Florida is Dirty Work and Help is Needed

A message from UAF president John Alex

Our work in flooding situations is a dirty one. Mucking out homes of all items and mold mitigation by cutting out sheet rock.  Gross is the only nice way to say it.  Families vary in their response but we are throwing out their lives, pictures and momentos.  It is always hard emotionally

People impacted by Hurricane Ian are now in the desperate stage.  Their homes have been flooded for over a week and the anxiety is palpable. We have had numerous calls for help and it’s frustrating not to have the resources to help them.  If we had a one hundred volunteers we couldn’t meet the demand.  People in the Fort Meyers neighborhood where we are working who refused our help are now asking for assistance that we can’t provide right now.

The people we’ve helped have been so appreciative the tears come to the eyes.  They are nervous and scared about the near future but they feel we helped them get to a better place. They are amazed we just showed up out of nowhere is what I hear most.  “As terrible as this has been, at least I got to know you guys,” is gratifying for all of us to hear.