The Mattie Williams Neighborhood Family Center was one of several groups aiding residents of the Standard Apartments impacted by Hurricane Milton.
The Clearwater complex was home to a diverse community, many of whom were immigrants. Residents had various immigration statuses, which presented unique challenges when recovering from the storm.
Some residents, wary that they could be targeted by immigration enforcement, were reluctant to accept public assistance following the Oct. 2024 storm, and had either continued living in their flooded units or sought help elsewhere.
ALSO READ: Hurricanes left Tampa Bay's immigrant community reeling. Here's how some are recovering
A year later, WUSF revisits the event with David Hale, executive director of Mattie Williams, and Isabel Chmara, the center's bilingual case manager.
Chmara said they're still helping some families get back on track after the devastation, while preparing them for the current hurricane season. Some are still using FEMA vouchers to stay in hotels or motels, but that money is soon running out, she warned.
"That's something we're navigating here at the center — trying to get them resources as well as housing units. But, unfortunately, a lot of them are at capacity," said Chmara.
Below is an edited version of the interview with Chmara and Hale.
David Hale, you're the executive director of Mattie Williams Neighborhood Center, a nonprofit that helps provide various social services to this Clearwater community. Can you remind us what happened last year when Hurricane Milton hit?
Hale: The storms last year were unprecedented and definitely caught a lot of us off guard. Right after the storms, we learned that some of our neighbors were harder hit than others.
For example, the Standard Apartments on Drew Street are in our service area here and, unfortunately, every resident of the Standard apartments was displaced by the storm. In that particular area, it's a low-lying area, where the Standard Apartments sit, and right behind is a water retention pond. A failure in that water retention wall caused all of the water that had been retained during the storm to flood into the apartments all at once.
Every car in the parking lot was flooded. All of the first floor apartments were flooded, and residents were evacuated in the middle of the night by rescue teams.
The rescuers said it was the largest single evacuation that they had experienced in Pinellas (County).
When we spoke last fall, some people were still living in these damaged apartments. A lot of them were immigrant families who didn't trust in government assistance, didn't trust in help from outside groups.
Isabela Chmara, you're the bilingual case manager for Mattie Williams Neighborhood Family Center. How were you guys eventually able to reach these families and what did you learn from that situation?
Chmara: So we were able to reach the families by meeting them where they could be, so that was, instead of them coming to the center, it was us going out into the neighborhood and connecting with local schools to be able to reach these families in need, and it's a continuous effort even after the storm season.
Right now, we're seeing an increase of immigration enforcement, right? I'm wondering how is that affecting your work, especially when it comes to, again, gaining the trust of these families and being able to help them.
Chmara: It definitely makes my job harder because we really have to go out into the community and find these families in need. Due to the climate of the country and everything, they're not coming to us because they're afraid.
But we've been partnering with local schools in the area here in Pinellas County, connecting with their social workers and really trying to get those families in need to come into the center, fill out our questionnaire, our intake form, and that way we can better assess their needs.
We're in the midst of another hurricane season. What is the group doing to help residents prepare now?
Hale: We are definitely more prepared this year. One of our goals has been to receive our supplies earlier and get them out in advance so that people can be prepared before the storm arrives.
Last week, we held a special food pantry hurricane preparation, which allowed all the folks coming through our drive-through food pantry and any other neighbor that wanted to drive over.
We gave them supplies including cleaning products, paper products, shelf-stable milk and cereal, nutrition bars like breakfast bars, granola bars, and other items, personal care, dish soap — all the things that you need if you're going to be without power and water for a week, we tried to get out in advance.
And we told folks, "Hang onto this. If there's a storm, you've got it. If we're blessed not to have a significant storm this season, then you've got extra supplies."
It's a win-win.
