TAMPA, Fla. — One Tampa Bay nonprofit is extending help to the families of special needs children in south Hillsborough County.

Inspira Tampa Bay was recently awarded a $25,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay to help families impacted by recent hurricanes.

 What You Need To Know
  • Inspira Tampa Bay was recently awarded a grant to help special needs families impacted by the hurricanes
  • The nonprofit created a survey to get a better idea of what families need
  • Gabriela Vazquez Cruz says she lost her fridge and had a lot of damage to her homeafter Hurricanes Helene and Milton

Gabriela Vazquez Cruz says every day looks different as she learns more about her daughter's needs.

“She likes the alphabet, numbers and puzzles,” Cruz said.

Her daughter, Rebecca, is developmentally delayed, non-verbal and has trouble walking, which means she needs more attention and help.

Cruz said her home sustained a lot of damage in the back-to-back hurricanes. The roof still needs to be fixed, and water got into the home, damaging her floors and her refrigerator.

She’s now having to relying on a mini fridge she’s borrowing to keep her daughter fed.

“I spent around $400 dollars on groceries and all my food went bad because of the hurricane, and my A/C unit also went bad,” she said.

But she hasn’t been alone through it all. While her daughter receives therapy at Southshore Bilingual Therapy, she’s also receiving help from the nonprofit Inspira Tampa Bay.

They work to help families like Cruz's with clothes or personal items.

Now, thanks to a Critical Needs Hurricane relief grant the nonprofit recently received, Inspira officials said they will now be able to help more families who are struggling to get back on their feet.

Inspira Chair Luz Gaona said the grant can help in a variety of ways.

“Replacement of those sensory tools, adaptive equipment that was lost in the hurricane, for a lot of these family members, utility bills, rent,” Gaona said.

But to find out what to purchase for families, Inspira has opened a survey that asks questions about their immediate needs.

For Cruz, the hurricane set her back in making payments, but it’s not stopping her from staying positive that her situation will get better.

“This situation after the hurricane I was left without a job, and I’ve been using my savings to help, but I’m just thankful places like this are here to help us,” she said.