Need post-storm assistance? Call 2-1-1 and ask for help

Bernice Harlow has been dead for 11 years, but I can't drive along Dixon Boulevard in Cocoa without thinking of her.

Back in 2004, Hurricane Charley ripped the roof off Bernice's home. Then, Frances and Jeanne blew into town and made things even worse at the modest home she'd lived in since 1957. The three storms made the sunroom ceiling fall in, left walls buckling in another room, and a shed and fencing ruined.

Her insurance company offered her a pittance of a settlement, though she'd never made a claim since moving into the house.

Then, Bernice, at 82, was diagnosed with terminal cancer — and fought for her life, too.

I passed her house the night before Hurricane Matthew blew into town. I remembered again writing about her struggles in a group of stories with FLORIDA TODAY's Matt Reed, a series called "The Insurance Storm."

It hit me again how lucky I am to do the kind of work we do — telling stories that might, in some small way, change a life.

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As Brevard cleans up post-Matthew, and we're hearing about pockets of damage and people unable to do needed repairs, I've learned about a wonderful, short-term offering through United Way of Brevard and 2-1-1 Brevard.

Getting help, especially if you're financially disadvantaged or an older resident, can start with a call to 2-1-1.

United Way of Brevard and 2-1-1 have teamed to coordinate disaster-trained volunteers who'll assist those in need with securing tarps, removal of trees or other debris, muck cleanup or minor home repairs. Groups including the United Methodist Disaster Response Team, Baptist Disaster Relief and the Latter-day Saints, along with local United Way volunteers, are doing the work.

The program is already hopping.

As calls come in to 2-1-1 about different situations, teams will be dispatched through United Way to Brevard homes, said Rob Rains, United Way president.

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"These are amazing groups, a lot of them faith-based groups, who can help," he said. "Let them help you, whether you're older or a single parent or can't afford the work. They live for this. It's part of their faith, a way to give back. They have the expertise and they'll do it for free ... they know what they're doing."

By Sunday afternoon, as I wrote this column, Keith Heinly, senior manager of community impact at United Way, reported:

• Four requests for debris removal.
• Tarp assistance for 66 people who will likely need long-term recovery help.
• Tree-removal requests from 65 callers, many of whom will require more assistance.
• Six calls for repair that will require additional aid.
• Fifteen flooding-related requests.

"It's a phenomenal message that's being sent: Help is there," said Liz Lee, vice president of community impact. "Hundreds of volunteers are coming in and might only be here three or four days. So call now. But they're ready to work. They're prepared to muck out houses; get up and put a tarp on your roof. People are calling and asking to pick up tarps. Let us do that. If you're 75, we don't want you getting up on a roof — let a young, strong professional do that kind of work."

Other types of assistance might be available, too.

At the special-needs shelter in Viera, Lee met a woman whose son has cerebral palsy. The family was the last to leave the shelter Sunday, with nowhere to go because their home is uninhabitable.

"We made one call, to Joe Robinson at North Brevard Charities Sharing Center," said Lee. "He told us to bring her up here; that they'd put her family in a home and provide case management."

One of the last times I wrote about Bernice Harlow, in early 2005, she'd been offered a settlement of a few thousand bucks. Damage to her home was estimated at $33,000.

She offered me coffee and said, "I just want my house to be fixed, but I take it for granted that this is the way it's going to be."

Two weeks later, when I stopped by to say hello, the stench from mold was almost unbearable. I sat by the couch where Bernice was resting as she, her daughter Lynn and I talked about Bernice's love of art and painting.

She gave me one of her works, a painting of a bird wearing a Mardi-Gras-style mask. I treasure it.

That was the last time I saw her. Bernice died at age 83 in May 2005.

And yet, when I think about her, I don't see the blue-eyed woman with tears in her eyes as she arranged pill bottles and wondered if she'd ever be able to use her sunroom again.

Instead, I see young people who heard about her story 12 years ago. I see her smile as those kids from First Baptist Church of Cocoa painted her damaged home a warm beige on "United We Paint Day" just seven months before she passed.

Through stories I've told for 26 years, about people affected by tornadoes, wildfires, floods, ice storms and hurricanes, I've learned this: Never hesitate to ask for help.

If you're hurting now, call 2-1-1 as soon as possible.

Let people who know the heart of this community at its best assist you if they can.

Your lives, your losses, the places you call home — just like Bernice Harlow's story, they matter.

Contact Kennerly at 321-242-3692 or bkennerly@floridatoday.com, on Twitter @bybrittkennerly or Facebook.com/bybrittkennerly.