Ft Myers Beach - Good Neighbor
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Ft Myers Beach - Good Neighbor
ST INS CARES-Community Housing and Resources Creates Pathways for Essential Workers to Thrive
Behind the paradise of Sanibel Island's pristine beaches and breathtaking sunsets lies a crucial challenge – housing the essential workers who keep this slice of heaven functioning. Nicole McHale from Community Housing and Resources (CHR) pulls back the curtain on the affordable housing crisis affecting our coastal communities and the innovative solutions making a difference.
Founded when Sanibel incorporated fifty years ago, CHR has evolved into a lifeline for the island's workforce. The organization currently manages 65 apartments, charging residents just 30% of their income for rent. This approach creates sustainable living situations for everyone from first responders and teachers to restaurant servers and retail workers. After losing 11 units to Hurricane Ian, they're now breaking ground on a new 15-unit building – a testament to the community's resilience and commitment to rebuilding stronger.
The conversation reveals startling realities: 30% of CHR residents don't own vehicles, and of approximately 150 annual housing applicants, 45 are employed but homeless individuals sleeping in cars or on business floors. McHale shares how CHR is adapting to post-hurricane challenges by allowing residents to take second jobs without counting the income toward rent, supporting both workers and businesses struggling with staffing shortages. Beyond housing, CHR connects people with vital resources throughout Lee County, embodying their mission to strengthen the entire community. Their upcoming Winter Wonderland Festival fundraiser aims to bring much-needed magic back to Sanibel while supporting their $7 million rebuilding project.
Want to make a difference in the lives of those who serve your favorite island destinations? Visit sancapchr.org or call 239-472-1189 to learn more about supporting affordable housing initiatives that keep our coastal communities vibrant and sustainable.
Community Housing and Resources
Nicole McHale
2340 Periwinkle Way, Suite K-2
Sanibel, FL 33957
239-472-1189
info@sanibelchr.org
sanibelchr.org
Ft Myers Beach-Good Neighbor
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Welcome to State Insurance USA Cares podcast, where we celebrate the heart of our communities. Each episode, we highlight local charities and nonprofits who are bringing hope, help and healing to those who need it most. Get ready to be inspired by the amazing stories of people making a difference, because together we care.
Speaker 2:Welcome Fort Myers Beach Good Neighbors. Today we have a good neighbor across the island, nicole McHale from Community Housing and Resources. Welcome, thank you. Yes, I know we met a little while ago, but pleasure to meet you and share your story with our listeners. So, without further ado, let's jump right in. People that aren't familiar with what you do at Community Housing and Resources.
Speaker 3:Sure Community Housing and Resources. We are housing for the workforce and the seniors on Sanibel and Captiva, although we do service Lee County. Obviously that's where the workforce comes from.
Speaker 2:Very nice. So what's the story behind how the organization got started to begin with?
Speaker 3:It's a great story. Fifty years ago, when the city of Sanibel wanted to incorporate, the state told them they had to have an affordable housing program, which was brilliant back in the 70s. So for the first five years nothing happened. And then Community Housing and Resources incorporated as a nonprofit and became the housing foundation for Sanibel. Since that time we have 65 apartments located on eight different properties. We did have 76 before the storm Hurricane Ian and we lost 11 of them. One was a 10, one bedroom, one bath building. But the great news we are rebuilding and tomorrow we are having our groundbreaking to build a 15 one-bedroom, one-bath building.
Speaker 2:Wow, that is awesome. Congrats on that. It's been a long time coming right.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, Almost three years. But you know, patience pays off.
Speaker 2:That's it. Like everything around the area, it's coming back right and that's a good thing thing around the area it's coming back right, and that's a good thing, absolutely so how does your organization you know kind of serve the residents of you know the community here in Lee County compared to other types of organizations in the area?
Speaker 3:Well, our program we house every single industry, service industry that's out here. So, whether it's first responders, teachers, restaurant, retail, island water, nonprofit employees, every type of service service industry, we are housing and we house the individuals that are living outside of the community. It's such a long commute for them and we find that if an individual lives closer to where they work, not only is it a better quality of life for them, but it also better supports the community, because the individuals, their children, are attending the Sanibel School, they are volunteering in the community as well as working in the community, and our organization charges 30% of income for rent, which keeps it affordable.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because that commute can get pretty long and not necessarily the tolls involved and the stress involved in driving back and forth as well. That's not easy right.
