Hurricane Ian — One Year Later: Sanibel-Captiva non-profits continue to serve community
F.I.S.H. of Sanibel-Captiva has been distributing furniture and more on Fridays through the Hurricane Ian Point of Distribution program, which it initiated after the storm to assist the island community. COURTESY OF F.I.S.H. OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVA
One year after Hurricane Ian, the restoration and remediation work continues at Community Housing and Resources' affordable housing units on the islands. COURTESY OF COMMUNITY HOUSING AND RESOURCES
F.I.S.H. of Sanibel-Captiva has been distributing furniture and more on Fridays through the Hurricane Ian Point of Distribution program, which it initiated after the storm to assist the island community. COURTESY OF F.I.S.H. OF SANIBEL-CAPTIVA
One year after Hurricane Ian, the restoration and remediation work continues at Community Housing and Resources' affordable housing units on the islands. COURTESY OF COMMUNITY HOUSING AND RESOURCES
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Just as government operations, residents and businesses on the islands were hit hard by Hurricane Ian and face rebuilding, so were non-profit organizations that help to provide for those in the community.
F.I.S.H. of Sanibel-Captiva, the only social services agency on Sanibel-Captiva, and Community Housing and Resources, which manages the only affordable housing program, experienced the same fallout from the storm after it swept through Lee County on Sept. 28, 2022 -- as did their clients.
F.I.S.H. Executive Director Maria Espinoza reported that the Walk-In Center on Periwinkle Way flooded in the surge waters, despite being elevated a few feet. It houses the food pantry and offices.
"It basically destroyed the inside of the building," she said of the flooding. "It devastated our commercial refrigeration, our food pantry, our offices where we do one-on-one intakes."
Due to the growing need on the islands and program expansions, F.I.S.H. secured an ancillary space on Palm Ridge Road in 2021 for equipment and file storage. Some services were also conducted onsite.
"That was also devastated during the storm," Espinoza said.
"But F.I.S.H. is not new at responding to these types of disasters," she added.
Staff began working with those who had evacuated the islands for shelters. They returned to the islands only four days after the hurricane and pivoted on programming to meet critical needs. In partnership with the city and emergency agencies, F.I.S.H. offered water and ice, set up charging stations and more.
In addition to the boots on the ground work, it established a temporary office in Fort Myers.
"We were able to operate out of there to flush out rent assistance, utility assistance, medical bills from the storm -- and connecting people with possible resources for employment," Espinoza said.
CHR Executive Director Nicole Decker-McHale explained that prior to Ian’s landfall, it had 78 rental units that housed island employees, retirees and the disabled -- 104 residents, including 26 youths.
"After Hurricane Ian, every property that we own had damage," she said. "We had 104 residents that were left homeless."
The lucky displaced residents took up temporary living quarters with family or friends.
"We had a number of them that were homeless," Decker-McHale said.
The extent of the storm's damage varied among the properties and units. There were roofs damaged, along with gutters, soffits, siding and windows. Some of the homes sustained flooding, leading to water damage and mold. Air-conditioning units and appliances were broken.
Carports and storage areas filled with debris and muck from the surge. A few elevators and even stairwells now required replacement.
At the extreme end, there were structural issues involving pilings and support beams -- and the complete loss of 11 units. A single rental on Algiers Lane will be demolished and not rebuilt due to the damages. The 10-unit Riverview building will also be torn down because of FEMA’s 50% Rule.
"Five units downstairs flooded and the structure of the building is an issue," she said. "Because of safety reasons, we weren’t going to be able to remediate it."
One year after the hurricane wrecked havoc on the islands and as recovery and restoration continues, F.I.S.H. recently celebrated the acquisition of the former Gene's Books, located next to its center.
Espinoza explained that they were given an estimate of three years to fully restore their main center.
"And we had known before the storm that we were outgrowing our space," she said.
The food pantry reopened in December, with volunteers still working without power and water.
"We have to think about the people. We’ve got to continue to serve," Espinoza said, noting that the building purchase was made possible with grants and financial donations from prior supporters.
"There's 500 visits every month," she added. "People are depending on us."
