County providing special needs shelters

MEGAN SHANNON
Staff Writer

Lynn Penely said the special needs shelter was all fun and games as Hurricane Charlie ravaged Lake County in 2004.

Penely, clerical supervisor for Lake County Health Department, said shelterees even asked if they could come back to the "resort" next year. The special need shelters are only for those who are medically dependent on electricity. Those running these shelters try to make them as comfortable as possible since they do not have the option to evacuate or stay with a friend.

This year Lake County is encouraging people to sign up for the special needs shelter even if they do not qualify. This way emergency personnel can check on those who sign up to see if they need any special care after the emergency is over.

"It's better we know you're out there," said Lake County Heath Department Director Kevin Lenhart. Jerry Smith, Lake County emergency services director, also encourages those who plan to use the general shelters to instead find friends or family they could stay with as shelters tend to be uncomfortable.

Penely said general needs shelterees are not provided cots, as special needs shelterees are, they also cramped and uncomfortable.

According to Smith, there are about 750 people signed up for their three special needs shelters for this year. They are located in Pine Ridge, Leesburg, The Villages, and Umatilla Elementary Schools.

Smith said the legislature passed a new bill changing some of the ways natural disasters are handled. He said a discharge plan was installed for those who lost their homes but are ready to leave the shelter and mental retardation was added to the qualification to get into a special needs shelter.

Sumter County does things differently from Lake County because they are smaller. Only 300 people are registered for their shelters, which are categorized as high, medium, and low priority. As in Lake County, anyone can register for Sumter County's two special needs shelters, even if they only need transportation, but only those who qualify can occupy them during an emergency.

In Sumter County only those who actually require medical attention can stay in the high priority shelters. People who are medically dependent on electricity are routed to medium or low priority shelters which are backed up by generators.