Speaker 3:Yes, and we identified that 30% of our residents don't own a vehicle. So if you're earning minimum wage, it's very difficult for you to own a vehicle. Pay for the toll to come over, pay for the upkeep of the vehicle, pay for gas. So it better supports communities to have that live local opportunity.
Speaker 2:Yeah, keep them, keep the people in the community. And yeah, even if you took a Uber, that would be Uber expensive, right? Uber expensive, yeah, exactly. So what are you most proud of accomplishing for the, for the community out here in Sanibel?
Speaker 3:Well, after the storm, all of the properties had damage and our residents were displaced, and I'm most proud of the effort that it took to rebuild the apartments and the buildings to make them as safe as possible, to bring back the residents as soon as we could that wanted to come back. That was our objective was to make sure that they were living in a safe environment and since that time, not only our residents but we're finding individuals who are calling and applying for housing. Out of about 150 in a year, 45 of those individuals have been working and homeless. They've been out of their cars, they've been living on the floors of businesses they work at or they're couch surfing, and it's another effect of what a devastating storm does to a community.
Speaker 2:And they're essential employees, because businesses need people to work, and if they can't get people to come out and work, the business fails long term as well.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, and we're finding out here. There's a number of businesses that are opening, but there are limited hours that they can open because they can't find employees. So one of the things that the board decided to do is offer our residents an opportunity to take a second job, and we're not going to count it towards rent, so that way our residents could have some financial stability while also supporting the businesses out here.
Speaker 2:I love that, love that idea. So, speaking along those lines, what's your biggest challenge, that you're facing right now to you know, and how can the community help?
Speaker 3:I guess, Our biggest challenge is having enough housing. It's wonderful that we're going to be building housing, but we have a long wait list of individuals and I tell everybody apply, apply, apply, get on the wait list, even though it's going to take a long time. But there's opportunity to find more land to build more housing and it's funding. It's all about funding those opportunities. We've been fortunate enough that our project is a $7 million project and we have raised $6.8 million Wow. So I'm confident that we're going to receive the other 200,000 that we need. But there is opportunity to build more and it's important for communities not just to think of today, how we have to support our community today, but to be sustainable for the future. So how can we plan for the future to be able to build more housing and be able to support the housing that we need? Obviously, we're subsidizing the housing, but we need the individuals that are servicing our communities to live out here.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. Could you share maybe a behind the scenes look at what a typical day might be for your organization?
Speaker 3:Well, we are all over the place, so we don't have a typical day. Might be for your organization. Well, we are all over the place, so we don't have a typical day. We are constantly moving and grooving. This is normally, you know. Everybody says, oh, it's, you know, off season, you're going to slow down. No, we're full force.
Speaker 3:We are planning our benefit, which is going to be November 21st and 22nd I believe those are the dates. But we're going to have a Winter Wonderland Festival of Trees at the Sanibel Community House. On Friday we're going to have a community day. We have 20 different trees that will be decorated by organizations and individuals in the community and 18 wreaths and on Saturday we'll be auctioning them off.
Speaker 3:But we wanted to create something magical out here. We need something magical, so we want the community to come and be taken away and we're going to have Santa and the Grinch and we're also tying it in with the business. So we are holding a decorating contest for the businesses and encouraging them to decorate and we're going to create a map that people can go out and they can vote on best overall, funniest design, storybook design we have about six different categories and they for all the stamps that they get at the businesses that they visit. They go into a drawing to win a large gift basket of items from the business community. So we're making it as community engaging as we can Right.
Speaker 2:Bringing the community together, getting people out to see, because there is a lot you know it's been a long time but there's a lot that's coming up and changing and you know, and opening, reopening, which is, you know, we need to support those businesses. You know it's been a tough couple of years. So what can we do to help support them as well?
Speaker 3:And everybody has to remember. The beaches are still the same, they're still here, we still have sunrise, we still have sunset and we're still magical. So we need people to come visit.
