Jacksonville Relief Program Becomes State Model for Wilma-hit Areas

Women to the Rescue, a program initiated by FreshMinistries immediately after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, has been adopted as a model for nine counties in South Florida, following Hurricane Wilma.

Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings launched the program, dubbed “Neighbors to the Rescue” in Broward County last week and it will be taken to eight more counties in coming days.

The program in Jacksonville involves more than 200 volunteer people-to-people advocates who have helped Hurricane Katrina victims settle in the community of Jacksonville. Some 84 hurricane-displaced families who ended up in Jacksonville were adopted by teams of volunteers to help them with everything from housing to food to jobs and transportation.

“Families who were struck by Katrina were literally made homeless and lost nearly all of their important documents that could help them get restarted. Many of them were broke by the time they managed to get to Jacksonville,” said Suzanne Yack, cofounder of the program with FreshMinistries board member Linda King. “It’s as if an entire city burned down around them. We can only imagine what it would be like if not only our own home was lost, but our entire neighborhood or even region just washed away.”

The Women to the Rescue program is largely implemented through internet-based communication between volunteers to identify resources and get them to the people in need, without first stopping at a specific warehouse. By creating a “virtual warehouse,” items were distributed quickly by teams of volunteers working together on behalf of one family at a time.

The FreshMinistries program is funded through a grant by the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund, which is run by the Volunteer Florida Foundation. That same fund is granting $10,000 in start-up grants to nine South Florida counties to start their version of the citizen’s-driven relief effort. Government funds are not being utilized in the program, which relies on private donations.

For more information on the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund, contact Fonda Anderson at (727) 821-2056. For more information on Women to the Rescue, contact Suzanne Yack at FreshMinistries, 904-355-0000 or 403-6667.

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Florida Hurricane Relief Press Release
Lt. Gov. Takes Program Statewide

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