Catholic agency responds to those hardest hit by Wilma -- the poor

Published: 2005-10-28

IMMOKALEE, Fla. (CNS) -- Like many residents of Immokalee, Debara Milton didn't have a lot to call her own prior to Hurricane Wilma, other than a job at one of the local tomato-packing houses and a roof over her head. After Wilma tore through the agricultural town in the early hours of Oct. 24, she and many other residents now have even less. "All the panels were torn off my trailer on one side," she said while standing in line outside Guadalupe Social Services Oct. 26. Two of the windows also were blown in and the front door was damaged and, of course, there is no electricity or running water. If that weren't enough, it looks like this season's tomato crop was wiped out, meaning that she may not have a job waiting for her when power returns to the area. "I don't know what we're going to do," she told The Florida Catholic, newspaper of the Venice Diocese. "I got no work, I got no money. I may go to the labor pool in Naples, if they'll take me."

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