Hurricane Helene
Emergency operations centers are active throughout the region as Hurricane Helene advances across the gulf on a track toward the state as a major storm. Senior Meteorologist for the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network, Megan Borowski, joins Engage with an update on the path and impacts to Central Florida.
Visit the Hurricane Helene Live Blog for the latest updates.
Salvation Army Disaster Response
Members of the Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services team from Central Florida mobilized ahead of Helene’s landfall. Crews went to Lakeland yesterday. From there, they will assess needs and deploy to impacted areas. Major Ken Chapman, Area Commander for The Salvation Army for Orange and Osceola Counties, joins Engage to discuss their role in disaster response for Hurricane Helene.
Maternity Homes
During much of the 20th Century, unwed women and teenagers who found themselves pregnant had few options. Maternity homes became a popular solution for women with no support, no income and no abortion options. Most were run by churches or charities and they provided relative security and anonymity for women at a time when being pregnant out of wedlock carried a severe social stigma. The 1970’s saw two revolutionary events for American women; universal access to birth control including the pill and the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision which ruled women do have the right to seek an abortion to voluntarily end a pregnancy. These led to maternity homes disappearing from American communities as women had gained both control and choice over their own reproductive health.
In 2022, the conservative-majority Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. In May of this year, Florida’s six-week ban on abortions went into effect. These events contributed to the resurgence of maternity homes in Florida. Homes that do not accept any federal funding are free of any kind of regulation or oversight from the state or local level. Without any oversight, these homes are free to set their own rules, and, as New York Times investigative reporter Laura Morel found out, they enact rules that can be difficult to adhere to while juggling a job and a newborn. Her report on Florida maternity homes was published Tuesday as a part of The New York Times’ Local Investigations Fellowship. She joins Engage to parse out her work.
One Small Step
We're shifting gears and talking about politics. We're not focusing on the things that divide us, but rather the things that can unite us. Central Florida Public Media is partnering with StoryCorps to participate in the One Small Step conversations. Rebecca Fernandez, Central Florida Public Media’s Director of Community Collaboration, and Central Florida Public Media producer Abe Aboraya join Engage to discuss the uniting initiative.
Eatonville Preschool
Orange County community leaders are celebrating the opening of a free new resource for early education in Central Florida. Eatonville’s Hungerford Elementary School opened the first district operated preschool for two and three-year-old children. Central Florida Public Media education reporter Danielle Prieur toured some of the new classrooms at Hawk Haven Preschool this week. She joins Engage to discuss the town’s newest resource investing in its youngest residents.
