Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has been hit hard by Hurricane Matthew. With over 800 dead and the death toll continuing to rise, the loss of life has been simply staggering. The south of the island took the brunt of the hit, with many Haitians finding themselves cut off from help and unable to escape the destruction.

In addition to the lives lost, Haiti has also suffered massive property losses. People have lost their homes, their possessions, their livestock, everything. In an already incredibly impoverished nation, things have just gotten incalculably worse. This comes just as Haiti was finding its feet again after a massive earthquake in 2010.

Many Haitians did not initially heed warnings to evacuate, not believing in the severity of the storm until far too late. Let this be a warning as the storm continues to move up the east coast of the United States.

While many in Florida, my home state, find themselves thankful that the storm did not hit as hard as expected in many areas, it is important to remember that others were not so fortunate. The pain being felt in Haiti right now is enormous and demands our sympathy. And as soon as we have survived this storm ourselves, it will be incredibly important to begin reaching out to Haiti with humanitarian aid and compassion. There are parts of Florida, such as Flagler, St. Augustine, Volusia County, Jacksonville Beach and others that have definitely felt the destructive powers of Hurricane Matthew. As we help them to recover, we must also extend this same helping hand to Haiti.

We cannot afford to forget Haiti. This is a time to come together, not just as a nation, but as a global community. Already in South Florida, and in other areas as well I’m sure, agencies are collecting monetary donations and supplies to go to Haiti. To find out more about how you can get involved, check out the following links:

All Hands Volunteers: https://www.hands.org/support-us/

Food Aid International: https://food-aid.org/