SOUTH FORT MYERS, Fla. — ‘Eight Days of Hope’ volunteers are helping clean and rebuild Harlem Heights eight months after Hurricane Ian.

“Some living in tents in their backyard because their homes were devastated, flooding and roof damage,” President and CEO of the Heights Foundation, Kathryn Kelly, said.

That is still the reality for many Harlem Heights neighbors since Hurricane Ian.

“They’re over 150 homes that were damaged, close to 200, and so it’s a big, huge project,” she said.

It is much too big of a project to be done alone.

“But to have 1,000 people there for eight days is just amazing,” she said, referring to the volunteers with ‘Eight Days of Hope.’

Anything you can think of, these volunteers are lending a helping hand.

“Tuesday alone, we will be serving 70 families with free home repairs, like roofing, windows, carpentry, and painting,” the President and Founder of the ‘Eight Days of Hope’ organization Steve Tybur said.

All help is for no cost!

“Nine of the families came back for dinner; four of them just broke down in tears,” said Tybur. “They couldn’t believe that strangers would show up eight months after the hurricane to help them for free.”

And helping neighbors is something Tybur is familiar with in Harlem Heights.

“It’s a very close-knit community; they were painting one house because we finished another house,” he said. “That neighbor came and helped us to paint the next-door neighbor’s house.”

The goal is to bring new beginnings for these families, with an even stronger foundation to live in once again.

Crews will be out here through Saturday.