Help Rebuild Kristi’s Home Together

Hi, my name is Lea. I want to share the story of my dear friends, Kristi, who lives on Treasure Island in Florida.

Recently, her home was severely damaged by Hurricane Helene. She lost everything on their first floor and now face the daunting task of tearing up flooring and drywall to prevent mold growth. Many cherished valuables, accumulated over the years, are gone. Kristi, a breast cancer survivor, found solace in her beautiful garden, which is now completely destroyed.

It’s heartbreaking to think that she bought this house not long ago, poured her heart into remodeling it, and now it stands severely damaged. While it can be repaired, the costs will be substantial, especially after all the love and investment she’s already put into making it her own.

I’m reaching out on behalf of Kristi. She has been my friend since high school, and she is a good person that doesn’t deserve this burden or the stress that comes with it. Any amount you can contribute to help her rebuild her home would mean the world to her. Thank you for considering helping this wonderful person in her time of need.

From Kristi,

During Hurricane Helene, the first level of our home was flooded with 2 1/2 feet of water from the storm surge. As did so many others, we lost everything on this level including our master bedroom/bath, built in office and all lower cabinet components including 3 computers, guest bath, laundry room, built in outdoor kitchen, and almost all the garage contents which included 2 outdoor freezers and fridges and all the food in them. What’s most upsetting is the loss of my grandmother’s furniture in our bedroom. It was all I had left of her, and I cherished it! Money can’t bring them back. What we have learned is that flood insurance does not cover anything that was not located inside of our home. We have a small garage, so we have a couple of sheds that housed power tools, yard equipment, camping and beach equipment, outdoor heaters, 2 sets of golf clubs, childhood memorabilia, multiple boxes not unpacked yet etc. None of which are covered by flood insurance. We also lost our pool pump and concrete fence which flood insurance does not cover. In addition, it doesn’t cover mold which we do have because of all of the water. We just had the home treated and are waiting on the final counts. They depreciate the value of the “contents” so we won’t get the replacement value for them. They aren’t even covering the full price to replace our barely 4-year old AC units. Hurricane Milton damaged the ridge cap on our roof and blew out our soffits but since our deductible is so high, it doesn’t make sense to open a wind claim. I don’t understand how insurance companies are happy to take our money every year but when we need it, they find every way they can to not pay. I’m having a hard time processing FEMA and all of their rules. So many people are being forced out because of the FEMA 50% rule. It is not fair to any of us! Thank you any amount you can donate, it is very much appreciated.