Arcadia churches team up to repair hurricane-damaged homes

ARCADIA, Fla. — When Hurricane Ian tore through Arcadia, it left Loretta Tice with a hole in her roof and water pouring through her ceiling. Soon, mold started creeping up the walls.

But insurance only offered to pay a fraction of the cost, Tice said. So, she looked elsewhere for help. Tice, a retried Miami-Dade County government employee, applied to several non-profits for aid.

She kept getting the same response. Tice made just a little too much money to qualify.

“I couldn’t fix my house," Tice told FOX 4.

She wasn't alone. So, a coalition of Arcadia churches and one nonprofit stepped in to help.

Over the last two years, St. Edmund the Martyer Episcopal Church in Arcadia has distributed almost $220,000 in hurricane relief funds, according to deacon Robert Vaughn. Loretta Tice is one of the people who received help.

“Without them, I would still be with that hole in my roof,” Tice said.

There is no income requirement to receive aid. People must demonstrate a need, Vaughn said, and show they tried to get money through insurance and public assistance.

The money comes from the national Episcopal church's relief and development program, Vaughn said. St. Edmund partnered with other groups to distribute the money, including the Greater Mount Zion AME Church.

"Your blessings come all kind of ways," said Glen Coone with Mount Zion. "This was the best blessing DeSoto County can get.”

Coone is part of Mount Zion's Sons of Allen ministry. Sons of Allen is a male fellowship group within the AME church. It helped St. Edmund's connect with church members, like Tice, who needed assistance.

Tice said the program fixed her roof last year. The whole process took about a week, she said.

The money went to almost 50 families, Vaughn said, and funded everything from roof repair, plumbing projects, and even some hurricane-related medical care.

St. Edmund also partnered with nonprofit Hope DeSoto and North Hillsborough Baptist Church, Vaughn said.

Vaughn said the last money was distributed a couple of weeks ago. But he hopes to keep it going.

“Three different churches involved and one community organization, showing you can work together," Vaughn said. "If anything that’s the Christmas spirit.”

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