PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Almost a year after hurricanes Helene and Milton, many people in the Tampa Bay Area still don’t have stable housing.
Leaders from one organization, the Homeless Empowerment Program, said they are still seeing an increase in the number of people needing help every month.
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"It was a rocky road because I was almost at a loss, you know, trying to know if I was going to split my kids up and let them go to separate places," said Jakasherell Anderson-Levi, a client at HEP.
Anderson-Levi has four children and said that after her home sustained damage after last year’s storms, things got difficult.
“Our family went to sleep during the hurricane, and we woke up, and I had water all in my living room. The living room was completely messed up," she said.
Her landlord didn’t fix the problem…so she began looking for other places to stay. Months later, she received a phone call.
"HEP called and said, 'Hi, we have a space for your family' and you know, I started crying because I was like, I just was about to give up and as soon as I was about to give up, my prayers were answered," said Anderson-Levi.
She now lives on campus at an organization called the Homeless Empowerment Program in Clearwater.
She’s one of many who have needed help from the organization since hurricanes Helene and Milton.
"There’s still a lot of families that are out and don’t have anywhere to go because of the situation," she said.
"We’ve seen a huge influx of people who are asking for all kinds of assistance since last storm season," said Ashley Lowery, President and CEO of the Homeless Empowerment Program.
Lowery said many people lost their homes in the storms.
She said the organization received about 30 calls a month for help before the storms, and since then, that number has consistently stayed around 60 calls per month.
“We put some families into hotels for a period of time until they were able to get back on their feet and find housing of their own, so it's just coming up with ways to be creative to supplement the housing inventory," said Lowery.
At HEP, leaders said they are updating their current hurricane preparedness guide to make sure every one of their clients stays safe this season.
“Done a lot of replacement of things that were aging that looked like they may not survive the next storm season," said Lowery.
HEP is also planning to expand, allowing them to take on even more clients in the future.
Anderson-Levi hopes everyone gets the second chance that she did.
“I know the feeling of being out there with nothing, and it just makes you worry about the other families that are out there that are going to need that help," said Anderson-Levi.
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