Local relief nonprofit continues to draw attention in Lakewood Ranch

In an odd way, the 2024 hurricane season was just what Country Club East's Heather Hackett needed to get her Local Relief app up and running.

With Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton ripping through the region, Hackett certainly has had everyone's attention.

In her words, here is a description of Hackett's "local disaster network's" mission:

"Local Relief is a first-of-its-kind, people-powered platform turning chaos into connection. When storms strike and systems fall short, we rise — uniting communities, nonprofits, and emergency services in one place to prepare, survive, and rebuild. I speak the language of resilience, lead with heart, and believe that neighbors helping neighbors isn’t just a slogan — it’s the future of disaster recovery."

On a quiet weather day last week, I visited Hackett at home to see what would be new in 2025 for her nonprofit, which enters its third hurricane season. While technically it's a third season of Local Relief, the app was just getting started in 2023 and not entirely functional.

The 2024 hurricane season was totally different. The residents had to feel like a professional boxer taking in short order a straight right from Muhammad Ali, followed by a left hook from Mike Tyson and then a haymaker from George Foreman.

Those residents were angry and frustrated people, who were just plain worn out when they went searching for recovery help. They were open to new resources to point them toward that help.

People began to find Local Relief ... more than 25,000 of them.

Photo by Jay Heater

Local Relief became relevant, and Hackett was named in November as the 2024 C. John A. Clarke Humanitarian Award recipient by the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation. As Hackett said, "It showed me that someone was watching."

But fear, when it comes to weather, is fleeting. People rebuild and recover, and then move forward, often with little regard to the past.

It is a strange climate for Hackett, who mostly is humanitarian, but who also needs to be part businesswoman to keep her nonprofit afloat.

"Last year gave us the chance to put out the resources people wanted," Hackett said.

The series of nasty storms gave Local Relief momentum. Whether the app continues to grow ... we'll see. Hackett will need help from the community, whether that comes in the form of financial support from the business or private sectors, to stay afloat in the long run. She no longer is a one-woman band as she gets technological help from employee Chris Driggers while Denise Abad has joined the team as a virtual assistant.

It is likely the more sophisticated her app becomes, the more it will cost to operate. And if you think of disaster relief as an industry, consider the landscape.

Last week I wrote about Manatee County and its new Peregrine system, which is a $230,000-a-year software package that consolidates data that will help our emergency workers make decisions during disasters. It is all manned by geographical information systems analysts who translate the information to a considerable amount of county staff members.

Manatee County spends millions of our tax dollars in protecting us from hurricanes and then in helping us to recover.

So do we really need an app like Local Relief?

Spend a little time with Hackett, and you will be convinced that we do.

She says that while your needs might not always take priority with the local government, it might with your neighbors. She said Local Relief is all about neighbors helping neighbors.

And while county social media might direct you to official sources for help, it might not point you toward the local church that wants to assist, or the neighbor who has the truck to help you remove that stump from your lawn. You might find that her app more effectively point a person toward gas, ice or other supplies.

Hackett talked about a Siesta Key resident whose home was flooded by Hurricane Helene.

"Since then, she has made it a full-time job seeking resources," Hackett said. "She has been dumbfounded on how big the process is. This is a smart woman who has taken notebooks full of notes, and she still is struggling. Local Relief is putting her together with the information.

"People are ready to prepare for a hurricane. They never are prepared to recover."

Hackett has taken notes as well and she said the app is now more user friendly. She said several businesses had contacted her about supporting the nonprofit, but they would like to see numbers as well, which might mean experience through a few more storms.

Besides everything else, Hackett might have to worry about competition if potential competitors see she has found an untapped area for her nonprofit.

"I'm a hybrid," she said. "I'm in the lead right now."

With another hurricane season upon us, Hackett doesn't have time to worry about what might be. She continually wants to improve her app, which includes the podcast she just added. She attends every disaster or storm-related event she can. She tries to build relationships with governments and school systems, which can provide volunteer hours from students.

It all goes toward helping her neighbors, and she says that is the end goal. She said the app is not a job, but a calling.

"I knew this is what I was supposed to do," she said.

She tells a story of in April seeing her name written into the C. John A. Clarke Humanitarian Award plaque at Main Street at Lakewood Ranch. "I'm not sure words can really capture the swirl of emotions in that moment," she says. "Gratitude, disbelieve, pride, and a deep sense of wow ... this actually happened.

"I got into my car to drive home and the second I turned the key, 'You Get What You Give' by the New Radicals started playing. I just sat there a minute and let it all sink in. There couldn't have been a more fitting song, because at the heart of everything I do, and everything Local Relief stands for, is that simple truth. You really do get what you give."