In Seminole County, several shelters at schools are in the process of closing.
- Northland Church opening a shelter for those not ready to go home
- Organizers expect 200 people
- Church volunteers sending out teams to clear debris, call center for help
Northland Church teamed up with Seminole County to open a countywide shelter at its church in Longwood for those people still not ready yet to return to their homes. Organizers say they expect about 200 people.
Northland’s Disaster Response Team, which formed after the 2004 hurricanes, will manage the shelter. Some volunteers were in Texas helping Hurricane Harvey victims until last Thursday, when they realized they would have to head back to Central Florida to help out here.
One volunteer says her home is flooding, but she and her husband would rather be at the shelter helping people out.
“Basically our home takes second fiddle right now," Judy Head said. "Right now we care about the families that are here and the issues that are going on here in the Central Florida area, and then we’ll deal with those later.”
The church is allowing power trucks to stage in their parking lot. It’s sending out teams to help clear storm debris and it set up a call center for those needing help.
The call center can be reached at (407) 949-4005. Church leaders say volunteers and donations are needed.
More information on the shelter and how to volunteer or donate can be found at https://northlandchurch.net.