Support Tyler Fox Hurricane Ian Relief

Some of you may know me, and some may not. My name is Tyler Fox, and I am a third-generation owner of Commercial Glass & Restaurant Supply in Naples, Florida. On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian changed my life and lifestyle in ways I’d never imagined.

Living in Florida for 38 years, I have seen Naples change in many ways and have been through several tropical storms and hurricanes. When we were younger, we had hurricane parties, and as we got older, we realized Mother Nature doesn’t mess around.

On Tuesday, September 27, my girlfriend and I planned to ride the storm out and prepared the best we could. We thought we were in good shape with 30 sandbags from friends and family. Then we woke up the following day, and the storm worsened.

By 8 a.m., the winds were up to 100 mph gusts, and the water was rising. Living on the water and being a fisherman, I always keep track of the tides. That day - September 28 - we had a low tide at 9:30 a.m. By 8:30, we had lost power, and the water was up to dock level and almost over the sea wall.

At this time, I looked at my girlfriend, Yadi, and said, “we need to get out of here now!” We looked for a break in the weather, grabbed what we could and jumped in my truck, heading for higher ground.

We decided the most brilliant place to go in a hurry was my mom and stepdad’s house, about five miles inland. The only thoughts on our minds for the upcoming long hours were whether we would have anything left when we could return home.

After the storm passed that evening, we tried to make our way back. Unfortunately, no matter what routes we took, the water was still too high to make it to our neighborhood. With only swamp buggies and airboats cruising down the roads, we realized we had no chance of getting home.

The following day, we left my mother’s house before sunrise and made it to our neighborhood, which was completely destroyed. As we reached the end of our street and pulled into the driveway, our hearts sank, and we were speechless. Our house took on 34 inches of water through the storm, leaving our belongings upside down with muddy water everywhere.

Within hours we had an army of friends and family on our side, removing everything in the house to the end of the curb. We tried to salvage what we could, but not much survived Hurricane Ian. Looking around our neighborhood and seeing everyone’s blank faces, we tried to figure out our next steps.

After living there for seven years as a renter, it was hard not to start ripping drywall and carpet without permission. With my landlord out of town during the hurricane and cell service poor, we were at a standstill for three days before hearing from him on next steps.

When the owner came by the house to assess the damage, he immediately called me. The news was not good. We got the boot from the landlord, who refunded our security deposit.

Now two months later, we are still homeless. Thank God we are safe and have a family by our side, but the feeling of living in Naples my whole life and not having a place to call home is rough.

I have never begged or asked for much from others. I am a hard worker and make my own way, but with so many friends and family reaching out to see how they can help, we decided to use this avenue for anyone who’d like to show their support.

If you feel like dropping me a note or sending a letter, I would love to hear from you. We are staying strong and continue to look daily for a new place we can call home in this very tough and expensive real estate market.

Thank you!