During the past long weekend, I had a lot of time to reflect on how our community comes together when the possibility of a natural disaster looms over our heads. For one, it touched my heart to see just how close this community has become within the last week or so.
I first started to notice this when the stores began running out of water. Sure, some of you made jokes about it and tried to sell bottles for triple their original cost, but a lot of you went out of your way to make sure that everyone, not just your friends and family, got water.
In fact, I distinctly remember one student going as far as to post on a UF Facebook group that she’d hand out free water bottles to students that didn’t get a chance to get water. Although I try to put up a strong face with most of these columns, I’ll admit that this made me cry a few tears of happiness.
Once the water crisis was averted, on came the depleting gas problem. Once again, I watched as this community chimed in on where to find gas and where the shortest lines were. Day after day, you replied to one another’s Facebook posts and tried to make sure your fellow Alachua County residents had gas. I silently took note and was impressed.
After the water was rationed and the gas bought, next came the housing dilemma. On Friday night, Alachua County issued a voluntary evacuation for residents and others in the area that were in mobile homes, manufactured homes and RVs. On came the flood of messages and Facebook posts with people reaching out to offer their homes and services to our neighbors.
While most people might have opted to go to a shelter or stay at a motel or hotel instead, I’m sure a lot of us were touched by how compassionate our fellow Gators and Gainesville residents were in a time of hardship.
Once the humans were taken care of, however, more problems remained. All of the animal shelters were booked. I watched as organizations like Gainesville Pet Rescue and Alachua County Humane Society waived adoption fees. I saw you all step up to the plate by either adopting or fostering a good portion of these dogs and cats, who I’m sure felt much better being in your homes and being comforted than spending this frightening time in a rescue facility.
Finally, there was your local and nationwide news organizations, along with Gainesville Police and Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, that provided you with all of the information you needed. The Gainesville Sun suspended their paywall to make sure all residents had access to factual news, which was very kind of them. Newspapers such as The Sun Sentinel and The Miami Herald worked tirelessly to provide you with around-the-clock news, and so many other papers and news organizations worked together to keep you informed. GPD and ACSO pitched in by sending out Facebook posts with vital information, such as where to go if you needed to take shelter and helpful hints on a regular basis.
Please realize, dear readers, how proud I am at this moment to say I live in a community like this. A community where people look out for one another and ensure that everyone is cared for. I am glad you’re all safe, and I applaud all of you for showing the rest of the U.S. what teamwork looks like.
Sara Marino is UF journalism senior. Her column appears on Wednesdays.
