City of St. James, Florida – Hurricane Ian destroyed more than 5,000 homes in southwest Florida and damaged nearly 30,000 more by the end of September. Four months later, a new generation of homeless Americans is emerging in Lee County.
“People are here on the streets. They’re just living in disparity,” said Robert McCall, an 83-year veteran who is currently homeless in Lee County. “They’ve taken care of themselves up to this point, but then they have a huge disappointment, and it’s the end of their life.”
Robert McCall is homeless for the first time in his life. Hurricane Ian destroyed the veteran’s home as the Category 4 hurricane hit Southwest Florida with a record storm surge.
“My wife is 85, I’m 83. I wasn’t going to go out and find a hotel or motel or anything until we figured out where we were standing with our insurance because I didn’t want to spend a lot of money and found out they weren’t going to pay. So we slept in our car for 36 days,” McCall said.
Four months after Hurricane Ian, some homeowners are still living in tents on Pine Island. (FoxNews)
The family is currently awaiting insurance verification before deciding on their next steps. They sleep among cars, tents and a donated mobile home on Pine Island.
“Every time we called the insurance company…they wouldn’t even acknowledge our claim number, who we were or anything. They said we’d just have to wait,” McCall said. “This is not the country I grew up in. I think the insurance companies have let everyone down because of course everyone is waiting for money to see where they stand or to use it to do something. I don’t. we would”. be here right now if we receive it in a timely manner. They’re going to say they’re overwhelmed and everything else, but these storms and these disasters have been going on for many years, and there’s no reason why our federal government and these insurance companies couldn’t respond in a timely manner.”
Beacon of Hope, a nonprofit organization in Lee County, is counting how many residents were left homeless by the hurricane. Early estimates show hundreds of former homeowners now living in tents or their cars, with many more living in moldy houses that have already been condemned.
“I was promised a trailer from FEMA early on about four months ago,” said Nicole Williams, a Pine Island resident. “They still don’t have a schedule for me or responded to continued rental assistance, so I am forced to live in a condemned house.”
The city of Naples, FL, during Hurricane Ian on September 28, 2022. The streets are flooded and the wind is hitting the trees hard. (City of Naples)
Nicole Williams moved back into her house on Pine Island, even though the house was covered in mold. Willams slacked off and stayed with friends for months while waiting for a trailer from FEMA to arrive, but the trailer never came.
“I’ve been mentally broken so many times you have no idea. Like I said, I’ve been incredibly blessed or I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my friends, but instead living on your friend’s couch or his spare laundry room. It will be taken to you.” Those blessings will affect you and all you want to do is come home and have a home and have that peace and serenity and that sanctuary. That’s supposed to be yours,” Williams said in an emotional interview outside her home. . “I think our federal government must answer for harming its people by not doing their job in a timely manner.”
In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, tens of thousands of homes were damaged in Lee County. Volunteers believe the housing crisis in Southwest Florida is far from over.
“There are so many people who need help. There are people who have been forgotten, their basic needs still not being met,” said Dana Dodson, director of CPE-Project Hope. “What we’re trying to do is raise awareness about that and get other outside agencies to come in and support us, especially here on Pine Island.”
HURRICANE IAN VICTIMS RETURN TO DESTROYED HOMES AS DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO RISE
Dana Dodson is a director and project manager for CPE, Project Hope. The organization provides mental health services to people affected by Hurricane Ian as part of disaster recovery. Dodson serves some of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Ian: Lee, Hendry, Glades, and Collier counties. The project manager also knows firsthand how much Hurricane Ian devastated families in Southwest Florida.
“My personal experience… I came from Pennsylvania, I came here to help in disasters. Like the residents here, the volunteers who come here have no places to live. So I live in my car. I spend time with friends who I met here in their homes, couch surfing, I also slept in tents. I basically slept where it was safe,” Dodson said. “There is limited access to housing.”
Dodson believes that part of the solution is outreach, making sure Lee County isn’t forgotten during the long recovery process.
“I think what we’re really looking for is to raise awareness about the area. I think people don’t realize the devastation that is still here. Many people are realizing that there are still people without places to live. there are still people without their basic needs met. There are still people without power on the islands, and even in Fort Myers,” Dodson said.
FEMA CHIEF DEFENDS LEE COUNTY, FLORIDA HURRICANE OFFICIALS IAN PREPARED: STORM WAS ‘VERY UNPREDICTABLE’:
Drone video captures widespread damage in Ft. Myers days after Hurricane Ian landed. (FoxNews)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has received more than 911,000 applications in designated counties from Hurricane Ian survivors in Florida. Of those, 378,000 have received assistance through FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program. A FEMA spokesperson told Fox News that the remaining applicants may still be waiting for insurance settlements, in the process of submitting additional documentation, or may have been referred to another organization to help meet their needs, such as our partners in the Small Business Administration or the US Department of Agriculture.
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Four months later, FEMA is still working to move the travel trailers to Southwest Florida for eligible families. To date, 226 households have obtained licenses for travel trailers (101), mobile homes (71), or direct rental units (54). An additional 299 travel trailers and mobile homes are being prepared for occupancy and site inspections are underway for more units.
“Following the immediate response to Hurricane Ian, one of FEMA’s top priorities is to provide temporary housing to applicants who are unable to live in their homes due to damage from Hurricane Ian,” the agency said. “FEMA has awarded funds to nearly 68,000 households affected by Hurricane Ian for rental assistance or basic repairs to their storm-damaged homes. To date, more than 4,500 households have participated in FEMA-paid temporary hotel stays, while that FEMA’s Direct Lease program has insured 333 units. FEMA is in the process of identifying applicants based on the location of their damaged home and household composition for potential units within a reasonable travel distance.”
