Casey DeSantis announces further hurricane relief for Southwest Florida

FORT MYERS, Fla. (FLV) – Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis announced ongoing support for Floridians in Southwest Florida following Hurricanes Ian and Nicole.

She announced the Florida Disaster Fund has raised more than $64 million.

The fund is the Florida’s official private money pool established to assist the state’s communities as they respond to and recover during times of emergency or disaster.

She announced $427,000 will be given to Adventist Community Services, who has provided a warehouse that distributes goods for those in need.

ACS quickly obtained a warehouse at Fort Myers in partnership with Florida. They also worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Red Cross to operate the warehouse, according to their website.

The first lady said they previously gave the organization $74,000 from the Florida Disaster Fund. She said they needed more funding, but were denied by FEMA.

DeSantis said they are “the Amazon of Southwest Florida” and help those in need with providing bed sheets, bedding, pillows, and more.

“That will help them be able to facilitate the logistics of this operation which is a big deal,” she said.

DeSantis also announced they will give $100,000 for long term recovery groups.

“People who are on the ground for the long haul help people navigate the system […] how do you out the pieces together for the long haul?” she said. “It’s not always an easy thing – there’s a lot of phone calls. That’s where these navigators are coming in. We’re supporting their efforts with another hundred thousand dollars.”

DeSantis said when they originally donated money to non-profits, they set a cap at 10,000 per household to help with needs.

The first lady said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Department of Emergency Management, called her and told her about a woman in need.

“Kevin last night called me and he was talking about the story of an 80 year old woman who was in her home and the one thing she needed to get back in her house was to get her electric fixed, and it was totaling upwards of $18,000,” she said.

She said stories like those have made them decide to raise the cap to $25,000 to help Floridians.

“This is specifically what the Florida Disaster Fund is all about, filling the needs where we see them the most. I’m excited to do that with a million dollars,” DeSantis said.

The first lady has been on the frontlines of hurricane recovery. She visited communities across Southwest Florida to assist with efforts, served up hot meals for first responders, and also met with Veterans and staff at the Douglas T. Jacobson Veterans’ Nursing Home who rode out the storm.

To contribute to the Florida Disaster Fund, visit www.FloridaDisasterFund.org or text DISASTER to 20222.