Hurricane Harvey

How many of you have lost a home to a hurricane? Probably not many, but I have. In 1996 we lost a vacation/rental home to hurricane Fran in Kure Beach, N.C., just a few miles south of Wilmington. Fran peaked as a Category 3 storm with 120 mph winds as it hit landfall Sept. 6, just a few days after we left our Labor Day beach vacation to wind up the summer. In fact, while we were cleaning up to go home, we watched Fran on the Weather Channel, and I remember my wife as plain as yesterday proclaiming “One of those storms is going to hit us” (there were two storms at the time coming up from Africa).

It was devastating physically, emotionally and financially (it took more than a year before the insurance company settled with us) and we weren’t even there when it hit, and it wasn’t our primary residence. So while we kind of have firsthand experience, we really don’t know and can’t imagine what the people of coastal Texas are going through. I just heard an estimate this morning from Steve Tybor, president of Eight Days of Hope ministry, that 10,000 homes will be lost or in need of total renovation due to Harvey. Many of those people will lose their jobs or small businesses as well as their homes and pets.

So what can we, as compassionate seniors, do to help our brothers and sisters in Texas? Several things come to mind:

First and foremost is to pray for the people affected by the storm, not only the victims, but also those who are putting their own lives on the line trying to help in so many ways.

Second, we can donate to agencies that are trying to help. Two come to mind: www.eightdaysofhope.com is an organization dedicated to helping our fellow citizens in times of natural disasters. It does rapid response and disaster recovery in the wake of events like Harvey. I just went online to donate myself; didn’t want to be called out as a hypocrite. The other agency is www.samaritanspurse.org. From their website: “Samaritan’s Purse mobilizes staff and equipment and enlists thousands of volunteers to provide emergency aid to victims of tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, floods and other natural disasters in the United States. We often stay behind after our initial response to rebuild or restore houses for needy families.”

Third, we can volunteer to help with our own two hands. Both of the above organizations as well as many others help by coordinating the efforts of volunteers. No particular skills are prerequisites.

If you are moved by the tragedy that is afflicting our brothers and sisters down in Texas, pray and ask God how you might help, and then do it.

Thanks for reading All About Seniors. See you next week!

Bill Milby, CSA, is a certified senior advisor and a director of Visiting Angels® of Macon, a non-medical, living assistance service for seniors. If you have questions or comments about this column, you can reach him at william.mercylink@gmail.com or search online at www.facebook.com/VisitingAngelsofCentralGA/.

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