ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
Women lost a staggering $800 billion in income in just the last year. While business bounces back, ladies are still struggling to return to work, and there are two reasons many believe the pandemic has hurt women so much more than men. Consider three women with very different backgrounds: Teshawna Barton, Krystal Hartman, and Megan Rose. “I am a single mom right now, of three babies, three—toddlers, all of them,” Teshawna said. Krystal says her son is “two-and-a-half years old, and he’s one smart cookie.” “I’m a mom with three kids under five,” Megan said. Motherhood is the one thing they all share. For Megan, work was the only stable thing in her life last year. Her non-profit, Better Together, got busier. She finds children a place to stay out of foster care while their parents get help. But as worked picked up, her children’s daycare shut down. She and her husband had to split their workdays. “We’re worried about our kids, we’re worried about health, we’re worried about schooling,” Megan said. “The pandemic has made everything so much harder.” Teshawna met Megan through Better Together. The single mother had just moved into a shelter and was trying to get back on her feet when the pandemic hit. “I’ve been homeless for, like, five years,” Teshwna said. “I went from working five days a week to maybe four days, to one day, to no days.” Krystal also lost work. “I got a job at Home Depot, but that was only seasonal, temporary.” Women were harder hit because they make up the hardest-hit job sectors, including leisure and hospitality, as well as education. Krystal, who moved down to Florida right before the pandemic, remembers those early days. “Everything costs money, and trying to be able to save every little bit we could,” Krystal said. “It’s very difficult.” Across the country, childcare centers cut 35% of their staff in the first two months of the pandemic. In June 2020, workers started to return as those centers reopened, but we have a long way to go. “When the pandemic happened, we just assumed that our mothers would fill the gap,” said Dr. Alise Bartley, a clinical assistant professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. “This gap has been in regards to our children’s education. This has been so challenging for our poor mothers. They’re so overwhelmed; they’re not teachers.” Bartley is concerned all the juggling is having a devastating toll on mothers’ mental health. She says to moms: Take a step back, ask for help—even from your children, assigning them more chores if needed—then figure out what you need. “First and the most important thing is to acknowledge ‘I’m overwhelmed,'” Bartley said. “This is more than just taking a hot bubble bath, this is really about ‘What do I need to feel good?'” Bartley recommends you commit to starting a behavior today that gives you a mental break: walk, call a friend, do simple breathing exercises and reach out to other moms, just like these three did. “Moms don’t have to do it alone,” Megan said. “Dads don’t have to do it alone. We, as parents, don’t have to do it alone.” If your sleep pattern or diet has changed drastically, Bartley says those are signs of depression and you should reach out for help. She also says more mothers are turning to excessive drinking, something else that worries her. Below are mental health resources available to Southwest Floridians at the national and local level: National Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-8255 suicidepreventionlifeline.org David Lawrence Center  (Collier County) (239)455-8500 davidlawrencecenter.org National Alliance on Mental Illness, Collier County namicollier.org National Alliance on Mental Illness, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry Counties namilee.org The National Alliance for Caregiving offers a free handbook Circle of Care: A Guidebook for Mental Health Caregivers Collier County Mental Health Court ca.cjis20.org/home/collier Lee County Mental Health Court ca.cjis20.org/home/lee Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance convio.net Local Support Groups: Anxiety and Depression Association of America adaa.org U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Mental Health and Addiction Insurance Help) hhs.gov/programs/topic-sites/mental-health-parity Local veterans resource: Home Base SWFL https://homebase.org/home-base-southwest-florida/