People remaining in SWFL shelters after Hurricane Irma worried but grateful

They lost their homes to flooding. One person is in the middle of a custody battle for her children and hasn't seen them since Hurricane Irma struck. Another person lost his home in eastern Collier County to a fire in late July and is homeless.

Some of the people remaining in Southwest Florida shelters after Hurricane Irma tore through the area were already in dire straits. The hurricane simply dealt another blow.

They don't have families or friends in the area to stay with. They couldn't save much of their belongings. They're taking care of their children in shelters while their spouses return to work. The kids are getting restless and asking when they can go home or whether they have homes to return to.

"These people are going through a lot," said Bryan Hartmann, the Red Cross shelter manager at the Estero Community Park Recreation Center. "They've lost their homes. They've lost their existence. They're doing the best they can. It’s not unusual for them to be OK one day and to break down in a hallway the next."

Almost two weeks after Hurricane Irma's wind, rain and storm surge transformed the landscape of Southwest Florida and devastated its residents, more than 800 people are still living in shelters in Collier and Lee counties. The remaining shelters are Immokalee High School, which will transition to the Immokalee Sports Complex; North Collier Regional Park; the Estero Community Park Recreation Center and the North Fort Myers Recreation Center, according to the Red Cross.

The number of shelter residents dwindles each day as power is restored to people’s homes. But those who have nowhere else to go after the shelters close are worried about the uncertainty of their future.

“We don’t know where we’ll go after this,” said Norma Reyes, a Bonita Springs resident whose home flooded. “We didn’t think the hurricane would be that bad. We thought we’d at least be able to go back home, even if there was some damage.”

Reyes’ cousin and neighbor, Alicia Hernandez, also lost her home to flooding.

The two of them evacuated with their husbands and children before the hurricane and have moved three times between two shelters since then.

“We’re not doing great, but we’re grateful to have a roof over our heads for now,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez’s three kids and Reyes’ two kids spend time coloring and doing crafts in a children’s playroom set up at the shelter. Sometimes they visit the playground.

The parents said it’s sometimes challenging to wrangle the kids and keep them from disturbing others in the shelter, but they try to keep the kids calm and busy.

“What they want is to play and nothing more,” Hernandez said. “They ask when we can go home. We tell them water is in the house and we can’t live there anymore. Then they forget about it.”

While kids play and make friends with one another, some of their parents wonder whether they ever will go back to normal. Red Cross staff say those feelings of hopelessness are part of surviving a disaster such as Hurricane Irma.

“I was telling someone else here that I wish I could put on real clothes and makeup and look like a real person,” said Brittany Torres, an East Naples resident staying in the North Collier Regional Park shelter.

“But I’m so grateful to have this place," Torres said. "I had to leave my home with my kids just after the hurricane for personal reasons, and I don’t know what I would do if we weren’t here.”

Hartmann, the Estero shelter manager, said the needs and circumstances of the people still staying in shelters are unique. Red Cross shelters don’t operate as homeless shelters in times of disaster. They are designed to give people short-term relief with minor financial assistance, finding housing, filling out insurance paperwork and finding health services. People with greater needs are transferred to other organizations that provide long-term relief.

“The dynamics of everyone’s needs are complex, and everyone has a need for something,” Hartmann said. “It makes things a little more complicated to get them help. We won’t turn people away. We want to help get people on their feet.”

But a lot of the needs Red Cross staffers have seen are greater than the help they can provide in some cases.

John Gibby lost his home on Lee Williams Road to a fire in late July. He has terminal liver disease and spent part of his life after the fire going in and out of hospitals.

He has no car, no phone and can’t work because of his medical condition. He said the Red Cross has tried to find him a place to live since the fire.

“I’ve only got a year or two left,” Gibby said. “I only need a place for that long. I can’t be homeless; I don’t think I can handle it. I’ve hit rock bottom. I can only hope things will get better.”

In spite of the challenges people still in shelters are facing, Red Cross staffers said they are in awe of their toughness.

“I’m really proud of the people staying here,” said Ann Looby, a disaster mental health counselor for the Red Cross. “These people are resilient. They’re under enormous stress. We just want to make sure they have hope when they leave here.”