People who lost jobs due to hurricanes in desperate need of work

People who lost jobs due to storms still looking for work

Briona Arradondo reports

MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. - Nearly a month after Hurricane Helene, Tampa Bay’s restaurant and hospitality industries near the coast took the biggest hits, and people who lost their jobs on the beaches are still looking for work as businesses work to reopen.

It’s been a week since the Saltwater Hippie bar reopened in Madeira Beach. But just across the street at their other property, the Brass Captain bar, was heavily damaged, gutted and remains closed.

Daytime manager and bartender Lisa Herod said staff from both locations are working at the Saltwater Hippie since it’s the only one open after repairs and cleanup from Helene and Milton.

"We've cut hours. Instead of running one bartender, we run two. Instead of running two, we run three," said Herod. "Everybody has a job. And hopefully we'll get the other bar up and running, and we can have more places for Madeira Beach to come and hang out."

She admits the reduced hours are not ideal to help some workers stay afloat.

"I know people are looking for sure. I think that the market's tight because this is not the only area that's been impacted," said Herod.

Many people lost their main source of income from the storms. CareerSource Hillsborough Pinellas seeing the scope from their offices.

"Of the businesses that had submitted damage reports for the state for Hillsborough and Pinellas 900 people who work for them were permanently laid off, and we had another 2200 that were temporarily laid off," said Steve Meier, co-interim CEO of CareerSource Hillsborough Pinellas.

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The restaurant and tourism industries took the biggest hit, impacting bartenders like Mylissa Graves. She’s been in food service for 30 years.

"I don’t have any income coming in, and I don’t know what I’m going to do, you know? I need all that money to pay the rent," said Graves.

Normally, she works multiple part-time jobs, including Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, the Mid-Florida Amphitheatre and others. But the storms took out those paychecks.

"I have no work. I can't even interview because the places aren't even open anymore or whatever. They're rebuilding from their damage. So, it's hard to interview for a job," said Graves.

Graves said she’s been on the hunt, and there are upcoming job fairs to help. CareerSource has organized a disaster recovery job fair for two days. On November 6, the job fair will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the CareerSource Hillsborough Pinellas Tampa Center at 9215 North Tampa Avenue Suite 101, and on November 7 the job fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Petersburg College EpiCenter at 13805 58th Street North in Clearwater. The job fair will also have opportunities for veterans starting at 10 a.m. on both days.

"Just have a resume and be open to talking. We’re going to try to have some of the employers that are going to be working with us to have interviews on site," said Meier.

As restaurants come back, they will hopefully recover from the devastation.

"The service industry is where the bread and butter is, especially out on the beaches. And when you take that away, you don't just take away destinations for people to come, but you take away jobs from people that live here. This is how they make their living," said Herod.

CareerSource said it’s also encouraging people to apply for disaster unemployment to help recoup lost wages.

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