Hurricane Ian Survivors Joe & Diane

Hello!

My name is Gerrianne, daughter of Joe & Diane Davis.

My parents live in Venice, Florida. They have lost their home along with most everything inside of it. It completely flooded with about 2ft of water inside and the roof was punctured by debris early on in the storm, causing water to get into the ceiling & walls. Their lanai (screened in porch) was ripped off of the house & blown away from a tornado that hurricane Ian had produced.

There was 2 sewage leaks on their road during the storm and caused the toilets and bath tubs to overflow. The events that took place on 09/29/2022 from hurricane Ian have completely displaced my parents. They have been unable to live in their home from that day on.

Unfortunately the county sent them a letter stating they took them out of the flood zone this year and said it is no longer mandatory to have flood insurance. My parents have lived in that house for 22 years and it has never once flooded so they decided to not purchase it this year.

While they wait on Heritage (their homeowner insurance) their home is filling with mold becoming even more damaged as the days go on. The heritage adjustor has been out to inspect but stated he didn’t think they will be able to give them much since it was ‘mostly flood damage’ which is completely false. Their roof has a 3 foot hole in it and it is bubbling up all over the rest of the roof. They will need a new roof, not ‘just roof repairs’ stated by the heritage adjustor.

Unfortunately FEMA has not been of any support to my parents. The adjustor for FEMA was over 80 years old and lied on her report stating my parents were currently living in their home after the storm. FEMA only gave them $2000.00 for total home repairs. Their neighbors who had less damage and are able to live in their home received over $13,000.00 from FEMA.

FEMA did send out a quality control inspector but he said they will have to go through the appeal process. They applied for an SBA loan but are still waiting to get a caseworker. Which is unusual as my mom has spoke with others that have applied and got a caseworker in less than 24hours after applying. She has called them and they just tell her to be patient and they are working on it. It has been over 5 weeks now and they still do not have an answer for her.

They have spoke with contractors who have come out and gave them a quote for minimum repairs which would be $41,000.00

My parents live off of one income (my mothers) and my Father is on disability due to him having terminal cancer, and he will be starting back on chemo in one month since his cancer numbers are rising again. My mother had to go back to working her full time job and was only given a week off to figure things out. This has been mentally and physically exhausting on both of them.

The contractors said it may take 6-9months until they will be able to live in their home again. Yet they haven’t been able to start working due to FEMA, SBA and Heritage lacking on their services and support for my parents. They desperately need to get their home repaired as soon as they can. They have a very long road ahead of them.

Please donate whatever you can to help them get back into their home.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you!

Love,

Gerrianne & Taylor