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Keri Gage, Assistant Director, Touching Miami
with Love, writes to report on some of their opportunities
in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma.
Hello Friends!!
I'm finally able to get back online and email.
My computer crashed right before Wilma's lovely
visit...then I was without power for a week (TML
was without power for two weeks).
We have all survived, However Wilma definitely
made an impact on our community. Some of our neighbors
across the street were evicted due to hurricane
damage on their roof. The third floor in several
of the units caved in to the first floor. No one
was physically injured; however the emotional
wounds are very evident.
When Jason and I arrived at TML one morning,
we were greeted with chaos and police cars. We
immediately walked across the street to find out
what was going on and if we could help. We discovered
people in a shock-like state, with emotions soaring
(crying, yelling or just sitting there not quite
sure what to do) At 5:30 in the morning, the police
began pounding on all the doors in this apartment
building telling them that the building was condemned
leaving them a couple of hours to gather their
stuff and depart before they chained the building.
I cannot even imagine what I would have done if
that had been me. How do I pack up and move my
life in such a short amount of time? Where would
I go? This last question was on everyone's mind.
Yes, they had to depart, yet they were given limited
options on where they should go. They had their
choice of homeless shelters but were left with
no choice as to where to store their belongings.
Jason and I immediately assessed the situation
and needs of our neighbors. We began getting the
word out that we would serve as a storage facility
in the interim time. This allowed families to
leave their household items in a secure and safe
place. Any items left would have undoubtedly been
open for unscrupulous people to sift through and
steal...which indeed did happen several days later.
As a staff, we have tried to reach out to our
community with love and support. We are limited
in so many ways to what we can do; however the
little we are able to do does impact their lives
and families. Right now we are currently storing
items for 13 families and plan to distribute food
supplies early next week. Thanks to CBF FL and
contributions they have received to help with
disaster response, we will be able to provide
food supplies and other monetary support for families
in Overtown.
I greatly appreciate all your thoughts and prayers
for me, my friends and my neighborhood. It will
take some time for Miami to return to normal,
yet we are on our way.
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