Hello, my name is Chris Welch. I am one of Gale's many close friends.

Gale & Pat lost their home & all their possessions due to Hurricane Ian and I'm asking that you help this generous couple rebuild their life.

Their story can be found below.

Gale and Pat Erskine moved from Wisconsin to Fort Myers Beach in 2012. They created a beautiful home there in a great community. Everything was going great and they were loving life. COVID-19 struck many communities in early 2020. Gale and Pat were able to make it through COVID and financially helped everyone they could. They helped many that had lost their jobs or just couldn't work because of contracting COVID-19. They made it through COVID, happy that they could help so many others.

In September 2022, the news of a tropical storm came. It's name was Ian and it rapidly became a category 3 hurricane. Gale and Pat had survived several hurricanes and knew what to do to prepare. They purchased extra food and water and remained in place in their Fort Myers home as the heavy rains came. Their house was equipped with hurricane shutters and a metal roof, and was expected to withstand the strongest hurricane force winds. With only a short notice, the hurricane changed course and was predicted to hit Fort Myers directly as a category 5 hurricane. Gale and Pat packed up their beloved dog Chilli, a few outfits, and headed for a safer place to withstand the storm. They expected to only be gone a couple of days.

The storm did hit Fort Myers directly. 160 people were killed by Hurricane Ian and it completely demolished 30,000 homes in Florida causing $50-$75 billion in property damage. Even at the hotel they were staying at, catastrophe had occurred. Water was unavailable. The internet, phones and power lines were down for days. Streets were blocked by storm debris. With no electricity, water, internet or air conditioning in the heat of Florida's summer, they could only guess what happened to their home for weeks as they were stuck inside the hotel until it was safe to return to view their home.

They were thankful they were alive, but it was a rough few weeks. As they waited to get the all-clear to return home, they got word from friends that the park they lived in was directly and heavily affected. Houses there were 10'-13' deep underwater. The streets were closed and they couldn't imagine what was happening at their homes, but they knew that the area looked like a warzone from the pictures they received of the area.

When they finally were able to gain road access to their home, they were at first thankful to see that it was still standing. Many in the area were not. It appeared battered but repairable from the outside. The siding was missing. The carport was on the verge of collapse. Trees, debris and standing water littered the yard. Someone else's deck had floated into their yard. They opened the door to find much of The Gulf Of Mexico still in their home. The walls had water damage at least 4' high, and looters had broken into the home. They were missing everything that could have been carried out of the home that had any value. Everything that remained was a total loss.

With no power or water in the entire park until towards the end of November, they lived in a hotel for 2 months trying to figure out what to do. How would they recover from such a mess? There was a great struggle just to contact their insurance company at first, only to be told to wait to hear back from someone. The insurance company needed to come out and assess the damage to see what was covered and what was not. They tried to contact FEMA and file a claim with them, to find out that FEMA would not help them because "they had insurance". It was an uphill, run around battle with seemingly everyone against them.

Gale and Pat did not have flood insurance. It is not economically feasible when residing in Florida. Most people in Florida do not have flood insurance. Florida property insurance alone is 3 times higher than the national average. After months of struggle, their homeowners insurance claim was finalized. It was a small fraction of what had to be replaced. Their home was a complete loss, all their clothes, appliances and possessions were ruined. Hundreds of thousands of dollars and the insurance company didn’t even give them enough to purchase a new home, but they needed to do so anyways to get out of the hotel finally.

Gale and Pat salvaged everything they could, but remember they only took enough clothing for three days. Fully expecting to be back home, plugging in their generator and enjoying their simple life until the power returned and everything returned to normal. "Normal" will never be back for them. They are working on rebuilding their life together as much as possible in their new home. In addition to a new home, they are working on purchasing all new clothing, beds, dressers, sofas, chairs, dining room table, appliances for the kitchen, washer & dryer, a new generator, TV’s and exercise equipment. Even simple everyday items like toothpaste, shampoo and toilet paper all had to be replaced.

Did I mention they had an enclosed carport? That was their "She-Shed" and it was at ground level. It had all their tools, toys, golf cart, electric pedal bikes and even their DJ equipment (Yes Gale’s love for music continued in Florida), which was all either a loss or looted. They loved to create a fun atmosphere inside and outside as well. So things like yard decorations, lights, 8ft Santas, scary goblins and turkeys which are things they loved to do to put a smile on others faces. While yes, some of these things are not required in life and you can get by without them, it just doesn't seem fair that after all these years of working so hard and then retiring, they were left with nothing but each other and Chilli due to hurricane Ian.

Gale and Pat knew there were risks with living on the beach. Over the last 25+ years I have known them both, I have never seen them turn their back on someone that needed help. I have seen them invest their time and money in the “little guys” to help support them over the years. I am not asking for everyone to rebuild their life as it was before the storms, but I am asking that if you have the ability to help such loving people, that you please do so as they have helped many of you over the years when they could.

Gale and Pat are aware of this fundraiser, and will directly receive 100% of the funds to help rebuild their home and life, and thank you in advance for helping when now they are the ones who could use the support.

Warmly,

Chris Welch