Sarasota’s Season of Sharing program pays some families’ bills as they recover from hurricane season

Associated Press

Residents of Florida’s Gulf Coast endured two major hurricanes and a tropical storm in the span of nine weeks, and they are still feeling the economic shockwaves. The disasters aren’t just costly for those whose properties were damaged or destroyed. Replacing food that spoiled during power outages, evacuating to a hotel room, and missing weeks of work strains budgets too. A Sarasota-based program called Season of Sharing is paying hurricane-impacted households’ housing, utility, transportation and childcare bills to help stave off the worst economic consequences of an unprecedented hurricane season.