Finding Community After Disaster

If you have been affected by a natural or large-scale disaster you are not alone. Like you and billions of people worldwide, I have been impacted by a natural disaster.

Hurricane Ian upended my life. My home was damaged, my work was impacted, and my health suffered.

All that being said I still find a sense of beauty in the community around the response to the hurricane.

I was living on Pine Island in South West Florida managing a farming operation that was working to transition old mango and coconut trees to a thriving organic food forest. It was not the easiest job but it was a lot of fun at the time and we could see the future of a community around a common purpose. But then came the storm….

I will share my full story at another time but for now, I want to talk about how people came together to help.

After large storms especially Hurricane Ian the first, first responders are often the local community helping each other until more help can arrive. Locals worked to clear roads using their personal machines, chainsaws, and tools.