Day 1 – Worksite #2

The second site in Chokoloskee was with a couple named Connie and William. They have a mobile home they use as a weekend vacation spot. I asked where they weathered the hurricane and they said they live about 6 hours away, so their “home home” wasn’t a problem. But this is the 4th mobile home they’ve lost to a hurricane.

The work we assigned inside the mobile home was to repair some of the new drywall that was previously hung and mud over the tape. Groups have come through to help this couple with the work – but William and Connie have to pay for all the materials. Their issue is that they didn’t even know where to begin with repairs, and they haven’t been able to get any contractors in to do anything. So many people have need for repairs and there’s not enough help to go around. In fact, they are still waiting for someone to come and finish the work done on their air conditioning.

You also might wonder why some people are repairing homes that are really so destroyed. Why not start over? Some people have been able to do that. Homes destroyed by previous hurricanes and rebuilt are now on stilts. And they looked fine as we went through town. However, not everyone can afford that. In fact, the city has a mandate that new construction is on 10′ stilts. So for those unable to build something new on stilts, or can’t afford to move somewhere else, they have to repair what they already have.

While we worked inside, William and Connie passed the time outside. I don’t know how they could stand the heat and humidity – maybe that’s why I live in Illinois and not Florida. I spent some time talking with them and noticed they had some traps set out in the canal along their property. They were catching blue crab with raw chicken. By the time we were done for the day they had already caught 5. Apparently a week ago they caught around 70. Sounds good to me!

I know this blog post is late – but I’ve been a bit behind (and tired). I still have to post about today’s actual activities. Our guys worked extra hard today!