After four years of living in a damaged and leaky home, IHOPE staff and partners give Felipa and her family keys to their new "green" home.

IMMOKALEE, Florida - Four years ago, when Hurricane Wilma blew onshore, Felipa never imagined it would take this long to recover.

The elderly resident and widow, who takes care of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, lives on social security and was one of many left homeless in Wilma’s wake. Since the hurricane, she and her family have been living in a house that leaked.

When it rained, she had to turn off her electricity because water would get into the electric panel. The three tarps that covered her roof were not enough to keep her house safe and dry.

On her own, there was little Felipa could afford in terms of repairs – and she was not alone.

Immokalee is the poorest city inside the richest county in Florida. Ninety-five percent of the population is at or below the poverty level, leaving many in this poor community with few options for recovery.

"Operation Blessing is the real reason why over $2 million has come into the impoverished area of Immokalee, resulting in so much good,” said Richard Heers, Executive Director of IHOPE.

In 2005, Operation Blessing gave IHOPE, Immokalee Helping Our People in Emergencies, an organization founded in response to Hurricane Wilma, a $10,000 grant to jumpstart recovery. Since then, IHOPE's relief efforts have grown into a $2.3 million rebuilding effort, which was desperately needed.

With the initial aid received from OBI along with other partnering agencies, government groups and churches, today IHOPE has been able to rehabilitate 454 homes, provide 64 mobile homes and build four special “green” homes for residents of Immokalee still in need of adequate housing.

Residents like Felipa – who celebrated a long-awaited home-coming with her family just two months ago when IHOPE’s Richard Heers handed her the keys to one of the four “green” homes – designed to withstand hurricane force winds, be energy efficient and free of mold problems.

“Operation Blessing is the real reason why over $2 million has come into the impoverished area of Immokalee, resulting in so much good,” said Richard Heers, Executive Director of IHOPE. “… that gift change[d] the lives of so many people here in Immokalee and still is changing them.”

HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery. Please make an on-line donation today.

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