Better Together comes to the aid of hard-hit Suncoast Estates
Hundreds of volunteers from Better Together, a nonprofit dedicated to families and children, came to hard-hit Suncoast Estates Tuesday, visiting door-to-door to find out the exact needs of the families that may have been impacted by Hurricane Ian.
Hurricane Ian hit the community especially hard, leaving many homes destroyed or uninhabitable.
Families are living with holes in their homes, mold and mosquitoes. Many are in need of resources.
Megan Rose, CEO for Better Together, said the idea was to meet with isolated families and connect them to their volunteers, of which there were nearly 300.
“This community was hit really hard. They were already struggling. These are hard-working families that are struggling with resources,” Rose said. “Today, we are going door to door, finding out exactly what they need and distributing instantly what they need.”
They distributed food and supplies.
Susan Thomas, from Estero, was one of the many volunteers who came to help with her two kids and was happy how the community showed up to help.
“We saw it on Facebook and we decided we can help others. We’ve been very fortunate and because of that, it makes it real to see what has happened,” Thomas said. “It’s really sad and sobering, but we want to be out there helping.”
Families with small children will get extra support in the coming weeks. Better Together will continue to serve the area in the event they need additional things and serve other underserved communities, including Pine Manor and Dunbar.
Shevaun Harris, secretary for the Department of Children and Families, said they had everyone they need to help struggling families.
“Better Together helped organize this with the church and we are here to support the residents of this area. We were here for part of last week distributing key items and bringing in our resources to help people get back on their feet,” Harris said.
Supporters met up at their headquarters at Suncoast Baptist Church at 2033 Laurel Lane and worked in two shifts, morning and afternoon.
Volunteers made contact with every household, provided supplies and learned what was still needed by residents, some of whom were living in heavily damaged homes.
Pastor Dale Blackburn said the church had been prepping for the storm with donated necessities after a huge outpouring of donations.
“This organization contracted us a week ago and said they wanted to do our neighborhood and base it at our church,” Blackburn said. “We wanted them to come and have us be a part of what we’re doing. We have all these volunteers who brought their kids to teach them how to volunteer.”
Better Together is a nonprofit organization that helps parents going through a hard time keep their kids out of foster care, find work and address the root causes of their struggle so that they can reunite as a family with the tools and support system to thrive.
To donate or volunteer visit bettertogetherus.org/.