More than 1,700 people are receiving Hurricane Milton assistance from agencies in the Vero Beach area

On October 18, we wrapped up an incredible week that saw at least a dozen organizations come together under one roof to provide immediate relief to our neighbors affected by Hurricane Milton and the tornadoes it spawned. I had the amazing privilege of being on the front lines, literally helping over 1,700 families with food, water, tarps, diapers, you name it.

It was a humiliating experience.

Unfortunately, I have seen some negative comments about the emergency response that so many of us have pushed our bodies and hearts to the limit for. I would like to point out a few things that may clear up some of the rumors and misconceptions.

It wasn’t a free for all. Each family was documented and asked if they had been affected by the storm. That doesn’t necessarily mean your house was a direct hit and a complete loss. Being affected also means the thousands who have lost power, or lost income, or spent their precious money on preparations.

I will never understand the mindset that just because some had it worse means others don’t deserve the help either. Half of our community lives paycheck to paycheck. Our goal was to provide immediate assistance. The kind of “documentation” that people say we should have asked for would have been an insurmountable barrier to those who needed it most.

No person who works for a non-profit organization has the ambition to become rich. No one abuses or embezzles money. Every office in the building has open financial data and clean audits. Each of you can watch it. Please stop with that rhetoric.

Personally, I was the one who managed the distribution of the articles. I know a lot of people in this community, and they know me. Anyone who was there can tell you that myself and several others did a great job making sure no one took advantage of this. Besides, that was a fairly easy job. A large majority of those who entered were friendly, courteous and very grateful. We have dealt with the small handful that acted differently.

Indian River County is a magical place to live. The amount of donations, the army of volunteers, the mobilization of resources…I am humbled and awed to witness it, let alone be a part of it.

The UP Center was immediately hit by a tornado. We would have liked to have had open days earlier. We simply couldn’t do that. We had no power, we still have a broken roof, we lost all our refrigerated and frozen products, our box truck is a complete loss. My colleagues started cleaning up and getting us into shape as soon as the sky cleared.

I am so grateful to those of you who have tried to help share the truth about this issue. I’m exhausted, like so many of us. For the first time this week, I hit my pillows before nightfall. I’m going to rest now. I hope you all feel as blessed as I feel.

Jane McNulty Snead, Vero Beach, is development director for United Against Poverty (UP) of Indian River County. This was originally posted on her Facebook page.

This article originally appeared in Treasure Coast Newspapers: Opinion: Destroy rumors about how Hurricane Milton provided relief in Vero Beach