Resources available for people impacted by Hurricane Florence and COVID-19

NEW BERN, N.C. (WITN) -It’s been nearly four years and people here in eastern North Carolina are still recovering from Hurricane Florence and the pandemic only made the situation worse.

In hopes to connect people with resources, The Eastern North Carolina Regional Church and Community Resiliency Collaborative arrived in New Bern Monday.

The organization aims to help people like Tonya Styron, who says the past few years have been rough. “The house I’m supposed to be moving in, the repairs and stuff are just taking a while.”

Just when recovery efforts began, the deadly COVID-19 virus arrived and put a pause on many efforts. “COVID and the pandemic put a stop to everything, I mean it changed the world,” said Coastal Community Action’s Executive Director, Catissa Head.

Throughout the event Monday, people faced the reality that both natural disasters and emerging viruses are inevitable.

“Just like hurricanes, this virus will stay with us, but we also know we can move forward together at building resiliency,” said P.J. Connelly with the North Carolina Governor’s office.

Both officials and residents came together to address issues in hopes to look into a solution. To achieve this goal Peletah Ministries brought 40 resources to hundreds of people.

“You have people with homes and stuff that were damaged, but then they don’t have the income to fix them up. So, that’s where our services come in,” Head said.

Many voices were heard by state officials with a goal not only to recover but prepare as hurricane season approaches.

“Like we talk about resiliency bouncing back, but really bouncing forward, so that we understand that June 1st is not that far away,” said Peletah Ministries Executive Director, Dr. Dawn Baldwin.

Gibson said they’re now focusing on the next steps and planning another gathering in the near future.

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