CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Leslie NeSmith said evacuating during Hurricane Ian from her home in Cape Coral, wasn't an option.
“We kept getting alerts on our phone, on our TV, and we were definitely in an evacuation zone... but I knew that going to a shelter wasn't an option," said NeSmith.
Leslie said her oldest of three boys, Eli has special needs and told Fox 4's Colton Chavez her son's anxiety would not allow them to stay at a community shelter.
“He was anxious he didn't know what was going on, he doesn't understand completely what was going on,” said NeSmith.
David Brown, the President of the non-profit Family Initiative said barriers like that are what helped him launch his online survey, a project that's already given Brown valuable data.
“95% of special needs families in the community plan to ride out a hurricane in their home for a moderate storm. and 34% plan on staying for a major hurricane,” said Brown.
Click here to access the survey.
Brown said the goal of this survey is to analyze the readiness of special needs families, not just those affected by autism, to evacuate, shelter, prepare, or recover from a major weather event.
Brown said the results of this survey will help Lee County better understand the needs, plus help Family Initiative streamline the distribution of goods and services to families in preparation for and post-storm.
“The need to deliver food so we found out pretty quickly after the storm and so we have already acquired some vehicles,” said Brown.
Brown said the survey will be shared with Lee County officials and stakeholders who will partner with Family Initiative for maximum distribution.
