FORT MYERS BEACH & SANIBEL, Fla. — On Tuesday, the Lee County Commissioners approved over $40 million worth of grants for Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach. These grants are funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. They will support 20 infrastructure and public facility projects throughout Lee County.
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One of the recipients is the F.I.S.H. of SAN-CAP non-profit on Sanibel Island. The organization, which provides social services to residents of Sanibel and Captiva, received $6.9 million to reconstruct its facility that was destroyed during Hurricane Ian.
“Excited is an understatement. I've been on cloud nine since yesterday, just knowing what we'll be able to rebuild, not only for F.I.S.H., but the community as a whole,” shared Maria Espinoza, the Executive Director of F.I.S.H. of SANCAP
The grants will not only help restore daily social services but also preparing the island for future storms. As barrier islands, Sanibel and Captiva are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather. Espinoza noted the ongoing need for disaster preparedness in the area.
“Sanibel and Captiva are barrier islands... It's never about if the next storm is going to hit, it's when. And hopefully we won't see a storm like Ian for a very, very long time. But if we do, or even just a different type of storm, we need to be prepared," Espinoza stated.
The new F.I.S.H. facility will be built with resilience in mind, ensuring it can withstand future storms while continuing to serve the community.
“F.I.S.H. is there for day-to-day social services, making sure people have what they need, but we are also there to respond in times of disaster when the community needs more help. And it’s important that we have a facility that's able to withstand all sorts of disasters," explained Espinoza
F.I.S.H. of SANCAP serves over 600 visits to its food pantry monthly and helped over 4,000 individuals last year through its senior services, education, financial assistance, and food programs. The rebuild will allow the organization to continue providing these essential services for years to come.
Espinoza said F.IS.H. is eager to get started, “Fish has been ready to rebuild since the storm, and now that we're actually able to, of course, we're adhering to the policies of the grant... We're excited to share with the community what this will look like.”
However, the process will take some time, with Espinoza estimating the facility’s completion in approximately two years.
In addition to supporting F.I.S.H., the City of Sanibel plans to invest over $12 million of the grant into road reconstruction projects and another $9 million for the reconstruction of the fire station on Palm Ridge Road.
