FORT PIERCE, Fla. — It’s been weeks since tornadoes from Hurricane Milton destroyed neighborhoods in St. Lucie County.

Many residents are still seeking help. A handful of them showed up at a state-hosted town hall for tornado victims in St. Lucie County.

“When you see it in person and experience it in person, it’s devastating,” Melanie Hardegree said.

Hardegree lives in Spanish lakes. His house was badly damaged.

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“I need a new roof,” she said. “All my gutters are gone. There was a house behind my house. It wrapped itself around the tree in my garden. One of my neighbors died there.

Milton destroyed 150 homes in St. Lucie County. That’s why the executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management was there to provide guidance on the recovery process.

“The recommendation I have from me is that you take every path possible. You go to FEMA, you go to nonprofits, you go to the Small Business Administration,” said Kevin Guthrie, executive director of FDEM. “You take every avenue possible. “

Hardegree wasn’t just there for herself. She was there to help her next-door neighbors who had lost everything.

“I asked specifically, now his situation has changed,” she said. “At first she applied thinking she was going to fix up her house and now it’s a situation where she won’t be able to live in this house.”

Today she got an answer to her question.

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“Make sure you keep your registration up to date, whatever happens, keep it up to date. As your situation changes, you may be eligible for more programs and funding,” Guthrie explained.

For these residents, there is still much to do on the road to recovery, but each day we get closer.

“I think if everyone just keeps trying to love each other and be there for each other, we can get through anything,” Hardegree said.