Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As the remnants of Tropical Storm Idalia head out to sea, the non-profit organization Eight Days of Hope (EDOH) is preparing to head to the hurricane zone.
"Today, our leaders are in Perry, Madison and Pasco County, Florida, in the Big Bend area where thousands of homes are flooded. Many homes are gone," said Stephen Tybor, President and CEO of EDOH. "Our goal is to set up a home base for our volunteers who will be traveling from around the country to try to bring some hope to those who, right now, are feeling pretty hopeless."
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With a hurricane or any kind of flooding event, Tybor said water causes the most financial damage to homes and communities.
"If you get 5, 6 or 7 feet of water in your house, everything that got wet has to be removed. Our volunteers will go in and cut their drywall and remove everything that got wet, from electrical to insulation, flooring, cabinets and furniture. It all gets tossed to the curbside."
In addition to structural help, EDOH also assists with two mass feeding units. These units show up with 25 volunteer cooks. They can make up to nine thousand meals every 90 minutes.
Tybor said they try to bring basic necessities to people such as water and food. In addition, they are bringing hot shower units.
"People can get a hot shower and we're also bringing our laundry unit, which sounds minuscule in a situation like this. But people lost everything. They don't have any clean clothes. These are basic things that we all take for granted. That's what we'll be doing for the next two to three weeks," he added.
Back in 2005, Tybor was living in Tupelo, Mississippi and working in the private sector. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and Gulfport, Mississippi, he led hundreds of volunteers and rebuilt 84 homes in 8 days. That number is now up to 9,550 homes 18 years later.
Tybor encourages anyone interested in volunteering to visit their website for updated information by signing up for their email alerts. Eight Days of Hope provides volunteers with food and lodging. Individuals are required to provide their own transportation to the disaster location.