Irma donations went to Keys, but truckloads were turned away

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FILE – In this Sept. 12, 2017, Mirta Mendez walks through debris at the Seabreeze trailer park along the Overseas Highway in the Florida Keys. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald via AP, File)
FILE – In this Sept. 12, 2017, Mirta Mendez walks through debris at the Seabreeze trailer park along the Overseas Highway in the Florida Keys. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald via AP, File)

ROCKLAND KEY, Fla. Trucks rolled into the Keys with supplies less than a week after Hurricane Irma.

But they had no place to go.

Attorney Bernadette Restivo was driven to act after volunteering at the tent city on Big Pine Key six days after the storm hit.

“We watched 17 truckloads of supplies get turned away because there was no place to put it,” Restivo said. “That really upset me.”

Outcry from Restivo and others launched an effort that led restaurateur Joe Walsh to donate a warehouse where supplies could be housed.

That warehouse opened days later, and stacks of donations continue to pile up. Four semi-trailer trucks carrying supplies showed up Thursday afternoon.

“The trucks are coming in from all over,” Restivo said.

Click here on more information on how to help the Keys.

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