This description of the impact of Hurricane Ian is from Recover Hardee’s Executive Director Jamie Samuels. Because of the hurricane, many residents in Hardee County had both immediate and long-term needs. While some people only experienced minor inconveniences, others saw their homes destroyed, leading to a multiple year quest to make things whole again. That’s where community partners such as nonprofit organizations, government, businesses, and volunteers stepped in to help.
Ultimately, the Recover Hardee Long Term Recovery Group was formed to coordinate the recovery efforts in Hardee County.
Immediate impact
Centrally located in the state of Florida, 
Hardee County was in the direct eye of Hurricane Ian on September 28, 2022, with sustained winds of 70 mph, and wind gusts of 102 mph. Those wind gusts lasted for many hours, causing water intrusion from the roof of many homes. In addition, when the Peace River crested at more than 27 feet the next day, it caused widespread flooding never seen before, devastating the community.
There were four confirmed fatalities, 115 completed water rescues, 104 road closures, and two washed out bridges. During the storm, 1,711 people were provided safe shelter by Hardee County and after the storm 72 remained in the Red Cross shelter due to uninhabitable conditions caused by storm damage.
Hardee County had an estimated $38 million in damages, including 720 destroyed homes, 613 homes with major damage, and 1.5 million with minor damage. Local nonprofits and volunteers worked closely with Hardee County Emergency Management before the storm to help residents prepare. After the storm, nonprofits worked closely with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, Team Rubicon, Mennonites Disaster Services, Rotary Club, United Way, and Christian Disaster Services, as well as individual volunteers, to provide assistance that included placing tarps on homes, debris removal, and gutting homes that flooded from Peace River. In the first four months after the storm, nonprofits used more than 550 volunteers who provided 7,928 hours of assistance.
Recover Hardee making a difference
Recover Hardee’s board is chaired by Colonel James “Chip” Roberts, with the Hardee County Sheriff’s Office. “Long Term Recovery is not just about rebuilding what was lost,” said Colonel Roberts. “It’s about restoring hope, resilience, and a sense of normalcy to families navigating the aftermath of tragedy.”
As part of its continuing commitment to recovery efforts in the community, Recover Hardee established a fund in 2023 with GiveWell Community Foundation (GWCF). Grants from the fund are limited for use for community disaster recovery in Hardee County. GWCF President/CEO Callie Neslund has strong ties to Hardee County, and is proud the Community Foundation could help Recover Hardee in their efforts. “I’ve been so impressed with all the groups partnering in Hardee County to help residents in need,” said Neslund. “At a recent home dedication ceremony, I got to see the results firsthand. It was a very inspirational day.”
Many people don’t realize that so many individuals are still in temporary housing working towards their permanent housing plan since the hurricane hit. Having a Long Term Recovery Group driven by local input and experiences has allowed residents to have a voice in their recovery. Recover Hardee has prioritized local contractors and local vendors during each step of the recovery journey, buying building materials and hiring locally as much as possible. This allows for grant dollars to remain and stimulate the local economy.
The relationships they have built throughout the past 21 months have played an instrumental role in the emotional and spiritual recovery of so many Hardee County residents. Several have lost loved ones, and others have experienced an immense amount of stress. Recover Hardee’s Disaster Case Managers spend extra time listening to their grief and sharing in their recovery journey.
Rebuild and repair
Helping residents rebuild has also been a focus for Recover Hardee. There were 331 households that requested recovery services to make their homes safe, sanitary, and secure. Roughly two-thirds of those households were assisted by June 2024. The remaining households are still working with Disaster Case Managers at SendMeMissions and Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice.
Recover Hardee, with the assistance of many local and national partners, has been able to demolish six destroyed homes and rebuild them with volunteer labor in less than six months through the financial support of Hardee County Government’s State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program (SHIP) & Hurricane Housing Recovery Program (HHRP) funding. It’s been a long journey for these homeowners, but now that they’ve completed their recovery process, they can have peace of mind for future hurricane seasons. Other repairs included 18 fully rehabilitated homes, 42 partially rehabilitated homes, and 30 brand new roofs installed.
What’s next for Recover Hardee?
Recover Hardee’s greatest need continues to be storage for donated supplies and volunteer housing. Having a facility large enough to meet both needs will allow for the community to become more resilient and recover faster after a storm.
For Hardee County residents who still need assistance with homes that were damaged by Hurricane Ian, resources are available. Anyone struggling to make repairs on their own is encouraged to reach out to Recover Hardee and begin the screening process.
While there is still a lot of work ahead, the community partners involved with Recover Hardee are committed to continuing to provide resources to those who need assistance. Jamie Samuels shares, “Long Term Recovery isn’t fast and quick, it takes a lot of patience, diligence, perseverance, many volunteers & partners over a long period of time. But when a family finally moves back into a safe, sanitary, and secure home, it’s all worth it!”
About Recover Hardee Long Term Recovery Group
Recover Hardee is a long term recovery organization that serves individuals and families in Hardee County, Florida who are affected by disasters. The organization is made up of representatives from various sectors such as faith based, non-profit, government, business, and other organizations, who work together to provide support and resources for those in need. We believe that everyone deserves a chance to recover from a disaster, and we are committed to making that a reality for the people of Hardee County.
About GiveWell Community Foundation
The mission of GiveWell Community Foundation (GWCF) is to champion charitable giving to improve the quality of life in the areas we serve, both now and for future generations. We accomplish this by working with individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofits to build stronger communities in Polk, Hardee, and Highlands counties through charitable funds and competitive grant cycles. Since its founding in 1997, the Community Foundation has awarded more than $330 million in grants. Today, GWCF is home to more than 400 charitable funds and the Impact Polk and Empower Polk grant cycles.
