Sarasota resident buries her mother for the 2nd time after flood ruins grave

SARASOTA, Fla (WSNN) — A grueling chapter in one Sarasota woman’s life has finally come to a close.

Yolanda Charles was a victim of Hurricane Debby’s torrential flooding, but while most had flooding in their homes, Yolanda’s situation was very different.

Following Debby, the grave of Yolanda’s mother was flooded out and raised above ground. As a result, Yolanda had to have her mother removed from the ground.

“The last couple of weeks have been very hard,” Charles said. “I’m finally trying to eat again. I’m trying to get my life back together to go to work and keep a smile on, but deep down inside, I’m hurting. It hurts to my soul.”

The City of Sarasota has been helping Yolanda through these tragic times. They even paid upwards of $14,000 to help Yolanda bury her mother for the second time.

Commissioner Kyle Battie was at the burial Tuesday morning to pay his respects.

“I don’t even know the words to express the true weight of this situation, particularly with her and her family and having to bury her mother twice,” he said.

Yolanda’s journey has not been an easy one, but she is thankful to all who have helped her along the way. She continued to stay strong and resilient despite all of her hardships.

“Thank y’all so much,” she said. “I thank everybody, my coworkers, my managers. I thank the community. I thank my family. I thank my children and grandchildren for always being here for me. I thank my pastor and pastor Smith, I can call them for anything, and I thank Carlos, for keeping my mom.”

The City of Sarasota still worked to rectify the damages at Woodlawn Cemetery, where Yolanda’s mom was initially buried, to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.

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