Crisis Cleanup group helps homeowners get through the muck after Hurricane Ian

Lici Beveridge, Fort Myers News-Press
·5 min read
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Ted and Paula Kruger were cleaning up their winter home in Bonita Springs after Hurricane Ian filled it with brackish water and mud.

The couple, who live in Ohio in the summer months, drove to Florida after the Category 4 storm blasted through southwestern Florida to salvage what they could of the seaside home they’ve owned for nearly 10 years.

They usually arrive in Florida at the end of September, but this year decided to wait until after the storm.

On Saturday, they got a helping hand when a team from Crisis Cleanup showed up at their doorstep and asked if they needed help.

“I don’t think I can talk about it,” Paula Kruger said, trying to keep her emotions in check. “They’re wonderful. There are not enough words to say about them.”

Within two or three hours, the Crisis Cleanup team had ripped out flooring and did whatever else the couple needed. Paula Kruger said it felt like they did a week’s worth of work.

The Krugers had no idea where the group came from, but they were grateful for the help.

“It’s just wonderful that they did it,” Ted Kruger said. “We weren’t expecting it.”

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Volunteer workers, Maddie Hamisch, left, and Katie Murphy, right, from the Crisis Cleanup program from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pull out water damaged flooring in the Spring Creek Village neighborhood in Bonita Springs, Fla., on Saturday October 8, 2022. Hurricane Ian hit the southwest Florida coast on Wednesday September 28th.

Volunteers help neighboring homeowners

The community where the Krugers spend most of the year has 300 homes, 55 of which are fulltime residences, Crisis Cleanup team leader Michael Remien said.

“They can use all the help that we can give them,” he said.

The Crisis Cleanup team had a work order for the house across the street, but the owners weren’t home so they went to the Krugers’ house to see if they could help while waiting for the homeowners to arrive.

Remien, of Naples, said his team of 11 arrived around 9:30 a.m. Saturday. He said the group would be able to get the needed work done on two houses and possibly a third before the end of the day.

His house, too, suffered water damage from Ian, but with help from his fellow church members, it is drying out and ready for repairs.

Volunteer Lindsay Williams, also of Naples, helped Remien with his house. She said she wanted to help others get back on their feet after the storm, even though her own house had minor damage.

“My church – the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – is very involved with service efforts and there’s a lot of people who really need help,” she said. “I’m very glad I belong to a church that has that organization set in place and prioritizes helping others so much.”

Williams’ father, Tyson Williams, is stake president for the LDS church in Minot, North Dakota, where he realized using ice-fishing sleds worked much better than wheelbarrows for transporting materials during disaster recovery.

Now the Naples stake uses the sleds to carry water-laden insulation, flooring and other materials out of the houses they worked on.

Michael Remien, right, a volunteer worker from the Crisis Cleanup program from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, checks on damaged homes in the Spring Creek Village neighborhood in Bonita Springs, Fla., on Saturday October 8, 2022. Hurricane Ian hit the southwest Florida coast on Wednesday September 28th.
Michael Remien, right, a volunteer worker from the Crisis Cleanup program from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, checks on damaged homes in the Spring Creek Village neighborhood in Bonita Springs, Fla., on Saturday October 8, 2022. Hurricane Ian hit the southwest Florida coast on Wednesday September 28th.

Crisis Cleanup works with over 1,800 groups to provide aid

Crisis Cleanup, a service organization of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints, works with a lot of groups and individuals, regardless of religious affiliation. It provides organized aid in areas hit by natural disasters, from putting blue tarps on damaged roofs to cleaning out mud and damaged furniture in flooded homes. There is no cost to the homeowner.

It has worked with more than 1,800 organizations to cleanup over 80,000 homes since the organization started.

The Church of Latter-day Saints in Golden Gate set up a command center with areas designated for incoming and outgoing work orders, training, equipment and supplies. Across from the church, tents were set up for volunteers who came from Miami, Orlando and beyond.

Ted Kruger looks on as volunteer workers, from the Crisis Cleanup program from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, clean out water damaged homes in the Spring Creek Village neighborhood in Bonita Springs, Fla., on Saturday October 8, 2022. Hurricane Ian hit the southwest Florida coast on Wednesday September 28th.
Ted Kruger looks on as volunteer workers, from the Crisis Cleanup program from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, clean out water damaged homes in the Spring Creek Village neighborhood in Bonita Springs, Fla., on Saturday October 8, 2022. Hurricane Ian hit the southwest Florida coast on Wednesday September 28th.

Frank Fernandez, who oversees communications for the church effort, said the church has done recovery projects before so is capable of quickly getting up and running.

“Usually during this time, we’re one of the first organizations out,” he said. “We usually put blue tarps on roofs, but this storm, there was more water and rain than wind. This time we are seeing more requests of muckout.”

Around 1,000 volunteers came out for the weekend to help in hurricane recovery and will continue working through Oct. 28.

Joe Lindsay, stake president for Collier and south Lee counties, said the LDS church works with Crisis Cleanup to get volunteers out in the community immediately after disaster strikes and continues to provide aid for weeks.

“The church is really good about mobilizing assistance,” he said. “We cooperate with people in the community. We have some people who aren’t in our church who are helping to be on our teams with us because they just love to do it.”

Volunteer workers, from the Crisis Cleanup program from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, remmove water damaged flooring from a home in the Spring Creek Village neighborhood in Bonita Springs, Fla., on Saturday October 8, 2022. Hurricane Ian hit the southwest Florida coast on Wednesday September 28th.
Volunteer workers, from the Crisis Cleanup program from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, remmove water damaged flooring from a home in the Spring Creek Village neighborhood in Bonita Springs, Fla., on Saturday October 8, 2022. Hurricane Ian hit the southwest Florida coast on Wednesday September 28th.

Get help or volunteer

Do you need help? To request assistance, visit crisiscleanup.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new or call (800) 451-1954.

Want to help? Volunteers and groups may join the effort by arriving at the Golden Gate Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4935 23rd Court Southwest in Naples, between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. on weekends.

Or contact Crisis Cleanup on Facebook at facebook.com/CrisisCleanup.

Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge. 

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cleanup crew from LDS church helps clean up homes damaged by Ian