ST INS CARES-Bonita Springs Assistance Office Keeps Families Fed & Housed

A rent notice, a medical bill, a week without wages, or even higher grocery prices can knock a working family off balance fast, especially in Southwest Florida. We’re joined by Caily Martin, Executive Director of Bonita Assistance Office in Bonita Springs, to talk honestly about what crisis support looks like when you treat people like neighbors, not numbers. Gail Langner asks the questions many of us are afraid to ask until we need help ourselves: who qualifies, how private is it, and what can you do when you’re trying to hold it together?

Caily breaks down the organization’s core programs, including a drive-up food pantry that provides a full week of groceries three times a week, with a strong focus on fresh produce and cook-at-home staples. We also talk through the details that make support feel dignified: clients stay in their cars, volunteers bring bags directly out, and the team intentionally varies items week to week so families get what they can actually use. You’ll hear how they distribute diapers and wipes through Healthy Start Diaper Bank, plus other essentials that can quietly make or break a household budget.

The most moving moment comes from a case management story: a mother with young twins facing eviction after the sudden loss of her husband. Caily explains how Bonita Assistance Office bridged the rent gap, then connected the family to Valerie’s House for grief support and CareerSource for training and career growth, showing how smart referrals can turn a crisis into a path forward. If you want to help, we share clear ways to donate, volunteer, or host a diaper or food drive. Subscribe, share this episode with someone in Southwest Florida, and leave a review to help more neighbors find support when they need it most.

Bonita Springs Assistance Office
Caily Martin
(239) 992-3034
25300 Bernwood Dr, Ste 6, Bonita Springs, FL 34135
info@bonitaassistance.org
bonitaassistance.org
@BonitaAssistance

State Insurance USA
4450 Camino Real Way
Ft Myers, FL 33966
239-567-9992
office@StateInsuranceUSA.com
stateinsuranceusa.com
https://www.facebook.com/Stateinsuranceusa
#StateInsuranceUSA
#SupportLocal
#WeLoveOurClients
@Stateinsuranceusa

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Transcript

Welcome To State Insurance USA Cares

Intro/Close 0:00

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.

Meet Caily Martin And Her Path

Gail Langner 0:20

Well, welcome to State Insurance Cares. I'm Gail Langner. We are the philanthropy arm of State Insurance USA right here in Southwest Florida. Life can change in an instant. We all know that, whether it's a job loss or an unexpected medical bill, or maybe just the grocery prices are going up. And that can leave hardworking families here wondering exactly where to turn. And fortunately for organizations throughout Southwest Florida, they are here to provide a helping hand and a sense of hope when it's needed most. So today we are so happy to have Kaylee Martin from the Bonita Assistance Office with us. They're an organization that's been serving our community for many years by helping local families through difficult times. So, Caily, thank you so much for taking some time out of your busy day to be here with us on State Insurance Cares Podcast.

Caily Martin 1:12

Yeah, of course, Gail. Thank you so much for having me.

Gail Langner 1:15

Well, first tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you even become involved in Bonita Assistance Office?

Caily Martin 1:21

Sure. So my name is Caily Martin, and I am the executive director of the Bonita Assistance Office. And I started here in August of 2024. I've lived in Florida, specifically in Bonita Springs, since I've moved to this state about nine years ago. And my background is actually in mental health and addiction treatment counseling. And I quickly got pulled into the operation side of some organizations that I was working with. That's kind of where I found my niche. And I really found a love for building programs that really helped people on a whole and gave people and organizations an opportunity to grow. So when I saw the opening and the opportunity at the Bonita Springs Assistance Office, I was super excited because Bonita has been my home in Florida since I've lived here. And I was really excited to give back in my backyard.

Gail Langner 2:24

Well, I can tell you that when I came for a tour when I first met you, I was so incredibly impressed. I think for the listeners that are on today, I think if they don't know what the Benita Assistance Office can do, it was, I mean, I was just flabbergasted. And I've heard about it forever, but I I don't think I knew the scope of what you do. Could you explain to the people that are listening today exactly what all what all you do?

Caily Martin 2:50

Yeah, absolutely.

