Members of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation have been helping facilitate recovery efforts for fellow tribal members impacted by Hurricanes Milton and Helene.

“Mashantucket is all one big family. And they make sure they take care of their own,” said Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Fire Chief Floyd Chaney.

Thursday at the Mashantucket public safety building, Chief Chaney was among other tribal members and workers doing just that in the wake of Hurricane Milton.

“We are a family here, but we have–we have family members no matter where they are in the state,” said Mashantucket Social Services Manager Tanisha Minnis.

To help family members in need, emergency and social services personnel established a wellness call center, reaching out to those down south in the aftermath of the storm.

“This is a scary situation, okay. Milton, Helene puts lives in jeopardy so we do whatever it takes to make them feel as comfortable as possible,” Chief Chaney said.

Minnis said they called over 70 family members on Thursday morning.

“I’ve spoken to individuals today and they were just really just excited to hear that we’re calling. It just lets them know that we care. That no matter where they are, that we’re concerned for them,” Minnis said.

She said many are safe, but others are dealing with the devastation.

“Some have had damage to their homes like so many others in these states. Some have lost electricity for prolonged periods of time and are dealing with lost food and lost basic needs for them to survive,” said Mashantucket Pequot Chief of Government Administration Michael Purcaro.

Through the calls, those in Connecticut are facilitating aid to members down south by connecting them with local authorities and other resources.

“Essentially, whatever families might need as far as assistance, we’re here to try and connect them either to services that we have, support that we can provide from here or even locally where they’re living,” Purcaro said.

He added that for phone lines that did not connect, the Tribal Police are working to contact local authorities to ensure everyone is accounted for.

“Anything we gotta do in Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida–whatever it takes,” Chief Chaney said.

We will have plenty of sunshine and chilly weather on Thursday.

High temperatures will be in the upper 50s and a frost advisory is in effect for Northern Litchfield County for early Friday morning.

We will have lots of sunshine on Friday and Saturday and milder temperatures.

Then there are chances for rain showers on Sunday and Monday.

We’re hearing from people with ties to our state who are hunkering down in their homes in Florida.

They are dealing with everything from powerful winds to tornadoes.

“This is the worst hurricane I’ve ever been through,” Carissa Carter, of Palmetto, FL, said.

Carter is originally from East Hartford and is now living near Sarasota.

“We lost power 20 minutes ago. It sounds like a train wreck. It’s really scary outside. I chose to stay here in my home in Florida because we live in a concrete block home,” Carter said.

On the east coast, a scary scene unfolded near Palm Beach and the home of Jordan Oaks who is originally from Rocky Hill.

“There’s people going crazy down here. My neighbors are all looking outside, just watching this tornado rip through these yards. And you can see the actual debris of what looks like roofing, trees flying in the air and just going north,” Jordan Oaks, of Westlake, FL, said.

Near Orlando rain pounded the home of Jason Berry, who is originally from Franklin. He put out sandbags and did other preparations.

“We have a lot of patio furniture on our full deck, so we put that away. Any loose objects in the yard that can go flying, those are all packed away in the garage. Our neighbors boarded up their windows,” Berry said.

People hunkered down all around the Sunshine State and are now hoping for the best amid the fury of Milton.

“I just hope everybody’s staying safe, and prayers goes out to everybody,” Oaks said.

Oaks, who is a country musician, just released his debut album and hopes to be able to fly back to Connecticut on Friday.

He’s set to play at the Southington Apple Harvest Festival on Saturday.