In many parts of the southeast, recovery from the most recent hurricanes continues to be a long road. Even though there have been some significant gains in clean up, there are still tremendous need and pain.
In many parts of the states that were hit the hardest, there are small mountain and rural towns that have had significant damage to infrastructure and homes.
It is not very well mentioned in the reports that frequently there are small skilled nursing and Rest homes that were directly and indirectly affected by the storm. These small facilities have sustained damage, have had difficulty with getting supplies, and even have had significant difficulty with staffing.
Frequently these small facilities fly under the radar
Often times these small facilities rely on a shoestring budget and are fully reliant on local workforce with limited amounts of resources. With the amount of disruption in these hard hit areas where roads were washed out, homes were destroyed and family members were lost, there was and continues to be significant disruption to their ability to perform to their best.
Roads being washed out makes delivery of food supplies, medical supplies, and even medication a difficult process. Roads being washed out can also directly affect the way employees can even get to work. There have been entire neighborhoods cut off from the main roads from roads or bridges washed out.
Homes destroyed pulls families away to find shelter. These could be just family members of residents or could even be employees of the facilities that are now no longer available to work due to distance.
Family members lost to flooding and falling of trees directly impacts the local workforce and residents as they grieve the loss of loved ones.
Help is needed
These facilities are integral parts of the small communities that surrounds them. They are a source of employment and wellbeing for the community.
As continued recovery assistance moves through the more rural areas there needs to be a focus on these small facilities to help the communities around them to return back to a new normal and eventually fully back to normal.
Recovery takes time
Unfortunately this recovery is not an immediate fix. These communities will takes years to fully recover. Unfortunately even some families might not even return to their homes again after living away. This can also increase the strain on the workforce as there are less people available.
Overall more and more resources need to return to normal for recovery. In order for a return to normalcy, other local businesses need to have returned. There needs to be a return of the services that support the town and the facility, such as gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores and churches returning to normal.
How can I help?
There are many ways directly and indirectly to help out these small communities and facilities. There are plenty of organizations that rely on volunteer help if you are nearby. There are also many legitimate donation places that will bring the resources out to these areas. Remember that recovery will be a long process. These areas need to be remembered well beyond after the news crews leave. Find a way to help in anyway you can and help bring some humanity back into this world.