What Counts As A Crisis

Caily Martin 2:52

So our mission is to provide support to any community member that's experiencing a crisis. And the way that we define a crisis is anything unexpected that happens to no fault of your own. So that definitely encompasses the crises that we experience together as a community, things like hurricanes, COVID. I think the biggest crisis we're facing today is the increasing cost of living. But it also includes those crises that a family or an individual might face alone. That could be loss of employment unexpectedly. It could be a loss of a family member. It could be just being sick and out of work for a week and really struggling to catch back up. So really we're here to provide support to any community member that really needs it.

Gail Langner 3:44

Well, I know that when uh you and I chatted, it isn't necessarily someone that doesn't have a home or whatever. It's just people like you and I, right? That might just get in a pickle and go, oh my gracious, what you know, we weren't expecting this. I mean, you know, I don't know. What if I needed a new roof today in my house? I mean, that's a lot of money. So I mean, I know that that unexpected things happen. And sometimes it's just a medical bill, or sometimes, like you said, you maybe you you're out of work for a couple of weeks and you don't have money to put gas in your car. I mean, it's just all of these different things. I I think I was just so impressed that it's just everyday people like you and I.

Who Really Uses Nonprofit Support

Caily Martin 4:24

Absolutely. And I'm so glad that you mentioned that because I think as a whole for nonprofits, there's a bit of a stigma for who accesses the resources at a nonprofit. Um, you know, I think if you're not aware of what organizations are doing and what nonprofits are doing, it's sort of this idea that you need to be homeless or you need to be at the bottom of the barrel to access these resources. And that is absolutely not the case. Um, especially here at Benita Assistance. You know, most of our clients are working, moderate income individuals and families that are really just trying to keep their stance here in, you know, this beautiful place that we live in. Uh, like I said, the ever-growing, increasing economy. Um, it's great that there's so much development happening, but what comes with that is increasing cost of living. And this has been the home for so many of us for so long that keeping up with that can be a real burden. Um, and you know, again, we do have some clients, you know, that really struggle with homelessness and and things like that. But for the most part, they're people like you and I. There are makers, there are teachers, there are nurses, there, you know, our workers, there are the people that are serving us at these amazing restaurants that are going up all the time. Exactly. So it's really important to know that.

Gail Langner 5:50

Could you explain how people like come around to the back and what you do there with the food and so on? Could you explain how that works?

Caily Martin 5:57

Definitely.

Food Pantry With Privacy And Choice

Caily Martin 5:58

Um, so one of our programs, and it's always been a foundation here at Benita Assistance, is our food pantry. And we distribute food three times a week. We do not serve hot meals, we do a week supply of food. Um, and that includes a dry bag, so things that you would expect from a pantry, things like macaroni and cheese and soups and vegetables. But what's really important to us is that we are also giving at least two to three fresh produce items every week. So that could be fruits and vegetables, it could be eggs, it could be fresh meat. Um, you know, sometimes it's even just things like oil and flour, basic cooking items, because to us, it's so important that our families and our clients are cooking meals at home. I don't think there's any dignity in eating out of a can. Food is love and food is warmth, and you want to be able to have that experience, right? Um, and we're very intentional about that. You know, I think it's really important that we recognize it's not easy to access services like this, especially when you've never had had to before, and when you're working as hard as you do to support your family. Um, so we want to make it a really dignified experience. So that goes into what we are distributing, but it also goes into how we distribute. So for our food pantry, our clients simply drive to the back of our building and our volunteers and staff come directly out to their car. They do not even have to get out of their car. So it's a very discreet and private experience. And again, that's very intentional because we want people feeling comfortable coming here.

Gail Langner 7:36

Right. I think the one thing that impressed me too, which I never even really thought about was how you said sometimes, okay, let's say it's me. I come this week, but then next week I'm coming too. And so you make sure that the bags are different. Like you might have put a jar of peanut butter in last week. Well, I don't need a jar of peanut butter this week. So I think the fact that you you're so intentional with even what you put in the bags really impressed me. You've put a lot of thought into that.

