As the holidays approach, you may be planning travel, getting together with family and friends and preparing a Thanksgiving meal. The holidays are also a time to think about how you can step up for those who need a helping hand.
“It's a beautifully busy time for us as we head into the holidays and really see that spirit of giving roll out,” Jennifer Yeagley tells "Florida Matters."
Yeagley is the CEO of the St. Pete Free Clinic (SPFC), which was founded in 1970 to provide healthcare for adults without health insurance. Since then, it has expanded to provide other resources, including food and hygiene, housing assistance and transportation.
The nonprofit’s medical and dental clinics get about 12,000 visits a year. The three food pantries run by SPFC get about 40,000 visits per month, which Yeagley says is double what they were seeing at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
About two in every three people who have come to SPFC for help this fall say they’ve been affected by Hurricanes Helene or Milton, says Yeagley.
And SPFC is bracing for long-term impacts from the hurricane season.
“I think what we'll see is much more hidden homelessness, if you will, people who had been living somewhere now their home is damaged or it's not habitable for them and their families anymore," says Yeagley. "So they may be staying in their car. They may be couch surfing. They may be staying with friends and family for a lengthy period of time, and we may never know about that.”
Still, Yeagley says she’s thankful for the outpouring of support SPFC has seen since the hurricanes, even from people who were affected by the storms themselves.
“We have a volunteer, in fact, who volunteers weekly in our We Help fresh food pantry. And I saw her the other day, and I asked her how she was doing, and she said, 'I lost my house,' " Yeagley said. "And I said, 'and here you are.' And she said, 'Yeah, I want to be here. I want to help. It keeps me focused, keeps me busy, and keeps me helping others.' And so that's incredibly inspiring to be surrounded by staff and volunteers who, even amid their own losses, are taking stock of what they can do to help others, and are choosing the free clinic to be that place where they can help.
“I think as we all settle in this community into our new normal. Post Helene, post Milton, take stock of our family, our friends, our community, I do think people will be looking for places to give and ways that we can all help support our neighbors through this difficult time and again, through the long process of recovery that we know is ahead of us.”
If you’re interested in helping support the work of the St. Pete Free Clinic, you can donate, support hurricane recovery needs or volunteer.
