Hurricanes and tornadoes have taken their toll on LeadingAge members, staff, and residents across the Southeast in the two week-period since Helene’s September 26 landfall on the Florida Gulf Coast and continuing through Hurricane Milton’s destruction in Florida.

Catastrophic flooding, sustained power and infrastructure outages, destroyed and flooded homes, and tremendous hardships—some unimaginable, including lost or missing family members—over the course of two weeks have strained many across the southeastern United States.

After the storms passed, communities rallied. As reported in the Charlotte Ledger, across North Carolina, LeadingAge members have been helping: Early on, “shuttle buses from retirement communities like The Sharon at SouthPark and Southminster in Charlotte that typically take seniors to grocery stores or theater events were quickly filled with adult diapers, baby wipes, pallets of water, and pet food,” and days later, “… the help from Charlotte and across the state has kept on, arriving in rented U-Hauls, facility vans, and staff cars, all with the goal of easing the stress for communities that are struggling with water, power, and internet issues.”

Said the CEO of one North Carolina LeadingAge member: “Extraordinary team, and extraordinary residents, pulling together to get through this biblical event.”

In Florida, after Milton hit on October 9, communities reported widespread flooding and power loss. But there, too, sustaining and surviving is the result, at least in part from community support. Residents at LeadingAge member Westminster Communities of Florida, for instance, evacuated to numerous neighbors including, according to Senior Housing News, Legacy Pointe in Orlando; Lutheran Haven in Oviedo; Oak Hammock in Gainesville; Mease Life in Dunedin; Orlando Lutheran Towers; Penney Retirement Community in Green Cove Springs; and The Ponce Nursing and Rehabilitation in St. Augustine.

Through grit and resilience, staff and residents managed evacuations and came through to the other side of these natural disasters. Another member summed it up by saying, ”It is in times like these that the word community becomes paramount.”

Still, days and months ahead will be a challenge, particularly for community staff left with significant hurricane-related financial difficulties.

“Supporting one another in times of need is a LeadingAge value, a guiding principle,” said LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan. “We step up and serve to the best of our ability. We did it with hurricanes Sandy, Michael, Irma, Maria, and Ian; we’ve responded to the devastation wrought by wildfires and other disasters. Helene and Milton are no different. Our members have over the years donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to aid staff, residents, and member organizations who’ve been harmed by natural disasters.”

For those who are in need of support, please email Amanda Marr (AMarr@leadingage.org) to request funds. To members who are able, please consider a donation to the LeadingAge Disaster Relief Fund, as 100% of all donations will go directly to members and their staff.

Adds Sloan: “We’re here for those in need. Although the impact of these uncontrollable events can be far-reaching and long-lasting, we are here to help see it through.”

Keep abreast of all Hurricane Season 2024 and Disaster Relief developments via this serial post.