PASCO COUNTY, FL – Pasco County is opening a site to give temporary housing to people who have been displaced by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, WFLA reports.
The shelter, Pasco Hope, will be located at 2654 Grand Boulevard in Holiday and is part of a partnership between the county and Catholic Charities.
It will provide temporary housing and support services for people trying to recover from the two devastating hurricanes. Staff members will be on hand around the clock to help with mental health counseling and case management.
“When Milton hit, we even had more people displaced. So, we have about 130 people in the shelter right now, more than half of them have identified ready to come here,” said Cathy Pearson, Assistant County Administrator.
The site was purchased by the county in July and originally planned to be a homeless shelter. It will now provide pallet homes, trailers, and campers for residents who have been displaced.
“The pallet homes are going to be just a single,” Pearson was quoted as saying. “They have a bed, a desk area, air conditioning, heating. They got a little place to hang their clothes and then there will be shared laundry, shared kitchens. So, we have trailers for all of that.”
Once storm victims can move into their own homes again, Catholic Charities said they will allow other people to move into the shelters and receive help. The organization stressed the importance of mental health services for those impacted by the hurricanes.
“Having a place here where they have access to talk to somebody about that trauma (is important), but also just time to have some peace, have some quiet time to themselves, reflect on what happened and how are we going to move forward,” said Maggie Rogers, Executive Director of Catholic Charities. “I think it’s important to the recovery process.”
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