- It's been 5 months since Hurricane Idalia hit the Taylor County coast.
- Christian Aid Ministries is now teaming up with the Taylor County Strong Long Term Recovery group to help people pay for their repairs
- Watch the video to find out how the partnership came about, and how great the need remains.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
It's been nearly 5 months after Hurricane Idalia came through Perry, but residents are still recovering, organizations are working to rebuild, and some say it will be years until it gets back to normal. I'm checking in with on the ground resources focused on helping revive this community.
Eldon Sadler is a Taylor County native.
Since Hurricane Idalia, he said even he finds the area unrecognizable.
"You can actually kind of get lost in where you're going because it's changed so much, all the damage," said Sadler.
His family have witnessed the impact first hand. This is the rebuild of his daughter's home. He says they lost power during the hurricane so they bought two generators. But one caught on fire, and it spread.
"It caught the eave of the house on fire and then when it went into the attic, it was kind of like goodbye," Sadler explained. He said his family was at a loss. "Building costs are out of hand now."
This was until he was referred to Christian Aid Ministries. Phil Schrock, with the organization, said they have 2 disaster relief programs. The rapid response program and this one, the rebuilding phase.
"I think I didn't expect there would be so many people affected, not right in the town closer together but scattered throughout," said Shrock.
Shrock said their aim is to help get vulnerable families back into their homes including those uninsured or underinsured.
"The homeowner's not able to recover themselves because of funding or physically not able," said Shrock.
Shrock said they provide the labor force, bringing in volunteers to rebuild from all around the country. He said they've also been working with the and the Taylor County Strong long term recovery group on other projects. Pastor David Johnson is part of the steering committee of the group.
"When materials are needed we have the access to the grants and the granters to try to get grants for materials," said Johnson.
Johnson said the group is volunteer run and supported by the work of County, City, law enforcement, FEMA, and other external agencies.
"We want to see people get their homes back," said Johnson. He shared they hope source appliances and household items. "We want to try and make people as whole as possible."
Sadler said he's grateful for a community that's digging in to help.
"We'll move forward, it has to, we just hope for the best," said Sadler.
Taylor County Strong Long Term Recovery Group are looking for volunteers. They hold meetings in the meeting room on Wednesdays at the Backdoor Bistro. For more information about how you can participate and get involved, you can contact taylorcountystrongltrg@gmail or 850-290-2298.
