As Hurricane Florence descends on the Carolinas, we keep in mind those struggling with poverty that has little options during the storm.
Take Robeson County, for example, which sits about 70 miles off the Atlantic coast and on the border of North and South Carolina. Here, 44% of families live below the federal poverty level and can’t afford to leave despite the major hurricane headed right for them.
The storm is expected to bring winds topping 80 mph to land by late Thursday afternoon, according to CNN. Then, Florence is expected to linger over the Carolinas with hurricane-force winds and constant rains through at least Saturday. Evacuations began as early as Tuesday because of the storm, with more than 50 shelters already housing about 1,600 people, according to Newsweek.com.
At Jake’s Diapers, we recognize the reality of poverty during a disaster: With limited financial resources, these families can’t afford to leave. A hotel stay is too costly, and even just the extra gas to get out of town is a lot — assuming you have a vehicle, much less a trustworthy one. Then, add in missing hours at work, when you’re an hourly employee.
On top of all that, chances are your home may not be able to withstand a hurricane. This could be because of quality of construction, or even location. Vulnerable, low-income communities may be more exposed to the devastating impact of flooding, (because let’s face it, rent is lower in floodplains) and lack the insurance and resources to deal with it.
In the aftermath of a disaster, people most commonly think of food, clothing, shelter, and water as basic needs. Diapers and period products are basic hygiene necessities and often overlooked. Federal disaster relief programs do not allocate for the cost of these hygiene necessities, either.
Realizing there will soon be a need to combat the devastation and aftermath of the storm, Jake’s Diapers is busy connecting with partners in Lumberton, NC (based in Robeson County) in order to have resources in place to help.
As of Thursday afternoon, here’s what we have in place. We’ll continue to update this list as things unfold behind the scenes here with more ways that you can get involved and help those impacted by Hurricane Florence.
How You Can Help:
- Donate Now:CaringCrowd, proudly sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, is doubling all donations made here: .
Checks can also be mailed to Jake’s Diapers at 139 E. 2nd St., Suite U2, Kaukauna, WI 54130 with “Florence “in the memo line.
- Join us from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18 for a Florence packing party to send donations to those in need (At our office: 139 E. 2nd St. Kaukauna, WI 54130)
P.S. We want to thank a few businesses and organizations who are banding together to help Florence victims. Many of them have made monetary or diaper donations and are also offering buy one, get on deals right now, with proceeds going toward babies on the east coast. Check ’em out!
WE CAN’T THANK YOU ENOUGH!!!