The goal was to open operations at the new site in mid-September. It will house the food pantry, along with staff to provide F.I.S.H.’s four pillars of service, plus emergency and long-term recovery aid.
With the addition of the new building, it is no longer utilizing the Palm Ridge space.
In July, F.I.S.H. announced a partnership with Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church to provide services out of the church’s new The Gathering Place @ St. Michael’s. Along with offering its own assistance and resources, F.I.S.H. partners SalusCare and Project H.O.P.E. are onsite to help.
"While we're navigating this new territory, F.I.S.H. remains committed to carrying on with our four pillars of services because we know those are going to be the key to recovery," Espinoza said.
They are food programs, education programs, senior programs and financial assistance.
"We are back to full capacity in all of our programs except one, which is our transportation program," she said, explaining that it is heavily dependent on volunteers. "Our volunteer base took a big hit."
F.I.S.H. has also launched additional programs with newly formed partnerships, like the Tool Shed Program with the Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Club. Residents can borrow tools for rebuilding -- for free.
"Since the storm, there's been a lot of changes that we've had to make with our programming," Espinoza said. "But it's always been about 'neighbors helping neighbors.'"
"We're committed to making sure people have what they need," she added.
As for CHR, it continues to restore its units as quickly as possible one year later in order to welcome residents back home. As of Aug. 22, 44 of the units had been remediated, with 22 still under repair.
"We have 62 residents that have moved in and 11 of them are children," Decker-McHale said.
"We have been working diligently to repair as many as we can," she added.
The 12-unit Woodhaven on Casa Ybel Road had its roof replaced, and soffits and gutters are finished. The carport and storage sheds are repaired, and an elevator re-modernization is planned next year.
Featuring 12 units for senior living, Casa Mariposa on Periwinkle Way requires a roof replacement, along with the finishing of soffit and gutter repairs. It was one of the buildings to sustain water damage and mold. But the carports have been cleaned out, and it has elevator re-modernization set for 2024.
A couple of the buildings at the 14-unit Mahogany Way off of Wooster Lane have had their roofs replaced, plus the soffits and gutters repaired. The rest of them are still waiting their turn. Some of the property’s stairs had to repaired and the concrete pad pit shell that washed away has been refilled.
The 12-unit Airport Way off of Casa Ybel Road required roof replacements and those are dried in. Soffit and gutter repairs are needed, but the skylights in some of the units that were leaking after the storm have been removed. Also, some of the stairwells going to the apartments had to be replaced.
Wooster/Lake Palms on Wooster Lane are private condos and CHR owns four units inside of the community. Those residents are in the process of having a new roof put on, plus some siding.
A combination of rentals and units in CHR’s Limited Equity Ownership Program, the three at the Sanibel Highlands on Whitehall Road are going to have to be gutted and are unoccupied due to that.
Also housing a mix of rentals and LEO units, the 14-unit Centre Street off of Main Street had water intrusion through the windows, which resulted in mold. It remains unoccupied as the contractor tries to determine the best way to remediate the situation, so the units do not have water issues in the future.
Another rental-LEO combination comprised of five units, Beach Road on Beach Road remains unoccupied. Its foundation needs to be structurally engineered and CHR was waiting on the quote.
As for the to-be-demolished Riverview, Decker-McHale has been meeting with an architect and city staffers -- the affordable housing program falls under the purview of the city, but is managed by CHR.
"We were talking about density and what size units we can build over there," she said.
They have the contract for the demolition and were waiting on permits. Depending on permitting, demolition is estimated to take about one month, followed by about four months of rebuilding.
In addition to housing, CHR provides some resources for its residents, including grant funds for rental assistance and distributing gift cards for food, school supplies and such as those donations come in.
"Hurricane Ian greatly impacted this community. Every single structure on the island has had some sort of impact," Decker-McHale said. "The greatest impact has been to the people of the community."
"But this community is a resilient community and everybody has been working hard to remediate their homes and properties," she added. "That is our main goal -- to provide a home. So that our residents can get back in their homes."
For more information about CHR, visit sancapchr.org.
For more information about F.I.S.H., visit fishofsancap.org.