The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Charlotte County, Florida, shared these photos in gratitude for the grant from the UUA Disaster Relief Fund in the fall of 2022.
“Learning to breathe and asking for help has always been hard for me… Recently with Hurricane Irma, my family and I evacuated Florida for the safety and well being of our baby. He turned 1 year old on our way through the Florida panhandle and celebrated his birthday with his mom singing the happy birthday song in the back seat of our pickup truck crammed full of water, clothes, and other last minute evacuation stuff…
It was not only a journey to remember but a financial burden too. You see, having drained our savings account on paying the hospital bills for his birth and day care, this unexpected evacuation really hit us hard. Expenses racked up quickly from getting gas and high prices at the pump when you were lucky enough to find a station with it, to extra food and baby supplies…
We were turned down [for a FEMA grant] and provided a list of all other agencies which we could apply to for help but none of which were related to our need. Then I saw an e-mail from our interim minister at UUCFM. So, I asked for help again…Now, as I grown man who has depended on no one since the age of 15, I don’t cry much. However, this day I did.
Receiving this assistance has made a huge difference. I was able to get my finances out of the red and back on track, pay the mortgage on time again, and breathe! Thank you so much for helping my family survive this crisis and helping me personally learn that sometimes growing is asking for help.”
“The yards of 30 non-UU disabled and elderly residents were cleared and four homes cleaned between mid October and present. Of the four homes cleaned, three were shelter residents that had been residing in emergency shelter [for weeks] …The shelters are now being closed and these individuals are in limbo because their homes are not habitable. One 81-year-old blind gentleman did not have indoor plumbing, but instead used an outhouse that was almost as big as his house…The living conditions of some elderly residents we helped were deplorable.”
“We have deep partnerships with the Latino and non-profit community that serves Santa Paula with its large migrant and undocumented population…The Community Partners we helped with the UUA’s Disaster Relief Funds augmented by some individual donors are Latino Town Hall, CAUSE, Interface, the Santa Paula Ministerial Association and the Ventura County Community Foundation’s Undocufund. A number of families lost everything, especially in Wheeler Canyon. Latino Town Hall used our grant to them to respond to their housing needs. Similarly CAUSE and Interface, both with offices in Santa Paula, have been working with vulnerable populations in Santa Paula dealing with the fire and the smoke. CAUSE provided masks to farmworkers still working the row crops and orchards during the fire, for instance.”
“The roof on our church fellowship hall is old, and during hurricane Irma, we lost a lot of shingles. In some areas, the shingles and felt were blown of, and the wood is showing, so we have to replace it as soon as possible…Our fellowship hall is used 3 nights a week by the local NA chapter, and they boast of one of the highest recovery rates in northeast Georgia. Church members take part in all community events…This is a huge help to our small congregation.”
