Hurricane Michael Relief Volunteers, December 10, 2018
Five months after Hurricane Michael hit Florida’s Panhandle, we have stories this week on the nearly $1 billion in federal loans, grants, and other payments that have been spent on hurricane recovery. The state Legislature in the meantime is considering a variety of other recovery spending totaling hundreds of millions of dollars more. But what always amazes me after disasters strike, is the difference a small but dedicated group of regular folks can make. I ran across one such story recently that proves the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
At ground zero in Bay County, three of four households were impacted by the storm’s Cat 4 winds of up to 155 mph and for coastal residents, the 15-foot storm surge. After the storm, the Rivertown Community Church in Marianna, an inland town 50 miles north of the coast that suffered terrific damage as well, started a community outreach to help some of the 20,000 Panhandle residents left homeless. The effort has since taken a turn and built a momentum that no one had planned.
Different groups within the bigger community of men and women – churches, nonprofits, community groups, and individuals, some well outside of the Panhandle – have come together to share their talent, time, and treasury. Together, they are focused on helping the uninsured and underinsured storm survivors.
It’s a story of chipping-in and looking farther down the road at long-term recovery and “finding a way or making a way” to make it happen and not waiting on government assistance. The story comes from this FEMA Newsletter (story #2) and is a short but powerful read to start your week off on a positive note!
Up next, the latest news of note, including all of the pertinent happenings in the Florida Legislature.
LMA Newsletter of 3-18-19
