Lutheran Services FloridaHURRICANE IDALIA
Head Start Duval | CLOSED Tuesday (8/29)-Thursday (8/31)
Head Start Pinellas | CLOSED Tuesday (8/29)-Wednesday (8/30)
Head Start Hillsborough | CLOSED Tuesday (8/29)-Wednesday (8/30)
Head Start Palm Beach County | NONE
PEPPI | NONE
LSF CENTRAL SERVICES OFFICE:
LSF HEALTH SYSTEMS:
FAMILY FOCUS SERVICES:
CMOs
Manatee CMO – CLOSED 1pm Monday (8/28)-Wednesday (8/30)
CHILDREN’S BOARD FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER:
All centers are open.
Good Morning LSF!
Yes, Tropical Stom Idalia is now Hurricane Idalia. Idalia is moving North/North East and is projected to make landfall around 0600 Wednesday morning. The current “cone of uncertainty” is projecting landfall in Dixie County. While we are monitoring Idalia, we continue to provide services to our children and families across Florida. Most of our services are still open throughout the State. We do have closures in Head Start (Head Start follows the local School District’s schedule). We are not providing direct Head Start services in Pinellas County (August 29 & 30), Duval County (August 29 – 31), and Hillsborough County (August 29 & 30). I will provide additional information this afternoon. As of now, Governor DeSantis has issued state of emergency for 46 Florida counties, and President Biden approved the needed Emergency Declaration for Florida.
Multiple services are closed in each County on the West side of the State. Please visit local County websites for updated information. Please see https://www.fldoe.org/em-response/storm-info.stml for school, University, and other reported closures. As always, please be safe and be aware of your surroundings. To ensure our clients are safe and served, we must also me safe.
Prayers and thank you for taking care of our children and families in need across Florida.
Bob
Dear LSF,
I’m certain we have all been watching the evolution of Tropical Storm Idalia over the weekend. As we were all hoping that it would dissipate, it has not.
As of now, NOAA is predicting a possible Category 3 prior to landfall Wednesday early morning. Hurricane Idalia (soon to be) is projected to make landfall north of Tampa. Please see https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ for current updates.
I encourage you to watch the news and be aware of the track shifts and timing of the storm as it approaches Florida. Now is the time to revisit your home and work disaster plans and lessons learned from Hurricane Ian.
Program Leadership will be in touch as we have closures throughout the state. Our Senior Leadership team will begin regular calls and the communications team has refreshed our hurricane website with relevant information to this storm. You can also call our employee hotline 1-855-360-3445. I will stay in touch through e-mail and one calls.
Remember:
If you have program specific questions, please reach out to your manager or Executive Vice President who oversees your area: Mike Carroll (mike.carroll@lsfnet.org), Christine Cauffield (christine.cauffield@lsfnet.org), me (bob.bialas@lsfnet.org).
Bob Bialas
Executive Vice President of Head Start
LSF Disaster Response Lead
The Great Hurricane Blowout offers a number of preparation resources including tools for building a family emergency plan and hurricane emergency kit at www.greathurricaneblowout.org.
What will your family do if a hurricane is coming? You should have a family emergency plan.
When sheltering in place take some steps to ensure you are prepared.
The following supplies should be included in all hurricane emergency kits. Special circumstances such as medical needs or pets should be taken into consideration when planning your kit.
