Olivia McLees was awakened at 2 a.m. by the buzzing of her cell phone.
Staring at the screen, she couldn’t believe what she was reading – an app notification that her car had been unlocked.
Someone must be stealing it, she thought, frantically texting her mother but getting no response.
After losing power during the hurricane, Ian Olivia, 31, had left the home they shared on nine acres in the Hidden River community near the Myakka River. She and her daughters – aged 9 and 5 months – went to live with the baby’s father in Orlando, while her mother stayed behind with the cars, horses and nine dogs.
At 4 a.m. this October morning, Olivia finally heard a cryptic message from her mother saying, “I’m fine.”
Four hours later she called, the news she relayed far worse than a stolen car or anything Olivia could imagine.
“I don’t know how to tell you this,” Susan Kucia, 60, told her daughter, her voice shaking as she described the rescuers and the rising waters. “We lost everything.”
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Calm before the storm
Before Hurricane Ian, Olivia’s life was on track.
His eldest daughter, Addalyn, had just returned from living with her father’s parents up north to stay with Olivia. Addalyn loved her new school, made friends, and joined the cheerleading squad.
“For me, having her is a blessing,” Olivia said.
Olivia looked after her daughters and helped look after the house, horses and farm dogs they shared with Kucia, who works in the automotive industry. One dog, in particular, was Olivia’s favorite – Toby, a Greyhound mix rescue.
Despite the arrival of a newborn, Olivia was settling into a routine with the girls and her mother, with whom she had always been close.
They resisted Ian together, lighting candles when the power went out.
When Olivia went with the girls to Orlando, Kucia stayed behind, both convinced that it would only be a few days before the power was restored.
By the time Kucia woke up in the early hours of October 1, water was in the house – locals later blamed the community’s flooding on a faulty levee.
In the end, the house was flooded with almost four feet of water. Kucia climbed atop a golf cart, holding four of their nine dogs in her arms, waiting to be rescued by helicopter or boat.
When she managed to reach Olivia, she described the horror of the night, the loss of the cars and the destruction of the house. But she, the dogs and the horses were safe – everyone except Toby, who was nowhere to be found.
“That’s when I fell to my knees,” Olivia said.
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Limbo
Weeks passed with no response from the insurance company. The family had flood insurance, but in the meantime Kucia was paying the expenses out of pocket.
FEMA approved the emergency aid, but their assigned hotels were full and others were too far away, especially to keep Addalyn at school. Kucia paid for nearby hotel stays for the family herself.
Olivia worried about the stability she had finally established for Addalyn, who had lost her clothes, school supplies, and cheerleading pom-poms in the flood.
Jim Camelo, a Sarasota County School District social worker, stepped in to help the family with gift cards. He booked an Airbnb stay through the district’s emergency family housing program.
But they needed a little more help.
Kucia had fallen behind on the house mortgage, having to pay most of the cost to replace two cars and start repairs to the house until the insurance kicked in.
Case managers in the region are seeing an increase in the number of families struggling in limbo since Ian or falling through the cracks for help.
To ease the burden of this family’s instability, Camelo was able to draw season of sharing pay $2,000 for Kucia’s mortgage in November.
Olivia watched the relief wash over her mother’s face, which she suspects is still traumatized by the flood.
“Is this real, Olivia?” her mother asked her about the help they received, overwhelmed with gratitude.
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Back home
For now, Kucia has bought a small trailer for them to live on her land while waiting for more help from insurance and house repairs.
The four moved in right after Thanksgiving.
It’s tight, but at least they’re back home, Olivia said.
Toby still hasn’t been found.
They wait to pick up neighbors’ horses until they can clean up the mud.
For now, Olivia’s main goal is to restore stability for her mother and children.
“I just take it day by day,” Olivia said.
how to help
season of sharing was created 21 years ago in partnership between the Herald-Tribune and the Sarasota County Community Foundation to secure emergency funds for individuals and families on the brink of homelessness in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties. There are no administrative fees or paperwork – every dollar donated goes to families in need to help with housing assistance, utility bills, child care and other expenses.
Donations to Season of Sharing can be made online at cfsarasota.org/donors/support-season-of-sharing, or by sending a check (made out to Community Foundation of Sarasota County) to Attn. Season of Sharing, 2635 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, FL 34237. Contact the foundation at 941-955-3000 for more information or to request a credit card form. All donations are tax deductible.
This story comes from a partnership between the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Saundra Amrhein covers the Season of Sharing campaign, as well as housing, utilities, childcare and transportation issues in the region. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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