Church Destroyed by Hurricane Nearly 100 Years Ago Now a Hub for Hurricane Relief

Mattie Harris has lived in Lee County, Florida, for the past 60 years. She's a historian for her church, Mt. Olive African Methodist Episcopal (AME) in Dunbar, the oldest African American congregation in Lee County, with a long history of helping the community. The church was destroyed by a hurricane a hundred years ago and rebuilt, a symbol of resilience in the face of hurricanes.

Mt. Olive AME was part of the American Red Cross Hurricane Ian Long-Term Recovery Operation, working with the Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa (CDC of Tampa) to open the Fort Myers Disaster Recovery Center in the Mt. Olive Church. When resources allow, thanks to the generosity of our donors, the Red Cross provides long-term recovery programs to support individual and household recovery and address community-wide needs. These programs may include providing direct financial assistance, sharing disaster recovery expertise, and funding grants to community organizations.

Staff from CDC of Tampa, Rev. Gay Ministries and a locally hired recovery center coordinator provided outreach and training to the community of Dunbar. These services, including spiritual care, job readiness, business development and disaster preparedness, helped individuals and households in the Dunbar community recover from 2022's Hurricane Ian. Multiple Red Cross grant recipients have gathered at this location, working together to provide services like legal assistance and home repairs to the community.

The partnership with Florida AME Churches did not end with Hurricane Ian. Recently, the Red Cross and Florida AME churches joined forces again, this time to host a distribution of emergency supplies to community members affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Just one more example of how Florida AME and the Red Cross work together to support Florida communities impacted by disaster.

Helping the community is paramount to Mt. Olive AME. Thursdays during the pandemic, Mt. Olive volunteers fed the community. The church still hosts community events on Thursdays - people still need food, clothing, housing, support, especially children of incarcerated parents, Harris explained.

In addition to distributing meals, volunteers remember people on Thanksgiving and Christmas, when they fill baskets for the needy, including seniors in nursing homes.

The church regularly offers aid and assistance to the community after disasters. This includes food, shelter, financial assistance, housing and clothing. "We've gone through disaster, and we know how it feels to be affected. That's why we help," she said.

Mt. Olive AME has proven to be resilient for more than a century. The community of Dunbar and beyond benefit from this, both during disasters and on a day-to-day basis. The Red Cross is proud to be partnering with them to support the ongoing recovery following Hurricane Ian and building resiliency going forward.