Florida UUs Come Together in Charley’s Wake

Image Courtesy of Associated Press

(Boston, August 16, 2004) Hurricane Charley cut a devastating path across Florida, leaving at least 17 people dead and billions of dollars in property destruction. The Rev. Mary Higgins the UUA’s Florida District Executive, said Monday afternoon, “Thankfully, as of 1:00 pm today, we have no reports that any UUs were severely hurt or killed. All of our church buildings came through intact, although most will require extensive clean-up efforts.”

Rev. Higgins reported that the most severe damage occurred in the coastal areas of North Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and Cape Coral, where winds of up to 145 miles per hour were recorded. The Rev. Sara Zimmerman, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Charlotte County , went door-to-door to check on her parishioners. So far, all of them seem to be safe. However, daily life is very difficult for residents of Port Charlotte, who have no utilities whatsoever. There is no phone or electric service, and all drinking water must be boiled.

Rev. Mary Higgins

Rev. Higgins’s home in Orlando was directly in the path of the eye of the hurricane. In spite of the disaster, about 80 members of the Orlando congregation came together to worship on Sunday. The damage in central Florida was not as severe as that in the southern coastal areas, but nearly 900,000 homes are still without power, and at least two Orlando parishioners reported that trees had crashed through their roofs. Across the state, nearly half a million structures were damaged or destroyed. Rev. Higgins commented, “We’re still trying to gather information. At this point, we just don’t know how many UU homes were damaged.”

Relying on cell phones charged by car batteries, and going by foot to one another’s homes, area Unitarian Universalists quickly sprang into action. District UUs have coordinated overnight housing for families in Naples and Venice whose homes are awaiting repairs, and members of congregations in the Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Tampa areas are offering their assistance in local clean-up efforts. In a letter to UUA staff, Joan Lund, UUA trustee for the district, commented on the importance of the trauma-response team that is being assembled, “Once people have had some time to process what has happened in their lives, much ministry will be needed.”

How can you help? The Florida District office is coordinating a relief fund for congregations and members affected by the hurricane. Checks may be made out to Florida District UUA, noted for the Florida District Disaster Fund. Please mail checks to:

Florida District UUA
1901 E. Robinson Street, Suite 18
Orlando, FL 32803

Checks are also requested to help a group of migrant farm workers which the Sarasota and Fort Myers congregations had been assisting before the hurricane. The farm workers were especially hard hit by the hurricane. Put Disaster Relief Fund-Community on the memo line.

The farm workers group will be the primary community relief effort supported by UU congregations in Florida. "We decided we'd like to make a difference with this one group," said Rev. Higgins.

More Information:

• The Rev. Mary Higgins, mhiggins@uua.org
• The Rev. Sara Zimmerman, revsaraz@aol.com
• Disaster Help
• Federal Emergency Management Agency

Unitarian Universalist Association
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