Dozens of local Red Cross volunteers are spread out across southern Louisiana right now to help those affected by the recent floods.
Reverend Margaret Smart from Pahokee is one of those who was deployed to Louisiana.
Smart is helping out at a shelter in Gonzales, located southeast of Baton Rouge.
She said there are hundreds of displaced families in the shelter, many of whom lost their homes to the flood waters.
"They say that the fact that the Red Cross is here to help is making them feel better and is giving them a new lease on life," Smart said.
Her job there is to try to make people smile, and offer a shoulder to lean on when they need to cry.
"You just give them a hug, let them cry and let them know that you care."
According to the Red Cross, 28 volunteers from South Florida are assisting in Louisiana, along with at least 1,000 others from across the United States.
The agency is taking donations to continue to help those in Louisiana.
You can help by visiting redcross.org or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS or by texting the work LAFLOODS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
According to meteorologists, 6.9 trillion gallons of rain have fallen on Louisiana over the past few days. The rains damaged at least 40,000 homes.
Former WPTV reporter, Carolyn Scofield, now lives in New Orleans.
Once she learned of the devastation caused by the rain, she jumped at the chance to help.
For the past few days, she's been collecting supplies and just dropped them off Tuesday night in Gonzales.
"It's kind of wild just to see how big the problem is and how big the need is, too," Scofield said.
She said the devastation done there will require clean-up help and support for months to come.
Scofield said the people of Louisiana inspired her to help out as much as she can.
"Right when I walked in the shelter, it almost felt like a punch in the gut. You see all of these people in this room, and that's all that they have at this point," she said.
She said those affected didn't wait for help to come. Some of them helping others even when their own homes were damaged.
"Even people who had flooding in their own homes were helping others, making sure they got out of their homes safely."
