JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Volunteers with the American Red Cross of North Florida traveled to the Panhandle and the Big Bend area in Florida to help with Hurricane Michael recovery efforts.
Friday morning, volunteer Jack Morgan left Jacksonville to head to Tallahassee, where he will be the deputy job director for the state of Florida. He’s been an employee and a volunteer for the American Red Cross for 39 years.
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He will be in charge of working with the counties to make sure their residents have food, shelter and the support they need.
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The Red Cross provides three meals a day at its shelters, along with mental health counselors.
"I think, in the beginning, what most people do is they’re anxious because if they haven’t been able to see it or touch it, they’re really not sure. But once people go out in Panama City or in Mexico Beach or any of those areas and they see that the home was destroyed, everything in there was destroyed -- that’s really when the emotional support comes in," Morgan said. "Everybody knows they’re going to go steps. Whether it’s 5 steps or 7 steps, people are going to take time and it is very, very hard."
The American Red Cross also works with government agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to make sure residents have access to the resources they need to get back on their feet.