
us
and
says
they
need
help.
We
give
each
child
five
brand
new
collared
uniform
shirts
school
colors
so
that
they
need
to
have-
and
we
also
always
go
online
and
check
the
school
supply
list
that
the
Beaufort
County
School
District
post.
So
if
they're
a
second
grader,
they
get
this
bag
of
supplies.
If
they're
a
fourth
grader,
they
get
this
bag
of
supplies.
B
So
it's
really
important
that
those
children
start
the
school
year
with
the
right
clothes,
the
right
equipment,
the
right
things.
The
worst
thing
that
could
happen
is
for
a
child
to
walk
into
the
school
and
feel
like
I.
Don't
have
the
right
stuff,
I'm
not
prepared
it's
just.
It
puts
them
behind
the
eight
ball
right
from
the
get-go,
so
we
feel
like
if
we
can
equip
them
and
give
them
the
new
clothes
book
bag
whatever
it
is.
They
need
it's
a
great
way
for
that
child
to
start
the
school
year
to.
B
B
A
B
Nice,
in
that
it
lets
it
kind
of
equalizes
the
playing
field
and-
and
it
also
when
you
put
on
a
uniform,
you
know
you're
going
to
do
a
job
and,
and
so
I
I
totally
salute
the
you
know
the
movement
to
go
into
it.
It
just
caught
a
lot
of
our
low-income
families
off
guard
and,
and
it
was,
it
was
good
to
start
that
program.
B
A
B
You
know
I
think
a
lot
of
people
use
food
differently.
A
great
example:
Sandalwood
food
pantry,
that's
open
every
Tuesday,
most
of
the
folks
who
go
to
Sandalwood
for
food
supplement.
Don't
generally
come
to
deep,
well
and
deep.
Well
folks
who
come
here
to
get
food
generally,
don't
go
there
the
same
way.
Do
you
go
to
the
same
grocery
store
every
week
so
like
I'm,
a
Publix
girl
and
my
husband
is
a
Harris
Teeter
guy,
but
part
of
it
is
the
same
kind
of
creatures
of
habits
that
we
do.
B
You
know
where
you
go
for
food.
It's
really
important,
though,
that
that
food
access
is
there
because,
honestly,
we
use
the
food
pantry
here
in
a
really
strategic
way
in
that,
if
people
are
having
trouble
making
their
mortgage
or
paying
their
power
bills,
if
they
can
come
here
and
we
can
give
them
200
worth
of
food
to
cover
them
for
the
next
week
or
so
that
frees
up
that
precious
budget
of
theirs
to
do
other
things
with
that,
so
we
can
almost
think
about
food
as
being
a
building
block.
B
B
Rarely
ever
deal
with
transient
people,
we
would
certainly
offer
transient
people
food
if
they
needed
food
or
a
shower
if
they
needed
that.
But
we
know
a
lot
about
our
clients.
We
have
a
client
database
with
over
ten
thousand
five
hundred
names
in
it
and
every
time
we
help
them
with
something
they
get
a
little
note
in
their
file.
So
we
can
really
quickly.
We
know
we
can
sense.
When
there's
patterns,
we
can
sense
when
there's
problems
and
We
Gather
a
lot
of
information.
So
overwhelmingly
the
people
that
we
are
serving
are
local
residents.
B
B
Not
as
much
as
you
would
think
really,
you
know
I
think
it's
just
one
of
those
things
depending
on
where
you've
come
from.
What
we
think
is
kind
of
the
not
so
attractive
tasting
water
here
might
still
taste
pretty
good.
We
do
have
a
few
clients
who
always
say
if
you
have
bottled
water,
I'd
love
to
have
some,
but
but
we
don't
get
that
as
often
as
you
would
think.
A
A
B
B
Really
does,
and-
and
you
know,
since
you
brought
up
rotary
I,
never
let
an
opportunity
go
by
94
of
the
dollars
we
spend
here
at
Deep
Well,
which
on
average,
we
are
pumping
anywhere
from
a
million
and
a
half
to
two
million
dollars
worth
of
Aid
every
year
into
the
community.
94
percent
of
that
is
directly
to
client
services
and
programs,
and
we
could
not
do
that
if
we
were
not
sitting
in
a
building.
B
We
do
a
lot
of
things
and
we
have
seven
people
on
staff
and
only
two
of
those
seven
people
work
full
time,
but
we
have
an
army
of
about
150
or
200
volunteers.
So
essentially
we
have
a
free
building
and
we
have
a
donated
payroll.
