Kerion Watson is the big sister every sibling wants.

The 23-year-old, came to the American Red Cross intake center in Arcadia, Florida, to apply for assistance so her family could begin repairing damage to their home from Hurricane Ian. Kerion was mainly concerned about her two brothers, who are 12 and 6. Kerion has been staying with her friend, Regina, but her brothers have nowhere to go and are still in the damaged home.

Kerion, her parents and her two younger brothers rode out the storm at home. “It was scary. I went to sleep to try and avoid the scariness,” she said. After the hurricane passed, a local river overflowed and flooded their home in the middle of the night. “We didn’t know what to do,” Kerion said. The water in the home was knee-high, and Kerion and her family were forced to sleep in their cars until the water receded a week later.

“It was so crazy, I’ve never experienced anything like it,” Kerion said. Everything in the home was destroyed and had to be thrown away.

Kerion says the family’s No. 1 priority is getting the house repaired. Kerion applied for financial assistance with the Red Cross on a Wednesday and was approved the next day. She returned that evening to receive her card. “This means so much. I can finally get a place for my brothers to lay and get myself some more clothes because everything was messed up in the hurricane,” Kerion said. “I’m so grateful for this, thank you so much.”

The Red Cross is in Florida to help people like Kerion and her family begin on the road to recovery after Hurricane Ian. Service centers are open at various locations, and individuals who need assistance and other resources should visit redcross.org/ian or call 1-800-RED CROSS to find one near them.  

Written by Christy Peters, American Red Cross