Many people in Highlands County are still struggling to recover after Hurricane Irma. There are hundreds of families who are now living in unsafe conditions in homes that are in need of repairs.
Joann Hinton is now worried about the state of her home. Her home has a massive hole in the roof. She is also now missing drywall and has rotted wood because of flooding.
“As you can see this thing is rotten out,” she said showing ABC Action News her home. “This wood is all rotten and wet.”
She is afraid to have repairs done because she feels cannot pay her $2400 deductible.
And Hinton isn’t alone.
Cheryl Layton is now living in a home with a tree in her bedroom.
A local church is teaming up with relief teams from across the country to bring help to people in need of Irma-related assistance.
“I can’t begin to imagine the struggle of our neighbors who have lost so much,” said Pastor David Juliano, of The First Methodist Church of Sebring.
The First Methodist Church of Sebring is now teaming up with teams across the state to repair people’s homes for free.
This includes everything from tree removal to roof repairs and more.
“To help people and to help give them back the hope that they need,” Juliano said.
They are asking people who need home repairs fill out this survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2M9YNTL
All information will be passed onto Relief Teams who will assessing needs and providing help in the coming weeks, Juliano said.
This is not for financial assistance. Teams will be helping with home repair only.
Hinton is planning on filling out the survey and asking for help. She is grateful the community is coming together to help.
“There’s lots of kind people out here,” she said. “We just have to be open to it.”
