Larry Griffin
Forty-eight hours ago, the building at 507 Michigan St. was just an empty storage area.
Now it has transformed into the new Family Assistance Center, intended to help survivors and others connected to the Pulse nightclub shooting.
At a news conference Thursday morning, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs stood together and announced the center was open and ready to go. Officials from the Red Cross and other organizations involved in the project joined them.
The center will continue the work the temporary center at the Camping World Stadium started in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, encompassing counseling, therapy and a host of other miscellaneous services. Representatives from the LGBT and Hispanic communities will be available and numerous forms of aid will be there to address various needs, though Dyer stressed that specific cases would have to remain confidential.
Dyer said the center was part of a “long-term plan” to assist those affected by the tragedy — now that the immediate needs are mostly met, they can start to focus on longer-term solutions for those in need while also getting things back to normal in the rest of Orlando.
“We’re transitioning out of the immediate response phase,” he said. “The Family Assistance Center at Camping World Stadium helped 986 individuals and 298 families in just eight days. We quickly realized it was critical to have this. People arrived thinking they needed one or two services, but some utilized up to 27 services there.”
Jacobs praised companies such as Walt Disney World for their quick and valuable help with the center – Disney, she said, set up a children’s area where children could read and color in the center while their parents were there for other reasons.
“I’m proud of this community,” she said. “We’re strong, and we’re united. I don’t want to forget those who are struggling, those who have PTSD, those who need a place away from home. We’re united, strong, proud and we are healing.”
Family Assistance Center Lead Tara Hughes with the Red Cross said the center was about helping Orlando find “a new normal.”
“We’re attempting to find what is now the new normal for Orlando,” she said. “That’s what this is about — finding a routine, getting back to normal. Those affected by the Pulse shooting may have trouble sleeping; you may feel agitated towards your loved ones. Give yourself time — that’s how you create a new normal.”
The Family Assistance Center is open today and tomorrow from 3 to 8 p.m. Starting June 27, it will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
To make an appointment, call 407-500-HOPE or visit the website at cityoforlando.net/hope.
