Volunteers from across the country stand ready to help those whose lives have been torn apart by Hurricane Michael.
Hundreds are staged close to Florida’s hard-hit Panhandle.
Wednesday NBC Connecticut caught up with Groton resident Joe Apicelli, one of several American Red Cross volunteers from Connecticut who plan on rolling out tomorrow to help those in need once the roads are safe for travel.
“We will be in the neighborhoods. We will comfort them as soon as possible,” Apicelli said.
Apicelli spoke with NBC Connecticut on a video chat from this base camp for the American Red Cross in an Orlando hotel.
The Connecticut native has received his marching orders to drive to Tallahassee Thursday. The city is on Florida’s Panhandle which was slammed by Hurricane Michael and its destructive winds of up to 155 miles-per-hour. At least one person is dead, neighborhoods are under water and homes have been ripped apart.
“The person that has been affected by the storm it’s the worst thing that has ever happened to them. It just impacted their lives, their family, their children. We come in with a sense of caring and well-being,” Apicelli said.
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Apicelli’s assignment involves working out of a kitchen. Volunteers are prepared to serve 15,000 meals a day, making sure people receive a hot meal as they put their lives back together.
Even after 42 Red Cross deployments, Apicelli is still ready to go when disaster strikes.
“We make a big difference and seeing that, for me personally, it just motivates me,” Apicelli said.
Apicelli plans on helping storm victims in Florida for about three weeks before returning home.
