Arcadia woman giving back to her community despite losing her home

Arcadia suffered from severe flooding and damage after Hurricane Ian. Now, a group is delivering supplies to the people who need them.

Giselle Rattis always put others before herself, and helping those after Hurricane Ian is no different.

“We all been through a lot lately, you know, so a lot has happened to everyone,” said Rattis

Everyone, including Rattis, whose home was destroyed during the hurricane.

“We cannot live there, there is a lot of water damage, roof, my front porch is completely gone. There’s damage inside the house due to mold and water,’ said Rattis.

On top of that, on Monday, her 18-year-old son got in a car accident after another driver drove through a blinking red light. He is dealing with partial memory loss.

“He was in the hospital with a brain bleed, abdominal fluid, so he is out of the hospital now, and that was scarier than the hurricane, actually,” Rattis said.

Her son’s going to be OK, so now Rattis is counting her blessings.

“To have my family, nothing happened to us. Yes, emotionally, it’s not a good place to be, but it’s a house and its things and its furniture and clothes, and we’ve worked before to have everything we can, so we will work again,” said Rattis.

Knowing what it feels like to have your home and belongings destroyed, she is volunteering with RCMA to give back to those in Arcadia.

“Other places around that are much smaller places they need a lot more of our help, especially when you look at the situation financially speaking. There is a lot of people here that before they were already a community in need, so now the need just became so much bigger,” Rattis said.

They plan to continue giving back to the community in need for as long as they have the funds, and RCMA said donations help keep them going.

For more information RCMA and where to donate, visit their website here.