Hurricane Wilma Hits South Florida
The end of October saw Hurricane Wilma come to South Florida, adversely effecting all in her path. The elderly and the poor fared the worst. Once cozy retirement villages were now seen as 5-story apartment buildings that were effectively ‘prisons,’ dark without electricity and no working elevators, making it impossible for the infirm and the physically disabled to walk down flights of stairs. These seniors were hostages in small apartments without power – no hot water or refrigerated food, left only with flashlights and to live in fear for weeks wondering if the world had abandoned them. Hands On Tzedakah, in partnership with Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service, bought and brought food to residents of two low income housing apartment buildings and later with the help of a matching corporate grant, provided cleaning services to several residents of a retirement community to get their kitchens and apartments back in order after the mess of wind, rain and debris from Wilma and from being without electricity for weeks.
The poor, yet again, lost mobile homes, lost roofs and lost wages by being out of work the first week after the storm. Living paycheck to paycheck, they were struggling to feed their families. Some lost all their belongings and all that was left were the clothes they wore during the storm. And when December 1st came along, those that managed better, did not know how the rent would be paid. No gas, no transportation, no work, no lights, no generators for this group. The migrant worker community in Boynton Beach seems always to get hurt the worst. This storm was no different. HOT arrived a day after the storm with $5,000 in cash. A social worker from the Caridad Health Center went out on the road and did home visits and visits to where homes once were, giving out $20, $50 or $100 – to pay for immediate essentials – toiletries, clothing, shoes, food, tarps, flashlights and batteries. Our help continues today – as the rents come due– the streets may be almost cleared of debris, but the needs in this Community have not stopped.
