It has been a year since the hurricane and today 10/8/25 we had the house taken down. Sad to see it go . Lots of wonderful memories since the early it's. Now we still struggle with FEMA and the Flood insurance company. The insurance company will not give the full value of our insurance because they have crazy methods of going with this 50/50 rule and how damage and repair needs to be handled. So we are needing to get a loan to put this new house up. We are not building a crazy mansion just a small house with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. But it will need a lift to assist Mom to get up to the level it needs to be compliant with the city of Gulport.

Thank you again to those who have donated. Monies donate have been put to good use. Any help to assist in this financial challenge is much appreciated.

Hi, my name is Margaret Carlson this is my brother Adam's and our mother Joyce's home in Gulfport, Florida. Their home was destroyed during Hurricane Helene. Our family has had this home since 1977 and It is sad to see it go. The city has deemed it unsalvagable so it will be torn down. We will rebuild, but it will take about a year or more to do this. During this time Adam and our mother are safe and well living at my home. My sweet brother has Williams Syndrome this makes him kind and loving , with a great nack for music retention , and memory for triva facts that are fun to him. He likes wrestling events and hanging with guys at the Gulfport firehouse. Our father passed away in 2015. So Adam is our mom' s companion. Adam's passion is his love for being with the guys at the Gulfport Fire Department. Our Parents bought him a three-wheeled bike and he would ride it to the fire station several times a week to just look at the trucks and talk to the guys. He has been doing this for decades now. The fire department took him in as one of their own and gave him small tasks, like filling their ice buckets and throwing out garbage and helping wash the trucks. The department even gave him a nickname "ICEMAN" , he loves it and it even chokes him up when he refers to himself as "ICEMAN". Very sweet. Three years ago they even made him an honorary fireman, with a ceremony to swear him in that was attended by the whole department and even members who had moved to other departments. It was an amazing gesture that choked him up.

This past September 26, 2024 Hurricane Helene hit Florida and the City of Gulport. My family has seen many Hurricanes and storms come through the area and we as a family have sandbagged the entry ways for many years. Luckily, we never had severe damage or water enter the house.

This time even though we sandbagged and it was a manditory evacuation our mother refused to go as she felt it would be ok. Soon she and Adam went from a calm between the rain bands of a hurricane to floodwaters rising so fast they were taken off guard. Thanks to Adams adopted band of brothers aka "THE GULFPORT FIRE DEPARTMENT", they were rescued. Unable to have us go get them because of the flooding and wind they called 911. I kept mom calm and had her gather what she could in waist deep water. Our mom uses a walker and has bad hips and also is not a swimmer so this could have been a tragedy. Adam powered through to help , even going into the attic to get a suite case to pack up some belongings. The GPFD came via boat to get them. Breaking in the back door window because of the water pressure in the house they could not just open the door. They put Adam and mom in a small boat and went next door in the rain and wind to save the neighbors and their dog as well. Adam does not like rain or dogs! GPFD was kind enough to bring "ICEMAN" and his mom to our house and not a shelter.

Adam is missing his visits to work with the guys at the GPFD. They have picked him up a few times to bring him to the station and hangout, which is amazing.

We have a new bike for Adam ready to get back to his routine when we get a new house built. He is looking foward to his own room again and no longer sleeping in our living room.

They have lost everything, all furniture, and clothing was ruined, all memorabilia, the house is unrepairable, and even he car was lost.

Insurance will not pay for everything and we are looking to keep it simple and basic, but still a home in the same location. Codes require us to build up so we are looking into this and are starting the process. With mom being a senoir and Adams special needs, its important to get some normalcy back in to theit lives.

This is all their stuff on the curb, even the kitchen sink, lol.

At GPFD swearing in Ceremony..

Any donations to help cover the out of pocket costs would be apreciated to get mom and Adam comfortable in their own home again.

Thank you family and friends,

Margaret