(WAUCHULA, Fla.) – Thick fog and a cold morning breeze did not keep dozens of families from receiving disaster recovery assistance in Wauchula, Fla. on Saturday, Dec. 10 at Central Florida Healthcare.
A Florida Rural Legal Services, Inc. disaster response unit had teamed up with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide direct services to those impacted.
"I am proud of the community outreach and disaster relief being provided by our advocates in our service areas impacted by Hurricane Ian and statewide for farmworkers, some of whom have not received any disaster relief or services outside of FRLS’ comprehensive farmworker disaster relief outreach," said Jaffe Picket, FRLS' executive director and chief executive officer.
"Florida Rural Legal Services remains committed to providing services in this time of need for farm working communities," said Picket. "FRLS is the only federally funded organization with the capacity and opportunity to serve migrant farmworkers throughout Florida and we are proud of the planning and partnerships forged and continued by our Migrant Farmworker Unit Managing Attorney, Tia Haggar. This disaster event in Wauchula was our third statewide disaster event where partners, funders, and other service providers work with FRLS to ensure comprehensive disaster services.”
The Wauchula Disaster Relief event distributed food and water, and provided assistance from various social services, governmental agencies, and community non-profit organizations, including Hardee Help Center, Beth-El Farmworker Ministry, Redlands Christian Migrant Association, Farmworker Association of Florida, East Coast Migrant Head Start, Central Florida Healthcare, FEMA, and SBA-Small Business Administration.
This past weekend, FEMA provided on-site registration in three languages: English, Spanish and Haitian Creole.
