We’re all familiar with the damage that a hurricane can leave in its wake. People with damaged properties scramble to get temporary accommodation. Repairing and cleaning a property can take time. Accessing money for clean up can also take time, always assuming you qualify for it at all.
But after the dramatic photos of boats washed ashore and houses reduced to rubble following Hurricane Ian in 2022, people in Lee County, Florida were faced with a less visible emergency: rising housing prices. Investors saw the housing shortage as an opportunity to buy homes that were still standing, kick out sitting tenants and then raise rents.
In Lee County, the community is organizing to keep housing affordable. The article linked below describes how a coalition of churches has pushed local authorities to purchase land and build homes for people with very low incomes.
The article also talks about a coalition of organizations in neighbouring Immokalee, Florida, which formed after Hurricane Irma in 2017. That coalition stepped in to help their neighbours in Lee County right after Ian struck in 2022. Commenting on the decision to help their neighbours, one of the organizers from the coalition in Immokalee had this to say:
“At this point, we can’t let communities solve their problems alone, because climate change isn’t only affecting communities like ours, it’s a global problem. It’s a problem that governments should be responding to.”
Read more about the coalitions in Lee and Immokalee Counties in Yes!: Pushing Back Against Disaster Capitalism in Florida
