MANATEE COUNTY – In a year already full of uncertainty Tropical Storm Eta brought record breaking rainfall to the greater Tampa Bay Area.
While many of us received the warnings and alerts of flash flooding at our fingertips one group remained undeserved.
Tropical Storm Eta caught many Floridians unprepared for the amount of rainfall and coastal flooding seen in areas like in South Florida and the Keys, parts of Tampa Bay, and in our own backyards as well.
“This hurricane was very unpredictable,” Laura Licoski
Licoski, founder of Facing Homelessness – Bradenton, says the homeless population of Manatee & Sarasota County only have one shelter in each area to turn to whenever mother nature let’s us feel her wrath.
“We didn’t really have much hurricane prep in place, but even if we do have a hurricane prep in place it’s very important to decide where the homeless are going to be able to shelter,” said Licoski.
Other than the Salvation Army in both Sarasota and Manatee County, those living on the streets are faced with limited options.
Director of Community Relations & Development for the Salvation Army in Manatee County Kelly French says they were full to capacity almost exceeding their limit to shelter 150 people.
“We make sure that every bed in our building is full. No one is really going to be turned away when there is a storm like that, we’re going to find a way,” said French. “If we have to put mat’s on the floor we’ll do that.”
French says in the case that they physically have no more room available they work with the individuals to secure they hunker down somewhere safe. Whether that be in a hotel room, with a friend, or taken to a nearby hurricane shelter operated by the county.
“We have anywhere from 700 to 1,000 homeless people at any given time in our community. Lack of communication with opening a shelter at the very last minute. They wouldn’t be able to get the word out fast enough,” said Licoski.
She says more still needs to be done to ensure every resident of the county has somewhere safe to turn to despite their housing situation.
“The libraries wouldn’t be open if someone didn’t have a cellphone or communication. So it’s really key that we really prep before the storm even for worst case scenario,” said Silicosis.
Tropical Storm Eta reached 40-50 mile per hour winds, brought in at least 3 feet of storm surge, and 4-8 inches of rainfall,
Licoski says one of the best ways to help those living on the streets is to hand out items such as ponchos, and even large garbage bags that can be used to keep their stuff from getting ruined in the rain.