That
is
how
you
can
spend
94
percent
of
your
expenditures
directly
on
Client
Services.
B
We
were
we
that
was
the
original
home
that
the
Rotary
Club
bought
for
us,
but
we
backed
right
up
to
the
Hilton
Head
airport
and,
as
the
airport
expanded
it
kind
of
expanded
right
into
the
back
door
of
our
building.
But
you
know
sometimes
one
seems
thing
like:
oh
what
this
is
going
to
be
awful.
How
are
we
going
to
move?
We
were
were
able
to
find
a
location
with
the
county,
making
us
whole
with
that
move
in
a
much
larger
facility.
A
B
The
this
is
the
most
incredibly
generous,
Community
I
think
anybody
could
ever
live
in,
and
we
see
that
every
day
here
at
Deep
Well,
we
are
kind
of
the
crossroads
where
people
who
need
help
come
here
and
people
who
can
help
also
show
up
and
whether
it's
Financial
donations
or
food
pantry
donations
or
at
Christmas
time
new
toys
for
the
children.
The
Santa
shop
is
it's
it's
incredible.
It's
it's!
B
B
B
Really
is-
and
you
know
when
you
think
about
a
limited
Services
town
government
I-
think
that's
one
of
the
reasons
why
we
have
so
many
phenomenal
non-profits
that
have
emerged
like
deep
well
like
Volunteers
in
medicine,
like
second
helpings,
the
the
non-profits
have
stepped
up
and
with
support
and
help
from
from
government
resources
and
the
community.
Here
we
are
able
to
plug
a
lot
of
holes
and-
and
it's
great
that
we're
able
to
do
that
if
we
could
just
figure
out
how
we
can
solve
affordable
housing.
That's
our
that's!
B
That's
our
big
Crux
right
now,
because
it
just
puts
so
many
people,
they're,
so
cost
burdened
and
and
too
too
much
of
their
budget
is
going
into
their
housing.
It
just
puts
them
in
a
very
vulnerable
position,
so
as
soon
as
they
have
the
least
little
bump
in
the
road,
so
much
is
tied
up
with
housing.
It
just
creates
new
problems
and
thankfully
non-profits
like
deep
well
and
others
are
out
there
to
assist.
A
B
They
do
I
mean
it's
the
American
dream.
It
really
is,
and
we've
got
a
lot
of
folks
here-
that
work
very
long
hours
to
do
amazing
things:
they're
washing
our
dishes,
they're
cutting
our
grass
they're
cleaning,
our
pools,
they're
manicuring,
our
golf
courses,
I'm
a
big
tennis
player,
they're
grooming,
those
those
clay,
tennis
courts.
We
have
here,
but
we
need
to
find
a
seat
at
the
table
for
all
of
those
people
that
are
making
that
happen
too.
And
if
there's
a
way,
we
can
do
that.
B
A
A
B
B
A
That's
amazing:
the
fire
department
doesn't
run
every
year
different
areas
and
give
toys
to
kids
along
the
way
and
I
went
one
year
on
a
fire
truck
to
give
out
the
toys
and
the
smiles
and
the
appreciation
that
the
kids
was.
It
was
heartwarming,
it
was
just
one
little
gift
and
they
were
all
happy
and
nobody
was
coming
back
and
sneaking
in
for
a
second
one,
and
it
was
just
a
good
moment
for
me
to
be
amazing-
to
see
all
that
good
stuff
that
goes
on
and.
B
A
B
Is
a
long
time,
Hilton
Head
has
changed
so
much
in
those
last
50
years.
One
of
the
special
things
we're
going
to
do
for
the
anniversary
is
thanks
to
a
very,
very
generous
donation.
There's
a
film
being
made
and
the
film
is
going
to
be
a
bit
of
a
documentary
and
taking
people
back
to
those
first
50
years
and
and
we're
really
going
to
look
at
how
deep
well
has
evolved
over
those
50
years,
along
with
the
evolution
of
the
town
and
the
town
of
Hilton
Head.
B
So
we're
excited
to
see
that
final
film
clip
when
it's
ready
to
go
we're
going
to
have
a
big
party
in
March
and
have
a
premiere
for
that
film.
We
hope
we'll
raise
a
few
funds
in
the
process
with
that,
but
we
are
excited
to
introduce
because
there's
so
many
new
people
who
have
come
here
in
the
last
year
or
two
that
don't
have
that
history
and
don't
know
that
we
really
did
drill
Wells
50
years
ago
and
that's
how
we
got
our
name.