Naples woman gives shelter, love after family loses everything to Dorian

A Naples community comes together to help a Bahamian family who lost everything from Hurricane Dorian.

Shannon and Samantha Forbes were vacationing in Orlando with their two boys when Dorian gutted their home in Freeport, Bahamas. Now, everything in the house and around it is gone.

“There’s no business, there’s nothing right now that can accommodate kids especially,” Shannon said. “I’m here pumping them up and trying to be positive and the minute they fall asleep, I’m like, ‘Lord talk to me. I’m lost.'”

His wife, Samantha, asked for prayers in a Facebook group of dental hygienists, which is her profession. She received an outpouring of empathy. Among those who saw the post are Carrie Chase, a dental hygienist in Naples, who responded.

“It’s crisis, devastation, hope…every end of it, it’s emotional,” Carrie said. “How do you go back? How do you do that? And it just stayed with me, and here we are.”

Carrie and her husband, Brian, offered to open their Naples home to the family, which is something they had never done before. But this was different. Carrie said it is important to help the family get back on their feet because it takes a lot to start a home again after everything is lost.

The Forbes family hesitated – too proud to accept help. But Carrie could not let it go.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody like her,” Samantha said. “I felt like she almost carried me.”

Finally, they accepted arriving in Naples over the weekend. The couples had an instant connection and their children became fast friends. Neighbors have helped with donations, but Carrie is hoping more people will help them build a life here.

“To see love displayed in a manner like this,” Shannon said. “The now has just been such a blessing.”

“I’m grateful,” said Samantha, as she goes quiet and nods her head, yes.