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PHOTO CAPTION: A team of Scientology Volunteer Ministers continues its disaster response in communities impacted by September\u2019s magnitude 4 Hurricane Ian.<\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cIt honestly starts with you have to pick up that first piece of debris,\u201d she told a CBS Miami<\/a> TV correspondent covering the work that continues in Fort Myers Beach and nearby islands. \u201cWhen you\u2019re confronted with this much confusion, you have to pick up one piece of debris and just keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n The Scientology Volunteer Minister pulled a photo binder and a framed photo out of the rubble of a home. \u201cWe\u2019re doing our best to find the owners,\u201d she said. \u201cSometimes the neighbors know, sometimes they don\u2019t. This was from somebody\u2019s home, this was inside somebody\u2019s house. It can be kind of emotional sometimes. Some of them are halfway okay. I don\u2019t know how they really survived,\u201d she says, cleaning off a framed photo that, apart from being completely covered in dried mud, looks otherwise unharmed.<\/p>\n Another team of Volunteer Ministers is distributing food, water and hygiene supplies to local households, helping families survive the economic challenges made worse by the hurricane. As one Fort Myers Beach resident put it, \u201cIt is hard enough at this time to have a baby. I can\u2019t really afford to pay for all the things I need. Your supplies will make such a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n A local couple was wary at first. There\u2019s been looting and other problems. However, the Volunteer Ministers seemed different they said, \u201cAnd we felt like we could trust them. They had the brightest smiles. We\u2019ve been waking up every morning to this devastation and these guys are just the bright part of our day. People\u00a0keep coming to me and saying where did you find these guys?\u201d<\/p>\n Another\u00a0resident told them, \u201cNow that you\u2019re here, I\u2019m not overwhelmed anymore. I\u2019m going to be able to survive this and put everything in my life back together. People helping people is the silver lining of the whole disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether serving in their communities or on the other side of the world, the motto of the Scientology Volunteer Minister is \u201cSomething\u00a0can\u00a0be done about it.\u201d The program, created by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard in the mid-1970s, is sponsored by the Church of Scientology International as a religious social service and constitutes one of the world\u2019s most significant independent relief forces.<\/p>\n The Volunteer Minister \u201chelps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.\u201d<\/p>\n Tampa Bay Volunteer Ministers earned their reputation as \u201cHurricane Heroes\u201d with an award\u00a0from the Governor of Florida\u00a0after their response to Hurricane Charlie in 2004: \u201cThis certificate is presented to Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Tampa Bay Hurricane Heroes, in recognition of exemplary efforts that not only benefit your local community but also lend truth to the belief that all citizens of Florida can make a difference in the lives of those they serve.\u201d<\/p>\n They have continued to serve, responding to Hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005 and every local hurricane since, most recently\u00a0Irma in 2017<\/a>,\u00a0Michael<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Florence<\/a>\u00a0in 2018, as well as\u00a0Hurricane Harvey\u00a0<\/a>in Texas in 2017,\u00a0Maria<\/a>\u00a0in Puerto Rico in 2018, and\u00a0Dorian<\/a>\u00a0in the Bahamas in 2019.<\/p>\n In June 2016, Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr.\u00a0David Miscavige<\/a>\u00a0dedicated the center for the Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Florida, along with a Scientology information center and six other humanitarian centers in downtown Clearwater. He said, \u201cIn times of disaster, whether affecting whole populations or a single household, our Volunteer Ministers prove on a daily basis that \u2018something\u00a0can\u00a0be done about it.\u2019 We do not discriminate. We do not judge. All we care to do is\u00a0help. And, as demonstrated time and again, we deliver that help\u00a0anywhere\u00a0and\u00a0everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n For more information on the technology used by the Volunteer Minister in confronting and handling disasters, watch\u00a0Scientology Tools for Life<\/a>\u00a0on the Scientology Network at DIRECTV 320 or at\u00a0www.Scientology.tv<\/a>.<\/p>\n LEARN MORE:<\/strong><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.scientology.org\/our-help-is-yours\/<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.volunteerministers.org<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.scientologynews.org\/press-releases\/<\/a><\/p>\n MULTIMEDIA:<\/strong><\/p>\n
![https:\/\/www.Send2Press.com\/300dpi\/22-1108-s2p-cosflaian-300dpi.jpg<\/a><\/p>\nCAPTION: A team of Scientology Volunteer Ministers continues its disaster response in communities impacted by September\u2019s magnitude 4 Hurricane Ian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES, Calif. and FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla., Nov. 8, 2022 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Scientology Volunteer Ministers continue their disaster response in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian where recovery is far from over for many affected by the storm. The devastation they encounter is still so overwhelming that one of the volunteers describes how they have to go about helping those in areas hardest hit by the storm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8949,"featured_media":86549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[608,12804,14],"tags":[18648,16300],"class_list":["post-86550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religion-news","category-ap","category-florida-news","tag-hurricane-ian","tag-scientology-volunteer-ministers","has-post-title","has-post-date","no-post-category","no-post-tag","no-post-comment","has-post-author"],"acf":[],"views":3232,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8949"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/www.Send2Press.com\/300dpi\/22-1108-s2p-cosflaian-300dpi.jpg\"){kind=link}