Paula’s hurricane Irma relief fund
Donation protected
I’m Paula’s cousin, Shielagh. That’s her on the right in better days. She doesn’t want to ask for anyone’s help, but her home was almost destroyed in Hurricane Irma, and we want to make sure she has the opportunity to repair it. Paula retired to Florida in 2014 after a long career as director of a nonprofit serving four counties in Tennessee. She lives in a permanent camper trailer in a retirement community in LaBelle, Florida.
Her carport awning was totally peeled off, and the Florida room was soaked after its awning and guttering blew off, and the skirting around the trailer had blown away. A wall that houses her main closet and her electrical needs to be replaced. Here’s how it looked at first. It’s been fixed to prevent leaking and electrical danger.
It took two months just to get a contractor to come and give her an estimate: he said it would cost $30,000 or more to restore it completely. Her insurance gave her only $4,500, explaining that RVs are only insured based on the purchase price when it was new in 1983. She learned she couldn’t get FEMA help because she has insurance. She got a blue tarp from the Red Cross and with the help of neighbors, put it up, but it’s a temporary solution at best, and water still gets in during heavy rains. She’s living in her damaged home for now, having no other option, and she’s been overwhelmed with what needs to be done.
This was Paula’s only home and she lives on a fixed retirement income. She is faced with repairing it or giving up and going back to Tennessee to live with family, so repairing it feels like her best option. We believe it can be made livable for less than that contractor’s estimate, but she doesn’t have the funds to do it by herself.
Hopefully this GoFundMe campaign will help Paula remain in her home. We set this up for her, and we really hope it works!
Her carport awning was totally peeled off, and the Florida room was soaked after its awning and guttering blew off, and the skirting around the trailer had blown away. A wall that houses her main closet and her electrical needs to be replaced. Here’s how it looked at first. It’s been fixed to prevent leaking and electrical danger.
It took two months just to get a contractor to come and give her an estimate: he said it would cost $30,000 or more to restore it completely. Her insurance gave her only $4,500, explaining that RVs are only insured based on the purchase price when it was new in 1983. She learned she couldn’t get FEMA help because she has insurance. She got a blue tarp from the Red Cross and with the help of neighbors, put it up, but it’s a temporary solution at best, and water still gets in during heavy rains. She’s living in her damaged home for now, having no other option, and she’s been overwhelmed with what needs to be done.
This was Paula’s only home and she lives on a fixed retirement income. She is faced with repairing it or giving up and going back to Tennessee to live with family, so repairing it feels like her best option. We believe it can be made livable for less than that contractor’s estimate, but she doesn’t have the funds to do it by herself.
Hopefully this GoFundMe campaign will help Paula remain in her home. We set this up for her, and we really hope it works!
Organizer
Paula York
Organizer
Immokalee, FL
