It was bitterly cold and windy on Thursday as people lined up outside the Ukrainian Hall in Whitney Pier, N.S.
It’s where people impacted by Fiona were still trying to access financial aid from the Red Cross two months after the devastating storm.
“Ultimately, there needs to be a little more organization, I think,” said resident Murray MacKinnon.
MacKinnon says it hasn't been an easy process. Like many others, he lost power for days and suffered significant structural damage.
“You have to make a phone call and they take information and then get back to you and tell you to come to a place like this today. I'm here to identify my identity. After that I don't know what's going to happen,” he said.
The Red Cross says applications for both provincial funds and donations are still being processed.
“Most people who would benefit or qualify for each of those programs, we already know who they are, it's just that some of them need to see us in person to complete the process or provide other details,” said Red Cross spokesperson Dan Bedell.
To date, the Red Cross says it's distributed $45 million to over 62,000 households across Atlantic Canada, including nearly $18 million in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island alone.
About 4,000 cases still need to be finalized.
“I don't think people recognize that there's still a lot of people, and I don't want to say recovering, but living with the effects of Hurricane Fiona,” said Lynne McCarron, the executive director of United Way Cape Breton.
McCarron says, with colder temperatures hitting the region in November, it's causing concern for people who can't afford to heat their homes.
“There are still people with tarps on their roof, and that's just not the case for vulnerable folks. Insurance people are having trouble getting contractors to come and do the repairs,” she said.
