HARDEE COUNTY, Fla. — For many families, recovery after a hurricane can take years, and some never fully recover. A local nonprofit is helping change that in Hardee County, one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Ian.
It has been nearly four years since Hurricane Ian destroyed Kaylee Sandin’s home. Tampa Bay 28 reporter Michael Paluska first sat down with the mom of three six months after the storm ripped off their roof and flooded their home.
Since then, her family's recovery sat stagnant. Her children grew up, and her home remained frozen in time. The disaster trailer parked out front is where her three kids have grown up since the storm.
"My youngest was two at the time, and he doesn't know a home," Sandin said. "He's lived in an RV almost his whole life, and it's definitely going to be good, very good."
In March, through the Rebuild Florida program, Sandin's home was razed and cleared. Now, it is getting rebuilt from the ground up. The home will be finished by the summer.
"You gotta stay positive," Sandin said. "Being negative and angry doesn't get you anywhere. It doesn't earn you anything, and there's no reason to be angry. I mean, it's nobody's fault; things happen. It was an act of God, and honestly, I believe that for my family, it was a blessing."
Jamie Samuels is the president of SendMeMissions, a faith-based nonprofit in Hardee County connecting hurricane survivors with resources to repair or rebuild. Even now, they are still delivering disaster trailers and working to make other families whole.
"We're about to go into hurricane season," Samuels said. "So, you know, to be able to have a house that they can be safe in is awesome."
Samuels said the organization had around 130 cases from Hurricane Ian, including complete rebuilds, repairs, and roof replacements.
"We're down to 15 from Hurricane Ian," Samuels said. "So, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we are very excited about that."
However, the work continues. Samuels said they currently have 45 cases from Hurricane Milton.
"There's still lots to be done," Samuels said. "We would love to have another year off from a storm. I think everyone in the state of Florida would love that."
In 2025, Paluska toured Aerial Stanford’s rebuild when it was still under construction by Rebuild Florida. Now, she is all settled with everything she needs.
Her old home was more than 100 years old. It was where she lived with her husband, who is now gone.
"When it was finally coming down, I was just praising God," Stanford said. "I was saying, 'Thank you. This is what I needed, Lord, thank you.'"
Samuels has been a source of hope for both families.
"She’s been such a blessing," Stanford said. "Everything I needed, that I need to call about, or that I had any concerns about. All I had to do was call."
"We watch these families as the time goes by," Samuels said. "They lose loved ones. They also have really exciting moments where kids graduate, or babies are born, and so it is a long process, and we walk through that journey with them. So they're more than just clients. They've become family."
Sandin lost everything, but she still has her family and a lone palm tree in her yard, that will now grow with her family outside her new home.
The tree was a gift from her mother.
"I didn’t really care about the palm tree, and the storm blew it sideways, and it was kind of monumental for me, and so I am thankful they left the palm tree," Sandin said. "I feel it tells our story.”
“What did you learn?" Paluska asked
"Patience," Sandin said. "Lots of patience. Things are out of your control, and you just have to stay positive.”
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