PINE ISLAND, Fla. — So many people on Pine Island have had to start their lives over because of the recent hurricanes.
Some free mental and physical health services are coming to this community, in an effort to take some of the burden off the shoulders of these survivors.
Watch Bella's full report below:
Everett Goodwin lives at the south end of St James City on Pine Island, an area that has been hit hard in recent hurricanes.
"We were spending all our time on the island, helping everybody tear stuff down and out, and lot of us got kind of banged up,” said Goodwin.
After Hurricane Ian, he says people pulled together but the rebuild was exhausting.
"I had injured this arm. I couldn't even hold a coffee cup, and it took about two months, just some acupuncture in that elbow. I mean, literally healed in two months,” said Goodwin.
That's what Dr Becky Boros with Acupuncturists Without Borders was able to do. She says it's a type of medicine not a lot of people know about.
"We insert five points in each ear that are very specific for calming the central nervous system, alleviating fear, alleviating grief, anxiety, and they help them to sleep and to cope with all the physical and emotional stress that they're under,” said Boros. "After Hurricane Ian, they said they were the forgotten place."
But, she didn't forget about them. She's back on the island after hurricanes Helene and Milton providing free acupuncture services, which she says helps with mental and physical health.
She says she has already helped around 250 people who live on the islands.
"You got a group of people that have just gone through the same thing you are, or have, and it's a support group you lean on,” said Goodwin.
Along with the International Orthodox Christian Charities that provides free therapy to survivors in their homes, while helping clean up their homes.
"We're running into people who are dealing with depression, who are dealing with the trauma of basically what the storm has brought,” said Athena Priest, team lead for the IOCC. "A lot of people you know have lost everything they, they are stuck, as we like to say, and we're in the business of getting people unstuck.”
These free services are available every Thursday at the Greater Pine Island Alliance office.
