Volunteers drawn to East Naples retiree mobile home park to rebuild after widespread damage
Libby Smith came up with a system to match volunteers’ skills to damage at Moorhead Manor in East Naples.
Owners jot their name, telephone number and the help they need down on a notecard.
When volunteers, usually strangers, pull up to the entrance gate and tell Smith what they can do, she eyeballs the rows of cards she’s pinned to string on the entrance gate. They are categorized in rows by severity of damage.
She finds a good fit. The volunteers sign in. Within minutes, they are given the unit number and sent off to work.
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There are 152 manufactured or mobile homes in the mostly retiree community on Bayshore Drive; roughly 140 were severely damaged and need flooring replaced as soon as possible for safety reasons, according to Mike Patch, with the homeowner's association.
Already the floors of 20 to 30 units have collapsed and residents have been injured, Smith said. Some of the elderly residents with little means and no place to go are sleeping in their units and not heeding safety warnings or how dangerous mold is to their health.
If there’s anything to smile about since Ian barreled across Southwest Florida Sept. 28 with four-feet of storm surge that hasn’t been seen in the region in decades, it’s the “we are in this together” mentality that emerged immediately after the floodwaters subsided.
On Wednesday, an entire team of football players pulled up to work, Smith said.
She can't recall which school they are from; she was too thrilled for the muscle mass that was a gift from heaven.
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“Yesterday we had 120 volunteers,” she said. “They are high school seniors, kids, they come from all over.”
Most of the volunteers see posts on Instagram or Facebook about the need for help at Moorhead Manor or any of the countless neighborhoods in coastal Collier that are using social media to get word out about their plights.
Human dignity can’t prevail against the floodwater mixed with gasoline, sewage overflow and garbage. What was once the creature comforts of home life for vast numbers in coastal areas of Collier are now piled up on street curbs.
The clock is ticking: get the particle board cabinets and the slippery flooring torn out before the mold sets in.
There are no estimates of how many in coastal areas of Collier are living in damaged properties waiting for FEMA assistance to pay for rebuilding.
And so far, there's been no word from FEMA or the state about temporary housing being brought in that will be critical for the displaced to start getting their lives and livelihoods restored.
The organizer of Moorhead Manor
Smith, 41, is stationed at the Moorhead Manor’s gate from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in her new-found role as organizer. She’s on break from her pre-Ian life as a nursing student.
She lives elsewhere but her mother, Kathy Keely Smith, a Realtor, lives in Moorhead Manor.
“Since she was two years old she has been an organizer,” Kathy Smith said. “I am so proud of her.”
Jamie DePaola, 31, and a fitness instructor who lives in the Lakewood community in East Naples, saw an Instagram post about the flooding at Moorhead Manor.
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She’s come several days in a row to help and brought two friends Wednesday, Jill Retallick and Bonnie Simmons. They spent several hours cleaning units and pushing furniture.
“We spend a lot of time on Bayshore, like at Celebration Park,” DePaola said, referring to the popular food truck park. “It’s just about loving where you live.”
Joe Bush is another new friend to Moorhead Manor. He lives in Southwest Florida and works for Google.
He helped establish a GoFundMe for Moorhead Manor as the "Hurricane Ian Moorhead Manor Flooding Rescue" with a goal of raising $527,000. Bush has his eyes set on raising the funds for new flooring for all the units.
What’s alarming is how many of the residents refuse to leave their units and the danger to their health of staying put.
“They have no place to go,” Bush said. “Their floors are compromised.”
About 50 owners face that situation. The clubhouse is now cleaned out and some residents are sleeping there at night, Patch said. He's hopeful that number goes up for their well being.
Because some residents are in shock and don’t realize how harmful being exposed to mold can be, Smith arranged for some medical professionals to come by and talk to them Thursday evening.
“We are bringing people out of denial and into reality," Patch said.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: East Naples community grateful for volunteers after Hurricane Ian
