GREEN BAY, WI – (WGBW) – When Mike Pritzl got the call from the American Red Cross to help with disaster relief in Florida following Hurricane Milton, he welcomed the challenge as he thrives on chaos.
“Maybe I didn’t have as much chaos in my life as I’ve been experiencing. But it’s pretty neat to see all the things that all the different organizations that work together can do together,” Pritzl said. “There’s still a lot of work for us to do down here.”
Pritzl is working in a shelter in hurricane-ravaged Florida. A day can last anywhere from 12 to 15 hours and his tasks are always varied.
“You name it we do it. It’s whatever’s being asked of us. Today, as an example, I’ve spent most of my morning trying to help a resident of the shelter get transportation to a doctor’s appointment,” said Pritzl. “You would think that is simple. And it’s not.”
As a shelter volunteer, Pritzl said he spends his days serving food, cleaning, and helping the residents of the shelter in any way he can.
“One of the things that we’re tasked with is bring compassion and hope to these people,” Pritzl said.
He’s helped people who have never been through a disaster before, people who have experienced their third hurricane and have a home 6 feet under water, and people who were homeless before the hurricane.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Pritzl said. “But I only have one tangible skill and that’s talking. So for me, to sit down for 10 to 15 minutes and just listen, put a hand on a shoulder, and say ‘Hey. We’re gonna do what we can.’ It’s really fulfilling.”
Pritzl is a real estate agent in his day-to-day job. He volunteers because he has the time and can.
“This was my first national deployment. And it will not be my last,” said Pritzl. “But it’s also not easy. It really isn’t. The days are long, and they come very fast.”
Since his deployment just after Hurricane Milton hit, Pritzl has helped in Maimi, Tampa Bay, and is now volunteering in a shelter in the Punta Gorda/Fort Meyers area of Florida.
To discover ways you can help with disaster relief, through donations, volunteering, or financial support visit our Hurricane Help page at CivicMedia.us/Help.