Fresh Food With Dignity And Creativity

Caily Martin 8:05

Yeah, definitely. And I have to give the credit to that to Grace Ferris, our operations manager. Um, she identified right away when she started working here, you know, we have the same faces coming every week. We should switch it up. And it really helped our families in terms of what they were getting. It also helps our pantry supply and what we're working with. But, you know, again, we really try to put a lot of thought behind what we're doing. Um, you know, for instance, we got a donation of probably five boxes of bananas that were very ripe, but we took them and what we ended up doing was we um separated them and we froze them in separate bags. And then Grace printed out a banana smoothie recipe and she stapled it to the bag, and she did that's how they distributed it to our families. Brilliant. We had a lot of kids that were having delicious peanut butter and banana smoothies that we like. How creative! What a great idea. I think it just shows that you know, we're really thinking about what's going out and how we're putting it out and how we care about our clients.

Diapers, Wipes, And Household Essentials

Gail Langner 9:12

You have diapers as well.

Caily Martin 9:14

We have diapers as well. So we are a partner of Healthy Start Diaper Bank. Um, and we distribute for each child that needs diapers, they get 25 diapers a week with a pack of wipes. Um, we do up to size six diapers. We also distribute adult incontinence products and feminine products too. That's amazing. Yeah, we I mean we even have dog and cat foods.

Gail Langner 9:37

Well, that's that's actually really good. I'm glad you do that, truly. Um we actually just did the tech presentation with Healthy Start at their um at their annual meeting, their fiscal year-end um meeting the other day. So it is um, they do amazing things as well. We've donated to them as well. So it was it was so neat to come to your place and go, and you said healthy start, and I went, oh my gosh, you know, so it's it's wonderful to have to know that you all work together. Yeah. Is there any particular story? I know obviously would never name anybody's name, but was there a particular story where you know that you really made a difference and touched your heart in some way?

A Family Saved From Eviction

Caily Martin 10:18

Yes, and I love this question so much. Um, it also there's so many different stories, right? And I think that's what's so special about working um for an organization like this. But whenever somebody asks me that, you know, one of the first things I think of is um in my first few weeks of working here, there was a woman that came in with her six-year-old twin daughters, and she had an eviction notice in her hand. And she um explained to me that four months ago her husband was diagnosed with cancer and had passed four months later, and it happened so quickly. Um, you know, with the medical bills, and then she had the funeral expenses. She wasn't able to keep up with her rent because she also went from a two-income household to a one-income household very quickly. Um and, you know, Benita assistance, we were able to bridge that financial gap for her. So we were able to pay her rent so she was not facing eviction and we kept that roof over her head and her daughters. Um, and then more importantly, we have what's called case management where we do support assessments with our clients. And we sat down with her and we just asked a few questions. And you could tell that number one, she was so nervous about being able to support her daughters. And she was also really nervous about having to navigate the loss of her husband and the loss of her, you know, the father of her children for them. Um, so what we did for her was we connected her with Valerie's house, which is another amazing nonprofit here in Southwest Florida. Um, and her and her daughters were able to receive, you know, grief support services so they could actually start their healing process and go through that and not alone. Um, and then we connected her with Career Source, and they were able to give her some employment and education training, and she actually moved up in the company that she was working for. So, you know, she she still comes every once in a while to our pantry um just to supplement if she needs to. And, you know, her daughters have like given us drawings and stuff before. And, you know, I can't tell you like being able to help somebody in a situation like that. Um you know, we're so grateful we're here and able to do that.

Gail Langner 12:46

Oh, Caily. That is that is unbelievable. I'm I'm so happy. Thank you for sharing that, truly. And I can't imagine, I mean, when my husband passed, I had time to plan. You know, I really did. But, you know, four months, oh my gracious, with with twins. Um, you know, thank you for helping them. That was a wonderful thing on your part, truly.

