fbpx
Connect with us

Community rallies to support oft-overlooked storm victims

Mark Parker

Published

on

Hundreds of South St. Petersburg residents, including seniors, children and expectant mothers, waited in the sun to received storm relief supplies Friday afternoon at the Enoch Davis Center. Photos by Mark Parker.

Relatively minor flooding – or losing a refrigerator full of groceries – can have an outsized impact on lower-income households that already struggle to make ends meet.

Over 775 South St. Pete residents – including seniors, children and infants – who braved a heat index topping 100 degrees to receive critical resources underscored that point Friday afternoon. Reach St. Pete organized an expansive hurricane relief event at the Enoch D. Davis Center with local partners like the Homeless Leadership Alliance of Pinellas, SPCA Tampa Bay, the City of St. Petersburg and Baby Cycle.

Like multiple women who waited in line, Kayla Hunt, a Reach St. Pete volunteer, is pregnant. While her storm impacts were minimal, the event highlighted how Hurricane Helene touched every part of the city.

“When you don’t know what’s going on outside of your own space, you can’t really do anything to help,” Hunt said. “Just seeing this has been good for me to be aware.”

SPCA Tampa Bay handed out pet supplies.

She also noticed the number of moms in need. In addition to food, water, and household, pet and cleaning supplies, the nonprofits provided diapers and baby wipes.

The outpouring of attendees did not surprise Lynnette Buchanan, the center’s longtime supervisor. She said the facility has catalyzed the oft-overlooked South St. Pete community since its inception in 1981.

“We’re more than happy that the people are here,” Buchanan added. “They just need to stay orderly. And I’m thankful the police are here to keep that down because we cannot manage all of them.”

Alexia Morrison, director of Reach St. Pete, credited dozens of organizations for providing supplies and sweat equity. She believes the lines that snaked around the property highlighted “how desperately people need immediate help.”

Morrison said the event’s magnitude also showed the power of collaboration. That must continue, as she believes “this is going to be a long-term situation.”

Congresswoman Kathy Castor has advocated for South St. Pete and the center in the nation’s capital. In March, she secured $1.5 million to transform what Mayor Ken Welch has called a “vital but dated” facility into a state-of-the-art community hub.

Castor made an unannounced visit Friday. She called the event a “great example” of the center’s importance to the community.

“It’s a great thing to see neighbors helping neighbors because right now, this is mostly volunteer-driven,” Castor said. “Even if you didn’t flood out, you lost power. And you lost everything in your refrigerator.

“A lot of folks live on Social Security or paycheck to paycheck, and that is a massive burden.”

Morrison said over 100 volunteers from participating organizations served 2,781 people when including household sizes. She organized the event in four days without an office.

U.S. Rep Kathy Castor (left) speaks with Shelly Loos (center), director of stakeholder and community engagement, and Mariann Den Baas,  owner of St. Pete Event Management and a Reach St. Pete volunteer, at the Enoch D. Davis Center.

Local leaders discussed the storm’s disparate effects on those who struggled to survive before Helene earlier Friday at Welch’s emergency briefing. City street teams continue going door to door to ensure every resident can access relief resources.

Dr. Kanika Tomalin, CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg (FHSP), noted that “every one of the city’s social determinants for health have been disrupted.” Those include access to health care, education and economic stability.

Tomalin said people of color and with lower socioeconomic statuses “absolutely suffer at a disproportionate rate when something like this happens. Their resilience is just not at the same level that other people enjoy.”

“This is a test for everyone, regardless of the conditions they enjoyed prior to the storm,” she added. “But we will have to work extra hard to ensure those who faced fragility … are able to recover.”

Welch said equitable resource distribution is a core tenet of the city’s recovery response. He pledged to address every neighborhood’s needs, including those that typically do not flood.

Administrator Rob Gerdes said the mayor’s We Are St. Pete Fund would directly assist low-income residents. The city contributed the first $200,000, with $100,000 covering administrative costs to ensure 100% of donations support storm victims.

The Tampa Bay Rays, FHSP and Neptune Flood owners Trevor Burgess and Gary Hess each pledged $100,000. John Catsimatidis and the Red Apple Group, the development firm behind the Residences at 400 Central, donated $10,000 “to start.”

“We really need the community to come together and donate,” Gerdes said. “So, we can get those funds out to the people who really need it.”

Welch said he equitably distributed food and laundry trucks throughout the city. He also realizes there are still “some neighborhoods who feel like they’ve been missed.”

A local pastor advocated for resources at a city council meeting Thursday after Helene’s storm surge inundated the area around Clam Bayou. David Thompson, the city’s director of government affairs, helped ensure water, food, tarps and cleaning supplies arrived that evening.

Thompson said street teams would bring additional items Friday afternoon. He credited “good neighbors” for ensuring officials remain aware of people they may have overlooked.

“We’re trying to hear as much as we can,” Thompson added. “If we hear about something, we’ll get on it.”

Ronnica Whaley continued providing hot meals in South St. Pete despite the theft of her food truck’s generator.

 

 

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Avatar

    S. Rose Smith-Hayes

    October 5, 2024at5:19 pm

    Thanks to whomever remembered Enoch Davis Center. This was the perfect venue for such a purpose.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

By posting a comment, I have read, understand and agree to the Posting Guidelines.

The St. Pete Catalyst

The Catalyst honors its name by aggregating & curating the sparks that propel the St Pete engine.  It is a modern news platform, powered by community sourced content and augmented with directed coverage.  Bring your news, your perspective and your spark to the St Pete Catalyst and take your seat at the table.

Email us: spark@stpetecatalyst.com

Subscribe for Free

Share with friend

Enter the details of the person you want to share this article with.