As the Red Cross continues to help communities recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the Central Florida team has relied on its partners in the Red Cross Community Adaptation Program (CAP).
One such CAP partner is EPIC Community Resource Center located in Englewood, Florida. EPIC's purpose is to bridge the gap in Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota Counties by providing services to community residents in need while working in conjunction with the respective counties. They collaborate with existing programs and partners by providing services directly to those in need and functioning as a central resource center for the community. Because of CAP, the Red Cross will soon be able to assist EPIC in making its facility a more permanent location.
When Helene and Milton hit, EPIC was able to activate the next day utilizing the Red Cross resiliency training they received with other CAP partners from Lee and Sarasota County. Once their teams were safe, EPIC opened its doors and operated as a community-resident resiliency center.
"Since September 27, our teams have worked 40 days straight with rotating shifts and logged around 2,000-man hours," said Ronnie Jackson, president and CEO at EPIC Community Resource Center. "We were ready because of the Red Cross training we received."
Englewood suffered severe damage, with homes buried under sand and destruction to the community. EPIC mucked and gutted homes, provided meals and served as a community resiliency hub. With their volunteers, EPIC has worked on about 80 houses in its clean-up and recovery. Through CAP, the Red Cross was able to provide them with generators, cell phone chargers and other emergency response equipment.
Along with their community response, EPIC continues to partner with the Red Cross to conduct damage assessments in Englewood. Volunteers received training in conducting damage assessments using the Red Cross survey system. These volunteers visited Englewood to observe and assess home damages so the Red Cross could continue its recovery assistance.
"The most special thing within organizing CAP is seeing the humanity in our partners and watching their partnerships flourish," said Glama Carter, Community Manager of the Sarasota County CAP. "During disasters, you can see how people selflessly help others. They are serving every person they come across. We’ve seen it with EPIC and the rest of our partners throughout this response."
To learn more about our Red Cross Community Adaptation Program (CAP), view American Red Cross Community Adaptation Program.
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