Caily Martin 13:07

Yeah, yeah, of course. And

Case Management And Help Beyond Cash

Caily Martin 13:09

um, you know, I think it's really important to point out that we're so proud of the work that we do in our pantry, but the financial assistance and case management services that we have are also just so important. Um, they're definitely more individualized to what somebody is going through on their own. Um, and we're really proud of the fact that no is not in our vocabulary. If you don't qualify for financial assistance, we are still going to help you. Um, it might not be the help that you were expecting, but we always want to give you the tools and the resources so you can get through a difficult time. And um, you know, again, it's a very private and discreet experience, and and we're and we're proud of that as well. So it's important to us that people know that that's available to them.

Gail Langner 13:55

Well, thank you. So, how can our listeners get involved? Do you need volunteers? Do you need people to donate food? Do you need money, obviously?

Caily Martin 14:04

Yeah, yeah.

Gail Langner 14:06

You know, can we, you know, can people host a diaper driver, a food driver? I mean, or all of the above. I I don't know what do you need the most? How can people help?

Caily Martin 14:14

All of

Donate, Volunteer, And Get Connected

Caily Martin 14:15

the above for sure. Um, you know, monetary donations are always so helpful and beneficial for us because, for instance, we love any donation we will get. If you would like to drop off food, we are happy to take anything that's unexpired, unopened. We take perishable items because we have those commercial refrigerators and freezers, you know. But when we can have monetary donations, not only does that go towards our financial assistance program where you're contributing to pay the rent for someone like that woman that I just talked about that struggled, um, but it goes to supplementing our pantry, right? And providing that fresh produce. Like I said, that's a priority for us. And it's really important that we're giving, you know, really great food that people can cook with at home. We are a very proud partner of Harry Chapin and Midwest Food Bank, and we're so grateful that we can receive things from them, but it's not a guarantee that that's fresh produce. So we actually allocate a certain amount of our program budget to buy things like eggs and fruits and vegetables because, again, we want to have that very dignified, healthy, warm, and loving experience for our pantry. Um I will tell you on average, we are serving 2,500 people a month in our food pantry. And that does not go down off-season. If anything, it goes up because we have a lot of people that are struggling in that um day-to-day.

Gail Langner 15:45

So off-season, sure.

Caily Martin 15:47

And off-season, absolutely. So those monetary donations definitely help. Again, if you would, I always encourage people to get involved where they will feel connected to the service, right? So if you want to, if you have your heart on diapers and want to host a diaper drive, absolutely host a diaper drive. We can definitely use them. Um, volunteering, I think I'm super biased, but we have such an amazing volunteer team. They're the happiest people. They have so much fun. Um, there's always music playing and smiles and laughs back there. Um, but we actually have 24 recurring volunteerships every week to help with our pantry distribution. And then on top of that, we do things like community engagement events. Um, we need help with language translation for our case management and financial assistance clients. And something we'd like to move into is doing a mentorship program with our volunteers where we can connect a community member with a client. Say if somebody has a background in accounting and they want to help somebody create a financial budget, right? We want to connect those two people so they can help in that way. That's control. And the way that you can do that, if you go on our website, benitaassistance.org, there is a button for donating, there is a button for volunteering, and all of our information is on there, including our phone number, our address. We are here Monday through Friday, nine to four, um Thursdays till six, because we have our evening distribution. And I will tell you, we are an open door when we're here. We love when people come to visit us and come to see it for themselves. So call, come in, visit the website, we'll make it work for you.

Gail Langner 17:36

Awesome. Caily, thank you so much. I know you're such a busy executive. I I really appreciate you taking some time out to spend with us. And and we um pray that this will reach as many people as possible and will reach the people that need to hear it. So thanks so much for joining us today.

Caily Martin 17:53

And and Gail, thank you so much for having me and giving us the space to talk about our organization. And it's not just what you do for us, but what you're doing for so many of our community partners out there. I mean, there is no small way that somebody can get involved, right? Um, and you're making such a difference in just being able to give us this platform where we can talk about the work that we're doing. So thank you.

Gail Langner 18:17

Oh, thanks so much. It it definitely comes from Blake's heart. That's right. So it does. All right. Well, thank you, and we'll see you again soon. Great.

Intro/Close 18:25

Thank

Final Thanks And How To Learn More

Intro/Close 18:26

you. 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.