Hurricane Ian Relief for Julie

Hi, my name is Samantha Benenati, and I am attempting to raise funds to help my mother, Julie Benenati repair her home in North Port, FL. My mom's home was one of the many devastated by Hurricane Ian as it passed through my hometown on Wednesday, September 28th. My mom prepared for a hurricane, like she usually would, and decided to weather the storm with my younger brother, Nicholas. My brother is on the autism spectrum (Level 3), and my mom is his legal guardian and provider. Because of the severity of his autism, my mother does not have conventional employment; she has a small cleaning business and works part-time to care for my brother more regularly.

My mom bought my childhood home over 30 years ago, and is a family heirloom of sorts. Before my parents got the house, my grandparents, Marie and Vincent Benenati, used to rent the home before moving down the street and purchasing their own home. The original owner was selling, and my mother saw an excellent opportunity to buy it. Fast forward to the present, she has owned the home outright for over 15 years. However, she lost homeowners insurance after completing her final mortgage payment because of a lack of funds. While other homeowners in the area have more significant damage, they can file a claim with their homeowner's insurance.

As for what it looks like currently, my mother needs funding to purchase three new windows (which would go to her bedroom and her bathroom), repairs to her bathroom wall, replace her bathroom cabinets, a new mattress and box spring, repairs to sections of her roof, and repairs to her garage (which experienced significant flooding). This also does not account for the numerous broken trees in her yard and those that came from the neighbors' yard.

If you can donate, please consider. We, as a family, are trying to band together to help out my mom, who is a giver and has a hard time accepting help. For those who can donate, thank you so much.