Hurricane Ian victims say little wait, helpful guidance for benefits at Disaster Relief Center

The journey to the library came after a long series of devastation and hurdles for many.

Jennifer Carver, 49, and her wife Tiffany lost their home in North Fort Myers and had to face rejection from FEMA while navigating life outside and in a shelter.

Four and a half feet of water flooded their house as Hurricane Ian tore through their neighborhood called Cabana City.

“It was devastated and we tried to stay on the porch … ate up by the gnats and stuff,” Carver said. “We found out the Hertz Arena’s got the shelter over there. We made it over there and we’ve been trying to fill out the application online for FEMA and we checked all the boxes of what our issues were and we got turned down for some reason.”

Read more: Florida Legislative Black Caucus holds a Hurricane Ian relief town hall in Dunbar community

Hurricane Ian victims: Fort Myers Beach couple ‘just glowed’ when together

Despite the obstacles, they arrived Saturday at the Lakes Regional Library Disaster Recovery Center to see how they could qualify.

The center is one of two operating in Lee County to provide assistance to those impacted by the Sept. 28 hurricane. A collection of agencies, including FEMA, are stationed there to provide information and help.

Carver and her wife were among dozens of people at the library seeking help Saturday.

A FEMA worker at Hertz told them to reapply and fight for the benefits.

“They didn’t know why we were turned down. (They said) that we checked all the right boxes, and we just need to reapply or go back in to our application and see what it is that they want us to have on file to see if we can pass through,” Carver said.

FEMA has dispersed $420 million in recovery funds to survivors of Hurricane Ian as of Sunday, according to a news release from the agency.

People are receiving rental assistance, repair assistance, funds for hotel stays and reimbursement for temporary lodging, the release said.

At the recovery center Saturday, some were there to apply for relief funds from FEMA. Others were there to fill out paperwork for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, which supplements food budgets for people in need.

Workers guided people to where to go. The guides had wheelchairs on site to ease travel into the building.

After Hurricane Ian swept through homes and businesses in Southwest Florida, some people were relieved to find quick paths to guidance on what benefits they could receive.

Allen Warcholak, of Fort Myers, and his wife Johanna said it was their second time at the library disaster relief site.

"The first time we were trying to get unemployment and that was a much longer line and we were here for 2 to 3 hours maybe," Warcholak said. "And this was also a week ago. There's a lot less people today."

Warcholak said he and his wife were at the library site to apply for SNAP benefits. They got out in 15 minutes.

Their second-story apartment was spared from the hurricane, but Warcholak said he was left without his job at Captiva Island.

"They were pretty much not there anymore," he said.

People said they cruised through lines to get paperwork.

Beverley Lockwood said she was in and out of the library to sign paperwork for FEMA relief.

Lockwood, a 90-year-old resident of the Bayside Estates neighborhood, was able to stay out of state as the hurricane passed through, but she came back to her home to find “…everything was a mess there.” She now stays in a used motor home.

Lockwood was able to navigate how to receive FEMA benefits with ease.

Lockwood said the guidance she received was helpful and she understands the next steps on “what needs to be done.”

Disaster Recovery Centers in Lee

Disaster Recover Centers in Lee are at:

• Lakes Regional Library, 15290 Bass Road, Fort Myers, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; parking and shuttle to the library is at the Kelly Road Soccer Complex, 10750 Kelly Road, Fort Myers.

• 2295 Victoria Ave., Fort Myers

,

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers disaster relief centers have shorter lines and less wait