Speaker 2:They are, and you know what, on the good side, they're a little quieter too right now, right, yes, because there's not as many people or activity going on, so it's more of a natural side of Florida that you can get up and enjoy.
Speaker 3:Yes, you can find the better shells now.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's the important part, absolutely. So, looking ahead, what are your hopes for the future and how do you see the community kind of playing a part in that journey?
Speaker 3:My hope for the future of the community is that we are going to be a sustainable community that we are. We're already a community of fighters. We are a supportive community, just like Fort Myers Beach we this is a remarkable area. When there is a devastation, people are at their best and they come together and we are all willing to rebuild our community to make it as magical as possible. And I already see that happening. I know tomorrow, when we have our groundbreaking, we're going to have people come out and support us in droves because it's the excitement of the rebuild and seeing our community coming back and and I see that for the future I we've had it in the past, we have it today and I see that moving forward in the future.
Speaker 2:Perfect, I love it. So how would our residents go about contacting you or if they wanted to learn more or actually support you guys and help you?
Speaker 3:Yes, well, we have our website, which is sancapchrorg. You can visit our website and learn anything that you need to know about us. We have our application on there, if anybody's interested in applying for housing, and you could call the office anytime. We help everybody through an application process. Our phone number is 239-472-1189. And we also are willing to go above and beyond. So we understand that people are calling for housing, applying for housing, and we can't help them immediately. We know that. But in our name is community housing and resources, and we are supplying resources. If we can't help you, we are turning you to the agencies that have the resources in the area that you're in you, to the agencies that have the resources in the area that you're in. So, whether you need immediate housing, whether you need food, whether you need medical assistance, we're making sure that we go above and beyond to not just help our residents with those needs, but also individuals that are out there in our community to help them.
Speaker 2:Absolutely and, like you mentioned, it's a big part of supporting the community. You know, supporting the business is one thing, but supporting the people that are working at the businesses is the other side of it, and we need those people. They're essential. They're essential workers.
Speaker 3:We do. Yes, we have found that we started telling our residents stories marketing-wise, and we're interviewing our residents, we are taking their photographs of where they are in their life, whether it's at work or they're with their children, and we find that we all hear about housing and affordable housing and it's important. But when you read the story of the individual who is servicing you in the community, you see their face. You say you know what. That's the person. When I go to my favorite restaurant, they know what I eat, they know what I drink, they know my family drink, they know my family that I bring in there. But I don't know about them. I don't know where they're living, I don't know if they have a family, I don't know how far of a drive they have. And when you read those stories it hits your heart and you understand we're talking about people, it's all about people.
Speaker 2:And I love that. I love that you're doing that as well, too, because it's important to share those stories. It brings the community together to understand where your neighbors are coming from and the people that are working in your favorite businesses what their journey's been. I think that's important. So kudos to you for doing that. I love what you guys are doing. How would I? Well, I already asked you about how they would go about contacting you. But any last words for our listeners today.
Speaker 3:I want everybody to have hope and just keep taking those steps forward. There's always going to be a setback. We have to be flexible. We never know. You know, last year we were hit with more storms, but if we just keep moving forward a little bit, we're going to get a lot done. And I want everybody to remember that, like behind you is that beautiful sky, that's what we're all reaching for. You know it's, it's there and we just have to keep moving forward towards it. And we're we're going to make our communities better, we're going to be stronger for it and we're going to live our best lives.
Speaker 2:That's what it's all about, Nicole. It's been a pleasure getting to know you. Thank you for everything you're doing for the community.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much, I appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Well, we'll see you at the beach soon. I'll get the shells before you get there, right, yeah?
Speaker 3:that's right.
Speaker 2:You have a great day, thank you.
Speaker 3:Thanks you too, thank you Thanks.
Speaker 1:You too. Thank you for joining us on State Insurance USA Cares. We hope today's story uplifted and inspired you. If you'd like to support or learn more about the incredible work happening in your community, visit stateinsuranceusa. com or call 239-567-9992. You can also visit CaboWaboJim. com. Until next time, be sure to let your sun shine and keep sharing good and positive vibes wherever the waves take you.