Hurricane Ian victims find help and a home in Savannah as they raise money to recuperate

Buried underneath the rubble of her trailer, Tasha Boening's daughter had managed to find her stuffed animal which had acted as a security blanket for the 15-year-old since she was a baby. It was one of the few times the two had seen in the harrowing destruction of Hurricane Ian’s impact on their Punta Gorda, Fla., home in person.

Turquoise walls had caved in. The view of blue open skies — thanks to a roof that was no longer there — betrayed what had just days before been tumultuous clouds, torrential rains and dangerous gusts of wind. The only thing that stood untouched was a gun safe owned by Boening’s fiancee.

Boening had lived in Marco Island, Fla., for over 20 years. 77 hurricanes had made landfall in the time she’d lived there. She said she couldn’t remember those being quite as devastating as Hurricane Ian.

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With Boening and her family evacuating to Savannah, the first person to lay eyes on the remains of their house had been a neighbor who’d been reluctant to be the bearer of bad news.

“He’s like, ‘I don’t want to be the one to tell you your house is destroyed,’” Boening said. “I got pictures of what was left of my house and had a good cry.”

Just a little over a month ago, Boening and her family had celebrated moving into the new home they’d sunk everything into. For a year and a half, she’d remodeled the trailer, installing brand-new floors, a new kitchen and a new bathroom. From the paint to the drywall to the new furniture, she’d put everything she’d had into their home.

Now, with an uninsurable trailer due to it being near the water and no check coming from the government, Boening said she and her daughter Falyn are sleeping on a mattress on the floor of her best friend’s dining room.

“Never in a million years did I think I'd be in this position, ever. And I am homeless with a child and a dog," Boening said. "It was such a beautiful spot. And now, it's gone. It's one of those things where I keep telling myself, ‘The children are fine. I'm alive. The animals are okay.’ It's just hard.”

Cynthia Costa and Boening have been best friends for over 30 years. Even with a full house, the first thing that popped into Costa’s mind was offering Boening’s family and pets a place to stay. She paid for a storage unit in Savannah so they could store the belongings they were able to salvage from the wreckage.

But the reality was that they still had no funds.

Boening’s husband is currently on the road trying to earn some money, working overtime so they can find a new place. But Boening said with price gouging on lodging in Florida after Hurricane Ian, the road ahead is bleak.

“She's just the kindest person and she's always helping everyone else. And it's just a tragedy that this happened to her,” Costa said. “Once we kind of sat down and talked about what the situation was and realized that they really didn't have anything, other than what they had in that trailer … GoFundMe was really kind of the first thing that popped into my mind.”

As of Oct. 20, they’ve managed to raise $1,510 of the $50,000 goal. They hope with the money raised that they’ll be able to relocate the family to Savannah by saving up for a deposit on an apartment, pay for the first few months of rent and pay for the storage unit.

“I just want to make her whole again. But I can't unfortunately, I can't do it alone. So any little bit helps,” Costa said.

A community coming together

Less than an hour south in Fort Myers, Savannah resident Mariana Matano’s family was wading through their own new reality. They were no strangers to hurricanes. They knew the damages that came with it — a tree had fallen through Matano’s room before —  and knew how much a person could close.

When the path of the hurricane showed that it wasn’t going to directly hit Fort Myers, her uncle David Grimes decided not to evacuate. By the time forecasters realized the path had shifted, it was too late. Grimes had to stay put and endure the hurricane.

And when Grimes came to the realization that his son was at work with no way to make sure he was safe, he swam the distance to his son’s job.

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In the aftermath, her uncle's car and house were completely flooded. Everything from his furniture to his clothes were gone. When Matano realized the government was giving her uncle $33,000 to rebuild, she knew it wouldn’t be enough to replace everything.

With that in mind, she created a GoFundMe account to not only help her uncle but others in the community that were impacted by the hurricane.

“The goal of setting it so high was okay, well after she's taken care of okay, what what is everyone in the area needs? Do they need a refrigerator,” Matano said. “I was like, let me know everyone who needs what, and we will find a way.”

The Savannah community has been a guiding hand. Matano said she’s been receiving donations from houses and churches in the community, and driving them down to Fort Myers with the help of a friend from Vero Beach who’s working with other people in the country. Because of the efforts of different communities coming together, they were able to move a woman into an elderly community and find her father a temporary home with a friend.

“How grateful everybody else who's been getting donations have been with everyone coming together has just been so wonderful. And I'm just trying to do my part. I am one person just trying to do my part to do whatever I can. I have gone through it.”

To donate to the GoFundMe fundraisers started by Cynthia Costa and Mariana Matano, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/family-displaced-from-hurricane-ian and https://www.gofundme.com/f/fam-lost-everything-in-ft-myers-to-ian.

For those looking to donate items to Matano’s uncle and other community members, the drop off location is the Northwest precinct of the Savannah Police Department at 602 E. Lathrop Ave. Matano requests that her name be written on boxes of items.

Laura Nwogu is the quality of life reporter for Savannah Morning News. Contact her at LNwogu@gannett.com. Twitter: @lauranwogu_

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah residents set up a GoFundMe for Hurricane Ian victims