HARDEE COUNTY, Fla. — Many people lost their homes because of Hurricane Ian, and for some of them, there is nowhere else to go but a shelter like the one at Hardee Junior High in Wauchula.
Darlene Hedges has been there since Tuesday.
She doesn’t know what she’s going to do next.
“I lost everything but my life and my car that’s all I have. My whole existence is gone,” said Hedges.
Hedges and several other people staying at this shelter lived nearby in the Little Charlie Creek RV Park, now completely underwater.
Some people had to be rescued by boat.
“I’ve never been through anything as traumatic in my life. My apologies. The tears started, and I really haven’t been able to shut them off,” said Hedges.
Volunteers, including staff from Hardee Junior High, are keeping this shelter going.
So is the kindness of so many strangers like the woman who noticed Darlene didn’t have any shoes.
“Forty-five minutes later, she hands me a bag. She had gone home and grabbed a pair of sneakers out of her closet to bring to me so that I would have something on my feet,” said Hedges.
The people running this shelter said they don’t know how long it will be open, but they could desperately use more supplies, including sleeping mats and air mattresses.
