How local residents are helping those affected by Helene

When disaster struck in Florida's Big Bend, Jamie and Edgar Gregory stepped up to help.

"We were one of the first boots on the ground, which is incredible, and this is going to be a long effort," Jamie Gregory said.

The Royal Palm Beach couple spent their Sunday delivering more than a thousand meals to residents of Perry, Florida, a community that took a direct hit from Hurricane Helene.

"I talked to a lady today from Keaton Beach, and she left, and now she has nothing, absolutely nothing," Jamie Gregory said.

"A lot of them, they're homeless, so we got to give them other resources to get some of that help," added Edgar Gregory.

They arrived Saturday and are stationed at the Florida Baptist Disaster Relief command center. It's the same place they were a year ago after Hurricane Idalia.

"It's a very poor economically disadvantaged area and so for them to lose everything is just heartbreaking," Jamie Gregory said.

Their teams are responsible for assessing property damage, clean-up and recovery and spiritual guidance.

"I'm asking them what they need, and they're like, 'Can you just please pray for my kid. Pray that they can go back to school and see what normal is,'" Jamie Gregory said. "They were in the hallway or in the bathroom. It's the scariest thing they've ever been through."

It's the beginning of a long road to recovery, so the Gregorys are calling on others to join relief efforts.

"It's important because everybody has to do a part. There's so many people that are impacted by natural disasters like this, and if we're not able to volunteer to come and do it, then who's going to? They're hopeless. It's hopeless," Jamie Gregory said.

to volunteer or receive disaster relief training through Florida Baptist Disaster Relief Ministries.

The Gregorys will be in Perry for a week but will make a second trip at the end of October, knowing there will be more work.

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