St. Matthew's House in Naples is still rebuilding, along with much of Southwest Florida, one year after Hurricane Ian.
Before the storm, inflation and the cost of housing led to more calls for help from organizations like St. Matthew's House. As many in Southwest Florida are still recovering, the St. Matthew's House CEO says their efforts will continue in the community.
“We wanted to be able to get out there and help people, so we mobilized very quickly," said Steve Brooder, CEO of St. Matthew's House.
Despite a long rebuilding year for many, St. Matthew's House jumped into action immediately following the storm and continues to do so.
"The need for our service has increased, so we want to be ready to respond and continue to help people," said Brooder.
Now, one year later, the organization says they have fed 313,728 families since Ian.
"There is research, studies, that show that after these major storms, there's increased homelessness, we saw a spike," said Brooder. "There's more food insecurity, and unfortunately, more addictions. That was that was a big part of the impact that we felt.”
Brooder notes St. Matthew's House operates the only two homeless shelters in Collier County, making their efforts crucial.
"First-time homelessness was a real spike," said Brooder. "You know, people were displaced from their homes, and they had nowhere to go when you lose all your possessions.”
Along with a substance abuse spike, said Brooder, all while the organization was fixing its own damage from Ian.
“Just like many business owners around the area, we had a loss of customers," said Brooder. "We were out of business for a number of days.”
St. Matthew's House makes a part of its revenue through its thrift stores, but multiple took on serious structural damage from the storm. Plus, Brooder adds, losing traffic at its events and even some donors. St. Matthew's House had to rebuild itself as well.
"We had several staff members that lost everything," said Brooder. "They came to work because they wanted to be here. They knew it was important to continue to do the work that we do, and we helped them. We set up a staff assistance fund and really tried to do as much as we could to get them back on their feet. It's been tough, and some are still out of their homes, even after all this time.”
However, because of the group's deep connections in Collier County and Southwest Florida, Brooder says people can still count on St. Matthew's House as a safe haven.
