Help Chandler & Hunter fix their home post Idalia

Courtlyn Cook is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Chandler Hinson.

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I am Courtlyn Cook, one of Chandler's life long friends (thank you, swimming!), and have known Hunter well since they started dating when they swam together at the University of Alabama. Chandler and Hunter Hinson are a wonderful young couple, who just welcomed their first child last month, precious baby Logan. They are the sweetest people and are the first to be there and help others, and this time they need the help of their friends. I was asking Chandler right away if I could launch a GoFundMe, and she was very hesitant to accept the help. The financial burden is so great, that we decided it would be good to help them get back on their feet after this disaster since that will be the biggest hurdle they will have to overcome and the most effective way to help them right now.

They left Atlanta last year to enjoy a change of pace and scenery and have happily been living in St Pete for one year. Since moving there, they have loved the community, their precious neighborhood, and thought it was the perfect place for them to raise a family. Their life as new parents has been going extremely well, but they have been thrown a major challenge this week with Hurricane Idalia. They bought a precious, recently renovated ranch home that sadly got over two feet of water in it from the storm surge. Even though Hurricane Idalia's eye hit 2 hours south of St Pete, the storm surge was tremendous in their area. This is amongst the worst floods their area has seen from a hurricane in 100 years.

If you are not familiar with hurricane damage, you have to get rid of everything right away, as the storm water brings in all sorts of other debris and bacteria into your home. Everything they had from appliances, to furniture, the baby's nursery that was just perfectly finished for Logan's arrival, has to be thrown away. The water line hit above the outlets, causing electrical damage throughout the home and even caught their Peloton on fire. All electrical wiring will have to be redone throughout the home, in addition to a major demo they are hoping to start as soon as possible. In addition, their pool was messed up and filled with storm surge water and debris and will require repairs.

Fortunately, they evacuated to Orlando and all 3 were safe during the storm! They arrived back home yesterday to assess the damage, and it was overwhelming to see all of the contents of their neighbors homes lining the streets already during their drive in. They have another place to live nearby for the time being, but have a ton of work to do to be able to live in the home again. They are very resilient and right away their goal is to rebuild, but to build the house up, so they do not flood during a future hurricane. They are tentatively thinking about making the 1st floor a garage / area where water damage would not mess up the home. Then adding on a second floor above for all of the living space, so a future hurricane wouldn't damage and destroy all of their belongings and the home.

While nearly everything needs to be replaced, it does not make sense to build the same structure again and risk it flooding, so it is wise to build higher and start over. Needless to say, this is going to be extremely expensive for them and was completely unexpected. We do not know the current cost, but rebuilding a home is very expensive. Insurance will help some but they will likely have to spend a ton of money out of pocket to rebuild and then make improvements to their home. A neighbor was able to capture some photos after the storm subsided and the waters went down that are included here. They already begun removing and disposing of everything inside, removing sheetrock, and will remove the flooring and more tomorrow (Sunday, 9/3).

If you are able to help, all funds will go towards rebuilding and finish their home and replacing their belongings. They are a wonderful family, and while they are doing amazing as a new mom and dad, it is a lot to take on losing your entire home right now.