This past weekend, I had the opportunity through my friend Tim, who I met at school, to help those devastated by the effects of Hurricane Matthew. Tim sent me a text message the prior day with a plea for help - his teacher back in high school had a mother, Lucia, who just recently moved down to the St. Augustine area just prior to the storm hitting. He asked me if I would be willing to drive up and assist with the cleanup effort. Of course, I told him I would be willing to, as I have a passion for going out of my way to help those who need it in times of devastation. As we got closer to the St. Augustine area, we noticed more and more destruction (mind you, this is a week after the storm hit) with local businesses with windows shattered, billboards torn to shreds, trees without palm fronds, and homes without roofs.

When we arrived at Lucia's home, we all sat there silently in my car for a few minutes, we were mostly in a state of shock by how much rubble was piled up outside on the front lawn. We waited until Lucia and her daughter arrived with the moving truck so we could move what was salvageable from the home. They warned us prior that the inside was not pretty. Well, they were right, as soon as we entered the home, this is what we saw:

Anything around 4 feet and below was torn down, such as the drywall and all of the insulation and ventilation. We were told that the whole house was filled with raw sewage. Everything inside had either been taken out and thrown in the trash pile, or it had been recovered and moved to a different room that had been sterilized.

It was kind of scary to think that Lucia, and many other victims of this hurricane, went from living a normal life to worrying about where you are going to be able to sleep the next night. In less than 24 hours, these peoples lives were turned upside down.

I was talking to Lucia while we were taking a break from moving everything out of her house, and she was mentioning to me how the insurance companies, even though they "cover" hurricane damage, they do not cover the flooding that usually comes with hurricanes. She mentioned that she was fortunate enough to not have lost more, but it will take a lot to rebuild this house. For more information about Lucia, and how you may be able to support her during this difficult time, I encourage you to visit her fundraising page, and if you are not able to donate, please send your best wishes and prayers.